A federal judge has restored endangered species protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, derailing plans by three states to hold public wolf hunts this fall
A major evolutionary innovation has unfurled right in front of researchers’ eyes. It’s the first time evolution has been caught in the act of making such a rare and complex new trait. And because the species in question is a bacterium, scientists have been able to replay history to show how this evolutionary novelty grew from the accumulation of unpredictable, chance events
A dog trained to sniff out pirated discs, from a Malaysian unit that has faced threats from criminals, has been found dead. Manny, a one-year-old golden Labrador which arrived in Malaysia in February, died about a week ago and that authorities were trying to determine how it died
An animal welfare group charges that eBay sales of ivory are brisker than ever a year after the online marketplace promised to restrict the sale of products made from animal teeth and tusks — many of which come from endangered species. The International Fund for Animal Welfare is urging eBay to ban — not simply restrict — all such sales on its web market
After five years of futile efforts to find or confirm sightings of any Caribbean monk seals — even just one — the US government on Friday announced that the species is officially extinct and the only seal to vanish due to human causes
Before they have even hatched, cuttlefish embryos can peer out of their eggs and spot potential prey. It is the first time any animal has been shown to learn visual images before they are born
A team of Penn State scientists has discovered a new ultra-small species of bacteria that has survived for more than 120,000 years within the ice of a Greenland glacier at a depth of nearly two miles. The microorganism’s ability to persist in this low-temperature, high-pressure, reduced-oxygen and nutrient-poor habitat makes it particularly useful for studying how life, in general, can survive in a variety of extreme environments on Earth and possibly elsewhere in the solar system
Researchers have discovered a new species of spider on Western Australia’s south coast. The group has also uncovered a population of an ancient arachnid known as the Assassin spider. The spiders were found at a number of sites along a 70 kilometre stretch of coastline near Albany. The Assassin spider is just five millimetres in length and, despite its name, is harmless to humans
A giant squid has been found off Portland in Victoria’s south-west. The six-metre long, 230-kilogram squid was still alive when it was netted by commercial fishermen last night. Fisheries Victoria says the creature is being kept in a freezer and will be transferred to the Melbourne Museum. The museum is yet to confirm whether it will be used for scientific research or put on display
Researchers at the University of Utah describe how the Lamprocyphus augustus’, an inch-long Brazilian beetle, iridescent green scales are composed of chitin arranged by evolution in precisely the molecular configuration that has confounded the would-be fabricators of optical computers. By using the scales as a semiconductor mold, researchers hope to finally build the perfect photonic crystal
The United States has listed the polar bear as a threatened species, because its Arctic sea ice habitat is melting due to climate change. US government scientists predict that two-thirds of the polar bear population of 25,000 could disappear by 2050. However, the government stressed the listing would not lead to measures to prevent global warming
A rare and primitive frog living in a remote Borneo stream has no lungs and apparently absorbs oxygen through its skin. The aquatic frog has evolved backwards, re-acquiring a primordial trait, David Bickford of the National University of Singapore and colleagues reported. Studying the frog could help shed light on how lungs evolved in the first place, they wrote in the journal Current Biology, adding that illegal gold mining in the area may threaten the unique species
Low doses of hydrogen sulphide can safely and reversibly depress both metabolism and aspects of cardiovascular function in mice, producing a suspended-animation-like state that does not depend on a reduction in body temperature and include a substantial decrease in heart rate without a drop in blood pressure — via Slashdot
Remarkable new footage of Canada’s Arctic wolves has been caught on camera by a BBC crew. The team managed to film the wolves taking to the water to hunt waterfowl — behaviour that has never been seen before
A new species of mammal has been discovered in the mountains of Tanzania. The bizarre-looking creature, dubbed Rhynochocyon udzungwensis, is a type of giant elephant shrew, or sengi. The cat-sized animal looks like a cross between a miniature antelope and a small anteater
Seven green groups have sued over a US Fish and Wildlife Service plan that would loosen restrictions on killing grey wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming
A new report shows some populations of tasmanian devils may have developed resistance to the deadly facial tumour disease. In parts of Tasmania up to 90 per cent of the devil population has been wiped out by a contagious cancer-like facial tumour disease
For ten years their home has been a 20ft cage set into the cliffs of Monte Carlo. But last week — for the first time in their lives — leopards Sirius and Pitou ran free across the plains of Africa. They tasted their new freedom in a game reserve after being rescued from Monaco zoo following a five-year campaign by The Mail on Sunday and The Born Free Foundation
Kaiser is talking to another dog. My little guy isn’t this chatty.
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