Simple sponges provide clues to origin of nervous system
The possible origins of the nervous system have been found in the simple sponge, an animal with no nervous system of its own. Sponges carry the genetic components of synapses, which may have been...
View ArticleRestoring predator numbers by culling their prey
Helping out a threatened predator by culling their prey seems like a really stupid idea. But Scandinavian scientists have found that it might be the best strategy for helping some of our ailing fish...
View ArticleIcebergs are hotspots for life
Icebergs are hotspots for Antarctic life. The water around them teems with nutrients, plankton and animals – a mobile community dragged along by the drifting ice. Together, they enrich over a third of...
View ArticleBleached corals recover in the wake of hurricanes
Hurricanes can physically cool coral reefs but they can also save them, by cooling the surrounding ocean and reversing the effects of bleaching. In 2005, corals in the large reef off the coast of...
View ArticleMoray eels attack ‘Alien-style’ with second pair of jaws
In the Alien movies, the eponymous monster killed shipmates and marines with a fearsome set of double jaws. That may have been science fiction but science fact isn’t too far off. In our planet’s...
View ArticleGenetic study puts damper on gray whales’ comeback
The eastern Pacific gray whale has bounced back from the brink of extinction to a healthy population of 22,000 individuals. But by measuring the genetic diversity of these whales, scientists have...
View ArticleTrout with salmon parents could help to revive endangered fish species
Japanese researchers have developed a way of using one species of fish as a surrogate parent for an endangered one by transplanting the sexual equivalent of stem cells. If enough of these cells can be...
View ArticleFake cleaner fish dons multiple disguises
Nature is rife with charlatans. Hundreds of animals have evolved to look like other species in order to fool predators into thinking they’re more of a threat, or to sneak up on unsuspecting prey. In...
View ArticleWhales evolved from small aquatic hoofed ancestors
Travel back in time to about 50 million years ago and you might catch a glimpse of a small, unassuming animal walking on slender legs tipped with hooves, by the rivers of southern Asia. It feeds on...
View ArticleCross-breeding restores sight to blind cavefish
In the caves of Mexico lives a fish which proves that a million years of evolution can be undone with a bit of clever breeding. The blind cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus) is a sightless version of a...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....