Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 28, 2005

Invasive Creatures Attack Like Internet Viruses

Finally, something good may come of all those computer viruses. Bugs spread on the Internet can serve as a model for controlling invasive species, according to a new study. Scientists used network theory to predict how the spiny water flea, native to Russia, will spread through lakes in Canada. The...

Feb 28, 2005

Scientists Explore 'Lost City' of Strange Ocean Creatures

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A strange world of see-through shrimp, crabs and other life forms teems around a newly explored field of thermal vents near the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, scientists report. Towering white mineral chimneys mark the field, named the Lost City, a sharp contrast to the better-known black...

Feb 28, 2005

Big Dog Robot Now in Puppy Stage

The Defense Advanced Research Project Authority (DARPA) Learning Locomotion project seeks to create algorithms that help multi-legged platforms learn to walk in varied terrain. DARPA will be handing out a series of $600,000-$800,000 research grants to teach 6.6-pound, 10-inch Little Dogs to walk. During the 15-month first phase of the...

Feb 28, 2005

Killer Aquarium Shark Released Back to the Ocean

A killer great white shark was released back into the wild Thursday -- under supervision. Scientists have fitted the shark with an electronic data tag to monitor her movements for the next month or longer. The shark was accidentally caught by a halibut fisherman last September and was brought to...

Jan 31, 2005

Name that Monkey: Auction for Right to Name New Species

Newfound species have historically been named for royalty, patrons of science, and sometimes the explorers who find them. Now it's your turn. If you've got the money. An auction later this month will let anyone bid for the right to name a new species of monkey. The brown-and-orange primate (pictured...

Jan 31, 2005

Ship Noise Drowns Out Whale Talk, a Threat to Mating

WASHINGTON D.C. - Whale songs can travel thousands of miles, but an increasingly noisy ocean is drastically cutting down their ability to communicate, shows new research that suggests ever-increasing noise could impede the beasts' ability to navigate and find mates. Whales sing at a low frequency, at the very bottom...

Dec 31, 2004

Dinosaurs Mingled with Cousins of Ducks and Chickens

Evolutionary cousins of chickens and ducks roamed the Earth with dinosaurs more than 65 millions years ago, according to a new study that runs counter to a key assumption about when birds got their footing on the planet. The newly identified bird species, Vegavis iaai, lived during the Cretaceous period...

Dec 31, 2004

Monkeys Pay to See Female Monkey Bottoms

Would you pay to see a monkey's backside? I hope not. Monkeys will, and I guess that's okay, though it sounds awfully close to the sort of thing that lands guys in jail here in the human realm. A new study found that male monkeys will give up their juice...

Nov 30, 2006

Scientists Puzzled by Extreme Penguin Dives

When emperor penguins dive below the Antarctic sea ice in search of food, they can descend five times as deep as a human and can swim on a single breath for up to 20 minutes. Researchers are trying to find out how they manage these incredible feats to potentially help...

Nov 30, 2006

Baby Marine Reptile Buried by Volcano

A massive volcanic blast may have killed and preserved a baby marine reptile, whose skeleton, one of the most complete example of its kind ever found, was recovered from the frozen ground of Antarctica. Plesiosaurs, ancient marine reptiles with paddle-like fins, swam through the Southern Ocean approximately 70 million years...

Nov 30, 2006

Mammals Might Have Soared Before Birds

Mammals might have taken to the sky before birds, scientists announced today. A new order of mammals has been named based on a recently discovered fossil of a squirrel-sized Mesozoic-era animal [image] that lived at least 130 million years ago and was capable of gliding flight. The ancient mammal, Volaticotherium...

Nov 30, 2006

How a Zebrafish Regrows a Fin

If a zebrafish loses a chunk of its tail fin, not to worry, it'll grow the fin back within a week. How this fish along with other cold-blooded animals, such as lizards, newts and frogs, can replace complex body parts with the ease of magicians has eluded scientists. Now a...

Nov 30, 2006

Talking Fish: Wide Variety of Sounds Discovered

Increasingly scientists are discovering unusual mechanisms by which fish make and hear secret whispers, grunts and thumps to attract mates and ward off the enemy. In just one bizarre instance, seahorses create clicks by tossing their heads. They snap the rear edge of their skulls against their star-shaped bony crests....

Nov 30, 2006

Sea Slug Offers Clues to Human Brain Disorders

Beneath a slimy fa?ade, the sea slug is somewhat of a brainiac. At any given time within a single brain cell of this marine snail (Aplysia), more than 10,000 genes are hard at work, suggests a new study looking at aspects of the sea slug's genome. By probing the brain...

Oct 31, 2006

'Missing Link' of Elephant Family Unearthed

A 27-million-year-old fossil could be the “missing link” between modern elephants and their ancestors, scientists have concluded. Researchers led by Jeheskel Shoshani of the University of Amara in Eritrea recently discovered the lower part of a mandible in the northeast African country of Eritrea. The unearthed tooth had a structure...