Science articles for knowledge seekers.
Though present in more than 6,000 living species of fish, the adipose fin, a small appendage that lies between the dorsal fin and tail, has no clear function and is thought to be vestigial. However, a new study analyzing their READ MORE
Some 56 million years ago, a massive pulse of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere sent global temperatures soaring. In the oceans, carbonate sediments dissolved, some organisms went extinct and others evolved. Scientists have long suspected that ocean acidification caused the READ MORE
Once upon a time, in a sea far far away, called Adriatic Sea, there were many cuttlefish. These delicate creatures spent their short life in the deep but before dying, they began a journey to a special place: the lagoon. This sheltered habitat READ MORE
In “Ain’t no Mountain High Enough,” Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell sing “If you ever need a helping hand, I’ll be there on the double, just as fast as I can”, and later, “all winter’s cold can’t stop me, baby.” It’s a beautiful duet. READ MORE
As if Hawaii didn’t already have enough to boast about – beautiful beaches, luscious green mountains, and lava – it now also wears the crown for the highest recorded levels of endemic coral reef fishes in the world. In Hawaii, “endemic” fishes, READ MORE
Big animals make lots of dung. And where there’s dung, there’s dung beetles. Researchers counted fossilized dung beetles to figure out the quantity of megafauna–animals weighing 97 pounds or more–at 98 sites from four time periods in Great Britain. The READ MORE
What comes to mind when you think of crocodiles? You might think of ancient reptiles, or “living fossils,” that have been around, little changed, since the time of dinosaurs. It is true that crocodile-like species (Pseudosuchia) have been around since READ MORE
Off the west coast of Peru, seabirds deposit thick layers of guano that accumulates on the ground because of the lack of rain. Guano has historically played a key role in agriculture worldwide because it is rich in plant nutrients such as nitrogen READ MORE
Biological classification arranges taxa according to their degree of relationship; several species may be grouped in a genus, several genera may be grouped in a family, etc. Higher-level systematics in amphibians is relatively stable and taxonomic novelties above the species level are rare. Discovering READ MORE
For many years, morphology-based classification has served us so well, and still forms a basis of what we are viewing the biological world today. Scientists have described morphological similarities and differences of animals and plants for centuries. Their insights into morphological READ MORE
