New Dinosaur Was Nut-Cracking "Parrot"June 17, 2009 – A new dinosaur with nut-cracking jaws found in the Gobi desert ate like a bird.
Volcano Aerial ViewsOctober 09, 2009 – Check out these aerial photos for a birds-eye-view of impressive volcanoes from around the world.
Animals of the GalápagosNovember 16, 2009 – See Galapágos animal pictures (including tortoises, sharks, and birds) in this photo gallery from National Geographic.
Your Hair Reveals Whether You're a Morning PersonAugust 24, 2010 – Early bird or late riser? The mysteries of your body clock may be unlocked by the hairs on your head, a new study says.
"Lost World" Found in Indonesia Is Trove of New SpeciesFebruary 07, 2006 – Deep in a South Pacific island jungle, explorers have uncovered an Eden thriving with unknown kangaroos, birds, bugs, and more, the scientists announced today.
South African wildlife – African penguinNovember 28, 2009 – Ah, penguins. You just can’t help but smile. These animals are found on Boulders Beach near Cape Town, where they come so close to the erected walkways that you could potentially reach out and grab one (if the mood took you and you were an idiot). The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is part of a […]
Bull-Size Rodent Discovered—Biggest YetJanuary 16, 2008 – The prehistoric 'rat' had huge teeth, a new study says, and the animal likely competed with saber-toothed cats and giant, flightless, meat-eating birds.
Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs DebateJuly 23, 2004 – Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. So go the lyrics penned by U.S. songwriter Cole Porter.
Revisiting FOXP2 and the origins of languageNovember 11, 2009 – This is an updated version of a feature I wrote on FOXP2 (the so-called “language gene” for New Scientist, now edited for 2009 to include breaking research.
The Next Big One—Earthquake TechnologyOctober 09, 2009 – Earthquake prediction has long remained a matter of myth, of birds or bunny rabbits sniffing out the danger. Perhaps no longer, thanks to the efforts of a Caltech professor.
South African wildlife – Martial eagleOctober 09, 2009 – This is the martial eagle, one of Africa’s largest eagles* and a truly formidable predator, even occassionally killing small antelope like duiker. This adult was a fair distance away but the presence of large nests gives away the location of trees where they might be found perching. * I say “one of” because books differ […]
In which I set up a collaboration between a biologist, a farmer and a chimeric chickenSeptember 11, 2010 – I get a lot of emails. Most can be casually filed away, but among the spam and fluff from PR agencies, there are occasionally some absolute gems. And so it was that on August 21st, one Paul Sanders saw fit to send me four photos of a chicken. Several months back, I wrote a piece […]
Hungry great tits hunt for hibernating batsSeptember 09, 2009 – In a Hungarian cave, great tits, ever the opportunists, have learned to exploit a rich and unusual source of food. They kill sleeping bats.
Australia's Lost GiantsOctober 01, 2010 – Seven-foot-tall kangaroos, rhino-size browsers, enormous flightless birds, and a predator that could kill them all: Such were the megafauna that once dominated Australia. Then humans arrived, and most of the giant animals vanished. Did the Ice Age finally catch up with them? Or did humans hunt megafauna to extinction?
A Fossil Emblem [Science Tattoo]July 18, 2010 – Maria, a paleontologist, writes, “Archaeopteryx, to me, represents a beautiful example of a transition fossil and of evolution in general, showing characters that both dinosaurs and birds share.” You can see the rest of the Science Tattoo Emporium here or in my book, Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed.