A bright future with solar lanterns for India's poor
Solar energy has the potential to improve the living conditions of poor rural households in India as well as contribute to the country's future energy security, according to Professor Govindasamy Agoramoorthy from Tajen University, who is Tata-Sadguru Visiting Chair, and Dr. Minna Hsu from the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan. view more (2009-04-28)
Desert woodrats switch one dietary poison for another
As the U.S. Southwest grew warmer between 18,700 and 10,000 years ago, juniper trees vanished from what is now the Mojave Desert, robbing woodrats of their favorite food. view more (2009-04-08)
Texas-sized tract of single-celled clones
A Rice University study of microbes from a Houston-area cow pasture has confirmed once again that everything is bigger in Texas, even the single-celled stuff. The tests revealed the first-ever report of a large, natural colony of amoebae clones -- a Texas-sized expanse measuring at least 12 meters across. view more (2009-03-12)
American carnivores evolved to avoid each other, new study suggests
How do the many carnivorous animals of the Americas avoid competing for the same lunch, or becoming each other's meal? view more (2009-03-10)
Reversing ecology reveals ancient environments
From hair color to the ancestral line of parasitic bacteria, scientists can glean a lot from genes. But imagine if genes also revealed where you lived or who you spent time with. It turns out they do, if you know where and how to look. view more (2009-02-26)
Cheap love costs the Earth
Ecology and conservation biologist at the University of Leicester, Dr David Harper, who has conducted research for over 25 years at Lake Naivasha in Kenya, today warned that cut-price Valentine roses exported for sale in the UK were 'bleeding that country dry'. view more (2009-02-13)
Inuit are on the right track
Inuit trails are more than merely means to get from A to B. In reality, they represent a complex social network spanning the Canadian Arctic and are a distinctive aspect of the Inuit cultural identity. And what is remarkable is that the Inuit's vast geographic knowledge has been passed through many generations by oral means, without the use of... view more... (2009-02-05)
Hind wings help butterflies make swift turns to evade predators, study finds
New tires allow race cars to take tight turns at high speeds. Hind wings give moths and butterflies similar advantages: They are not necessary for basic flight but help these creatures take tight turns to evade predators. view more (2009-01-09)
Princeton-led team finds secret ingredient for the health of tropical rainforests
A team of researchers led by Princeton University scientists has found for the first time that tropical rainforests, a vital part of the Earth's ecosystem, rely on the rare trace element molybdenum to capture the nitrogen fertilizer needed to support their wildly productive growth. view more (2008-12-10)
Ocean growing more acidic faster than once thought
University of Chicago scientists have documented that the ocean is growing more acidic faster than previously thought. In addition, they have found that the increasing acidity correlates with increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. view more (2008-11-25)
Climate change opens new avenue for spread of invasive plants
Plants that range northward because of climate change may be better at defending themselves against local enemies than native plants. view more (2008-11-20)
Dried mushrooms slow climate warming in Northern forests
The fight against climate warming has an unexpected ally in mushrooms growing in dry spruce forests covering Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and other northern regions, a new UC Irvine study finds. view more (2008-11-03)
New CU-Boulder study shows diversity decreases chances of parasitic disease
A new University of Colorado at Boulder study showing that American toads who pal around with gray tree frogs reduce their chances of parasitic infections known to cause limb malformations has strong implications for the benefits of biodiversity on emerging wildlife diseases. view more (2008-10-22)
UGA study reveals ecosystem-level consequences of frog extinctions
Streams that once sang with the croaks, chirps and ribbits of dozens of frog species have gone silent. They're victims of a fungus that's decimating amphibian populations worldwide. view more (2008-10-17)
Opening a can of worms: Serendipitous discovery reveals earthworms more diverse than first thought
Scientists have found that the UK's common or garden earthworms are far more diverse than previously thought, a discovery with important consequences for agriculture. view more (2008-10-10)
MSU study: Girls have harder time than boys adjusting in language-learning environment
Girls who don't share a common language may have more difficulty adjusting socially than boys, according to surprising new Michigan State University research looking at language acquisition among young children. view more (2008-10-07)
Neighbors from hell: Infanticide rife in guillemot colony
One of Britain's best-known species of seabird is increasingly attacking and killing unattended chicks from neighbouring nests due to food shortages. view more (2008-09-17)
Wolves would rather eat salmon
Although most people imagine wolves chasing deer and other hoofed animals, new research suggests that, when they can, wolves actually prefer fishing to hunting. view more (2008-09-02)
Study finds foul owls use feces to show they are in fine feather
Some years ago, within the Department of Conservation Biology of the Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Seville, Spain), a recently established group (colloquially named the Night Ecology Group) started to explore the possibility of visual communication in crepuscular and... view more... (2008-08-20)
The emerging scientific discipline of aeroecology
In the history of science and technology, there is an infrequent combination of empirical discoveries, theories and technology developments converge that make it possible to recognize a new discipline. view more (2008-08-04)
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