Ecology & Zoology

Boxing has been in the news lately, what with this young lady (Nicola Adams) becoming the world’s first female Olympic boxing champion. So when I saw claws like the ones in the next picture two days ago, I immediately thought they might be used for comba ...

Article - Robert H Olley - Jan 8 2013 - 8:30am

Giant squid filmed at home

Sub chases, films giant squid going to Pacific abyss Scientists from the Japan National Museum and broadcasters from NHK and the U.S. Discovery Channel, said (Monday Jan 7th) they have captured footage of an elusive giant squid deep in the North Pacific t ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Jan 8 2013 - 4:31am

Alarm Over Ornamental Fish Could Lead To Action On Antibiotic Resistance

Want concerns about transmission of disease and antibiotic resistance to get attention? Show that pretty tropical fish are at risk. The $15 billion ornamental fish industry has sounded the alarm about antibiotic resistance because of concerns that treatm ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 15 2013 - 9:00pm

Why Dogs Can Be Tamed But Wolves Cannot

Wolves and dogs are genetically very similar, so why did dogs become "man's best friend" while wolves remain wild? Kathryn Lord at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggests the different behaviors are related to the animals' ear ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 18 2013 - 11:13am

Extinction Estimates Exaggerated- But We're Not Out Of The Woods Yet

Concern that many animals are becoming extinct before scientists even have time to identify them has led to some exaggeration, according to Griffith University researcher Professor Nigel Stork. A number of misconceptions have fueled these fears, Stork sai ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 24 2013 - 5:00pm

Angry Birds- Now In Real Life Too

While male sparrows can fight to the death, a new study shows that they often wave their wings wildly first in an attempt to avoid a dangerous brawl. Swamp sparrows use wing waves as an aggressive signal to defend their territories and mates from intrudi ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 29 2013 - 10:55am

Dipterans: 24 New Species Of Flower Fly Have Been Found

Scientists have described 24 new species of dipterans belonging to Quichuana genus after studying the forests of Central and Southern America for ten years. The Quichuana genus is also known as 'flower flies'. Only 24 species were previously kn ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 31 2013 - 1:30pm

Can We Smell In Stereo?

Most mammals, including humans, see in stereo and hear in stereo but the idea that mammals can also smell in stereo has been suspect. A new study has found that the common mole (Scalopus aquaticus) relies on stereo sniffing to locate its prey. So there is ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 5 2013 - 12:13pm

Third Forcepfly Species Discovered- In South America

Forcepflies, commonly known as earwigflies, because the males have a large genital forceps that resembles the cerci of earwigs, are part of a family that was widespread from Australia to Antarctica and over the Americas during the Jurassic period and ext ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 15 2013 - 12:30pm

Organic Tomatoes Exposed To Greater Stress But Accumulate More Vitamin C, Sugars

The hypothesis that tomato fruits from organic farming and greater stressing conditions associated with organic farming leads to more nutritional compounds, such as phenolics and vitamin C, recently got tested. ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 20 2013 - 7:43pm