New fossil plant discovery links Patagonia to New Guinea in a warmer past
Fossil plants are windows to the past, providing us with clues as to what our planet looked like millions of years ago. view more (2009-11-11)
Well-traveled wasps provide hope for vanishing species
They may only be 1.5mm in size, but the tiny wasps that pollinate fig trees can travel over 160km in less than 48 hours, according to research from scientists at the University of Leeds. The fig wasps are transporting pollen ten times further than previously recorded for any insect. view more (2009-11-10)
Researchers Hail Innovative Plan to Save Rainforest, Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
An innovative proposal by the Ecuadorian government to protect an untouched, oil rich region of Amazon rainforest is a precedent-setting and potentially economically viable approach, says a team of environmental researchers from the University of Maryland, the World Resources Institute and Save America's Forests. view more (2009-11-06)
Plant fossils give first real picture of earliest Neotropical rainforests
A team of researchers including a University of Florida paleontologist has used a rich cache of plant fossils discovered in Colombia to provide the first reliable evidence of how Neotropical rainforests looked 58 million years ago. view more (2009-10-16)
Looking for privacy in the clouds
Millions of Internet users have been enjoying the fun -- and free -- services provided by advertiser-supported online social networks like Facebook. But Landon Cox, a Duke University assistant professor of computer science, worries about the possible down side -- privacy problems. view more (2009-10-14)
The first neotropical rainforest was home of the Titanoboa
Smithsonian researchers working in Colombia's Cerrejón coal mine have unearthed the first megafossil evidence of a neotropical rainforest. view more (2009-10-13)
Killer bees may increase food supplies for native bees
Aggressive African bees were accidentally released in Brazil in 1957. As "killer bees" spread northward, David Roubik, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, began a 17-year study that revealed that Africanized bees caused less damage to native bees than changes in the weather and may have increased the... view more... (2009-10-02)
World's last great forest under threat: new study
The world's last remaining "pristine" forest - the boreal forest across large stretches of Russia, Canada and other northern countries - is under increasing threat, a team of international researchers has found. view more (2009-08-26)
Global warming threatens tropical species, the ecosystem and its by-products
Tropical lizards detect the effects of global warming in a climate where the smallest change makes a big difference, according to herpetologist Laurie Vitt, curator of reptiles and George Lynn Cross Research Professor at the University of Oklahoma's Sam Noble Museum of Natural History view more (2009-08-26)
Bizarre walking bat has ancient heritage
A bizarre New Zealand bat that is as much at home walking four-legged on the ground as winging through the air had an Australian ancestor 20 million years ago with the same rare ability, a new study has found. view more (2009-07-29)
Scientists discover Amazon river is 11 million years old
Researchers at the University of Liverpool have discovered that the Amazon river, and its transcontinental drainage, is around 11 million years old and took its present shape about 2.4 million years ago. view more (2009-07-29)
New isotope cluster could lead to better understanding of atmospheric carbon dioxide
A team of researchers has discovered an unexpected concentration of a certain isotopic molecule in parts of the stratosphere that could have implications for understanding the carbon cycle and its response to climate change. view more (2009-07-15)
heory provides more precise estimates of large-area biodiversity
Ask biologists how many species live in a pond, a grassland, a mountain range or on the entire planet, and the answers get increasingly vague. Hence the wide range of estimates for the planet's biodiversity, predicted to be between 2 million and 50 million species. view more (2009-07-10)
New monkey discovered in Brazil
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced today the discovery of a new monkey in a remote region of the Amazon in Brazil. view more (2009-07-08)
World's largest aerosol sensing network has leafy origins
Twenty years ago, Brent Holben was part of a NASA team studying vegetation from space. In an unlikely career twist, his research morphed into the study of a critical, if overlooked, subplot in the story of climate change. view more (2009-06-30)
Dolphins get a lift from delta wing technology
We can only marvel at the way that dolphins, whales and porpoises scythe through water. Their finlike flippers seem perfectly adapted for maximum aquatic agility. view more (2009-06-26)
Amazon conservation policy working in Brazil, MSU-led study finds
Contrary to common belief, Brazil's policy of protecting portions of the Amazonian forest from development is capable of buffering the Amazon from climate change, according to a new study led by Michigan State University researchers. view more (2009-06-16)
Rainforest rehab in every sense
Sophisticated sensors that measure leaf wetness, soil moisture and temperature are helping rehabilitate rainforest in the Springbrook World Heritage precinct in south-east Queensland. view more (2009-06-12)
Jungle yeast
A new species of yeast has been discovered deep in the Amazon jungle. In a paper published on-line in FEMS Yeast Research, IFR scientists and colleagues from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador describe the novel characteristics of Candida carvajalis sp. nov. view more (2009-05-21)
Warriors do not always get the girl
Aggressive, vengeful behavior of individuals in some South American groups has been considered the means for men to obtain more wives and more children, but an international team of anthropologists working in Ecuador among the Waorani show that sometimes the macho guy does not do better. view more (2009-05-12)
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