Though birds, trees, and orchids call the tropical rain forest home, they are immensely outnumbered by tiny arthropods, such as insects, spiders and millipedes. In the past, scientists had trouble estimating how many arthropods exist in the vastness of a forest. But thanks to new methods of sampling and analysis, researchers now think that over…
Epigenetics — how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches called epi-marks — appears to be critical in determining sexuality, U.S. researchers say. Study co-author Sergey Gavrilets of the Working Group on Intragenomic Conflict at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis and a professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and colleagues said the…
For the first time in history, a study shows that the number of years of healthy living lost because of eating too much is higher than the number of years lost by people who do not eat enough food, according to NewScientist. Over 500 scientists in 50 countries contributed to The Global Burden of Disease…
AP poll shows that events like superstorm Sandy are succeeding with climate sceptics where scientists have been failing
With media figureheads like Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore representing the right and left, it’s no wonder conservatives and liberals seem worlds apart. But the two sides of the political spectrum are closer together than they believe, a new study reveals. Everyone, including political moderates, overestimates the gap between liberal and conservative morals, according to…
The fossils of various frondlike and sacklike organisms that supposedly lived at the bottom of ancient oceans may actually represent some of the earliest organisms to dwell on land. That’s the controversial interpretation of a new study, which suggests that rocks long thought to have been formed from sediments deposited on ancient seafloors may actually…
A new species of small nocturnal primate has been discovered by scientists in Borneo. The primate is a type of slow loris, a small cute-looking animal that is more closely related to bushbabies and lemurs than to monkeys or apes. Uniquely among primates, they have a toxic bite, belying their appearance. Two previously known subspecies of slow…
The first direct signs of cheesemaking now seen in potsherds from Poland may help reveal how animal milk dramatically shaped the genetics of Europe, scientists reported. Although cheese may just seem to be a topping on pizza or a companion to wine, it may have shaped the evolution of Europeans, researchers say. Cheese evolved after…
How does evolution innovate? We exist because our ancestors have had the ability to adapt successfully to changes in their environment; however, merely examining present-day organisms can limit our understanding of the actual evolutionary processes because the crucial events have been masked by the passage of aeons — what we need is a time machine….
The death rate of many of the biggest and oldest trees around the world is increasing rapidly, scientists report in a new study published in the journal Science. They warned that research to understand and stem the loss of the trees is urgently needed. The research team found that big, old trees are dying at…