The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) and Budgett's frog (Lepidobatrachus laevis) differ in diet and last shared a common ancestor about 110 million years ago but what they were found to have in common could help researchers on the path to prevention of intestinal birth defects. 

Like most tadpoles, Xenopus exist primarily on a diet of algae, and their long, simple digestive tracts are not able to process insects or proteins until they become adult frogs. Budgett's is an aggressive species of frog which is carnivorous – and cannibalistic – in the tadpole stage.

During the late Pleistocene, which ended about 12,000 years ago, a remarkably diverse assemblage of large-bodied mammals inhabited the "mammoth steppe," a cold and dry environment that extended from western Europe through northern Asia and across the Bering land bridge to the Yukon.

Of the large predators - wolves, bears, and big cats - only the wolves and bears were able to maintain their ranges well after the end of the last ice age and a new study suggests that dietary flexibility may have been an important factor giving wolves and bears an edge over saber-toothed cats and cave lions. 

When comparing men and women who have dyslexia to non-dyslexic control groups, researchers found significant differences in brain anatomy, suggesting that the disorder may have a different brain-based manifestation when it comes to gender.

The greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella of the family Pyralidae) is capable of sensing sound frequencies of up to 300 kHz, making it possessor of the highest recorded frequency sensitivity of any animal in the natural world.

Humans are only capable of hearing sounds from 20 Hz up to around 20 kHz maximum and that drops as we age, while our pets can hear at higher frequencies (leading to concern about things like the hum from ballasts in CFL bulbs) but even dolphins, famous for their ultrasound, only cap out at around 160 kHz.

If you are not an experienced baseball player, a ball coming at you 40 or 50 miles per hour is fast. You are almost certain to swing too late and then, when you realize that is fast, you will swing too early. You are almost as certain to miss.

So how can players hit a 95 M.P.H. fastball?  Given that it can be inside or outside of the strike zone, high or low, and also is rarely straight, it can be difficult even for them.

Researchers say they have pinpointed how the brain tracks such fast-moving objects and that can help understand how humans predict the trajectory of moving objects when it can take one-tenth of a second for the brain to process what the eye sees. 

If you are toughing out harsh winter weather, snow can be a relief. It's a respite from biting winds and subzero temperatures.

But winter and spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has declined in recent years, putting plants and animals that depend on the space beneath the snow to survive the blustery chill of winter at risk.