Thursday, 9 February, 2012

It’s one of the biggest puzzles of paleontology: Why did North America’s large mammals go extinct shortly after the glaciers melted about 15k years ago? New study suggests that hunters get the credit — or blame.

Coral reefs are the ocean’s biodiversity hotspots, but a new study finds that one-third of reef-building corals are under some threat of extinction.

Conventional wisdom says species form faster in the biodiverse tropics. But a new study shows fast speciation and extinction at the poles. Why didn’t we think up this study?

The ivory-billed woodpecker is back — after 60 years. What does that say about extinctions, and about other rare forms of life? Seen any Tasmanian tigers lately? Does habitat preservation work?

Giant volcano at Yellowstone erupts on schedule. The last eruption covered about 20 states with ash. If Yellowstone blows, think big: Think REALLY BIG!

New searches are finding lots of asteroids. None of them are aimed at us — yet. How much damage have asteroids done in the past?