Nature News Articles Archive Page 10 from Tue 18 Oct 2011 to Tue 08 Nov 2011

A whale of a time

Posted Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:22:00 GMT by Dave Armstrong

The whale itself is an incredible find, a new species, to be named after its origins as Aegyptocetus tarfa. Both Philip Gingerich of University of Michigan and Giovanni Bianucci of Universita di Pisa believe that 40 million years ago, this amazing link was hauling itself in and out of the sea at a time when these mammals were still semi-aquatic.

A whale of a time

Muriqui Mothers - a stabilising influence

Posted Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:25:00 GMT by Dave Collier

Anthropological and genetic studies have shown that older female muriqui monkeys play an important role in their social structure.

Muriqui Mothers - a stabilising influence

Early South American Mammal

Posted Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:42:00 GMT by Dave Armstrong

Guillermo Rougier of the University of Louisville, Kentucky report two very significant Dryolestoid fossil skulls from the Cretaceous. Rougier, Apesteguia, and Gaetano publish the paper in Nature as an Argentinian/US collaboration.

Early South American Mammal

For the Hagfish ugly rules

Posted Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:27:50 GMT by Dave Armstrong

Perhaps the ugliest fish in the world, the marine hagfish. For years, scientists theorised about how it might absorb nutrients while it was slowly scavenging the ocean floors. Video has now been taken to convict it of the hunting and killing of cute little fish.

For the Hagfish ugly rules

For baboons it pays to be sociable

Posted Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:11:00 GMT by Dave Armstrong

Chacma baboons of Namibia, exist in small social stable groups on cliff top nesting sites in Tsaobis Leopard Park and so, unlike insects, schooling fish or other sociable creatures, it may not have organised instincts to coordinate its group movement.

For baboons it pays to be sociable

Born to roar - but lions are just big cry babies says new study

Posted Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:01:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

A lion's terrifying roar might not mean all we thing it does according to new research which compares the great cat's blood curdling call to the sound of a crying baby.

Born to roar - but lions are just big cry babies says new study

Invasive coconut-smelling ants reach Hawaii

Posted Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:44:00 GMT by Adrian Bishop

A super colony of invasive odorous house ants has been established in Hawaii, the first confirmed infestation outside mainland USA. The odorous house ants (Tapinoma sessile) that emit a coconut odour when crushed have travelled to Maui, 2,500-miles from the United States mainland.

Invasive coconut-smelling ants reach Hawaii

Fungi's amazing secrets revealed

Posted Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:47:00 GMT by James Mathews

Fungi is absolutely everywhere and we have all seen it in places we would rather not, whether it be growing on food that is going off through to in damp areas of the cellar. The reason why fungi is everywhere is due to just how versatile it is as they can choose their lifestyle based on external conditions.

Fungi's amazing secrets revealed

The hunting leech

Posted Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:09:00 GMT by Ines Morales

New discoveries about leeches' hunting methods. If you're an urban dweller like me, you have probably never seen a leech up close and personal. If you're a dedicated movie fan, you have probably seen them often in old adventure movies, almost invariably latched on to the back of a screaming damsel in distress or a harried hero as he or she emerges from a dismal swamp in some far off country.

The hunting leech

Zombie Worms Live

Posted Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:40:00 GMT by Dave Armstrong

If you can keep out of sight, don't mind darkness and leave no trace when you're dead, you too could be a zombie worm. After a few million years, we now have a way to detect the presence of these intriguing animals on fossil whales - otherwise known as bone worms.

Zombie Worms Live

Quick mapping of underwater volcano

Posted Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:44:00 GMT by Adrian Bishop

Spanish scientists have taken just two weeks to map an underwater volcano in the Canary Islands in high resolution and continue to monitor its effects.

Quick mapping of underwater volcano

Wild Carpathia - Filming the Last Untouched European Wilderness

Posted Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:41:00 GMT by Julian Jackson

Documentary featuring Prince of Wales premieres on Travel Channel. Wild Carpathia is a stunning documentary about a little-known part of Europe. Romania has a huge virtually-untouched area of mountains almost the size of Britain.

Wild Carpathia - Filming the Last Untouched European Wilderness

The Coral Triangle in Print

Posted Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:21:00 GMT by Dave Collier

A book has been commissioned by the WWF to highlight the importance of the Coral Triangle. Covering approximately 6 million square kilometres of land and sea, the Coral Triangle is one of the world's most important natural habitats. It includes several nations including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines and provides sustenance for over 120 million people.

The Coral Triangle in Print

A low oxygen switch may save crops from flooding

Posted Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:27:01 GMT by Dave Collier

Researchers have been investigating the mechanisms that allow some rice varieties to survive flooding. They believe that this will result in flood resistant crops.

A low oxygen switch may save crops from flooding

Bees Please

Posted Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:49:01 GMT by Dave Armstrong

Personally speaking, a new species always delights the soul and two new stingless bees can't get up anyone's nose. David Roubik of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute thinks that changing sea levels brought a 'new' bee to western Panama before Coiba and Rancheria were separated from the mainland, presumably after an Ice Age.

Bees Please

Coral Diversified

Posted Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:09:00 GMT by Dave Armstrong

As corals go, Seriatopora hystrix, the bird's nest coral, is one of the attractive stony (scleractinian) corals that people love to see on the reef. The fact that it has different varieties (is 'genetically partitioned') on the northern Barrier Reef, means that for the first time, we can study the mechanisms of the natural selection of their symbiont algae and the corals themselves.

Coral Diversified

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