Life
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Paleontology
Jumbled bones show birds on the menu
A fossilized pellet of partially digested bones of juvenile and baby birds provides the first evidence that birds served as food for predators.
By Sid Perkins -
Paleontology
First brachiosaur tooth found in Asia
A fossil tooth found along a dinosaur trackway in South Korea is the first evidence that brachiosaurs roamed Asia.
By Sid Perkins -
Paleontology
Dinosaur fossil yields feathery structures
Researchers believe they have found primitive feathers on the remains of Sinornithosaurus millenii, a 124-million-year-old raptor dinosaur from Liaoning, China.
By Linda Wang -
Ecosystems
Fish Epidemic Traces to Novel Germ
A new mycobacterium, related to the one causing tuberculosis, is responsible for a mysterious epidemic sickening some of the Chesapeake Bay's most prized fish.
By Janet Raloff -
Plants
Lichen Lovelies
Should anyone dismiss lichens as so much gray-green crust, send the detractor to the lichen glamour shots in this Web site’s portrait gallery. The lush photography details shapes from goblets to anchors and colors from blue to neon Lycra-pants lemon. Other images illustrate the importance of lichens for other creatures (see the flying squirrel nest) […]
By Science News -
Paleontology
Extinctions Tied to Impact from Space
Evidence trapped in 250-million-year-old sediments may help researchers pin the ultimate blame for the massive extinctions that occurred then on the impact of an extraterrestrial object about 9 kilometers across.
By Sid Perkins -
Paleontology
Did ancient superbees squash diversity?
The recent discovery of several dozen extinct bee species in ancient amber deposits has led one paleontologist to propose that the very success of some bees' social lifestyle led to today's dearth of hive-dwelling species.
By Sid Perkins -
Plants
The bladderwort: No ruthless microbe killer
A carnivorous plant called a bladderwort may not be a fierce predator at all but a misunderstood mutualist.
By Susan Milius -
Plants
Dead pipes can still regulate plants’ water
Physiologists say they have demonstrated for the first time that dead xylem cells in plant plumbing can control water speed.
By Susan Milius -
Paleontology
Genes Seem to Link Unlikely Relatives
Genetic markers on three proteins suggest a common African ancestor for elephants, aardvarks, elephant shrews, golden moles, and other animals.
By Sid Perkins