Few animals have a worse reputation than the humble cockroach, but almost everything we think we know about them is an urban myth.

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Submitted on September 27th 2016 by gladsdotter with 2 comments

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday proposed listing the rusty patched bumble bee, a prized but vanishing pollinator once widely found in the upper Midwest and Northeastern United States, for federal protection as an endangered species. One of several wild bee species seen declining over the past two decades, the rusty patched bumble bee is the first in the continental United States formally proposed for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

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Submitted on September 23rd 2016 by geoleo

Untouched bottles of brandy are among the haul from the former Astley Arms - which is set to be the site of a 13-storey skyscraper

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Submitted on September 26th 2016 by b1ackbird

The internet is awash with viral videos of bizarre, floating things that “baffle scientists. Not these scientists.

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Submitted on September 26th 2016 by gladsdotter

Despite evolving separately for 400 million years, some sharks and tuna share genetic traits linked to higher metabolism and quick swimming behaviour. Tuna fish and the lamnid group of sharks, which includes great white sharks, share some similar traits that help make them super predators, including their style of swimming and their ability to stay warm.

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Submitted on September 24th 2016 by hxxp

Don't panic, but researchers have discovered that oxygen is (very) slowly draining out of Earth's atmosphere, and right now, they're not sure why. By analysing air bubbles trapped inside ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, a team from Princeton University has found oxygen levels have dropped by 0.7 percent in the last 800,000 years, and figuring out why could be crucial to predicting our planet's future.

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Submitted on September 25th 2016 by ilyas with 2 comments

Two skeletons have been discovered in a London graveyard which could change our view of the history of Europe and Asia. Analysis of the bones, found in a Roman burial place in Southwark, discovered that they dated to between the 2nd and 4th Century AD and were probably ethnically Chinese. Dr Rebecca Redfern, curator of human osteology at the Museum of London, told BBC Radio 4's The World at One the find was...

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Submitted on September 26th 2016 by funhonestdude

Tropical dry forests are among the most threatened habitats on the planet, yet remain overlooked by scientists and conservationists, warn researchers.

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Submitted on September 24th 2016 by gladsdotter

Scientists have found preserved proteins in 3.8-million-year-old ostrich eggshells from Africa. The researchers say these biological building blocks - bound into the eggshell - could provide genetic information up to 50 times older than any DNA. These proteins, the team said, had been protected because they had been "entrapped" in surface minerals.

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Submitted on September 27th 2016 by TentativePrince

The powerful storm forced tens of thousands to evacuate their homes. At least four people in Taiwan and one person in mainland China were killed.

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Submitted on September 28th 2016 by jcscher

Modern cities are designed for cars. But the city of Barcelona is testing out an urban design trick that can give cities back to pedestrians.

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Submitted on September 27th 2016 by rti9

A new look at the Mississippi’s enormous watershed reveals the true size and strength of the world’s fourth longest river.

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Submitted on September 23rd 2016 by gladsdotter with 2 comments

Eliminating meat from our diets would bring a bounty of benefits to both our own health and the planet’s – but it could also harm millions of people. Rachel Nuwer investigates.

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Submitted on September 28th 2016 by sashinator

Each day, an estimated 350,000 babies are born worldwide, outnumbering the number deaths, and adding to a growing population. And while it may not be an obvious link, this overpopulation could be increasing the pace of climate change. Dr Travis Rieder, a moral philosophy professor and bioethicist at Johns Hopkins University, explains why the key to stopping climate change is reducing the number of babies born each year.

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Submitted on September 25th 2016 by wetwilly87 with 1 comments

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Submitted on September 25th 2016 by rti9

A small town in Ontario, Canada, has prompted fresh scrutiny of the bottled-water industry after its attempt secure a long-term water supply through the purchase of a well was outbid by the food and drinks multinational Nestlé. When authorities in Centre Wellington, population of about 30,000, learned that Nestlé had put a bid on a spring water well in their region, they scrambled over the summer to counter with a competing bid. The goal was to safeguard a water supply for the township’s fast-growing population...

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Submitted on September 24th 2016 by Nelson

Australia is not quite where you think it is. The continent has shifted by 4.9 feet since the last adjustment was made to GPS coordinates in 1994, reports the New York Times. All of the Earth’s continents float on tectonic plates, which glide slowly over a plastic-like layer of the upper mantle. And the plate that Australia sits on has been moving relatively fast, about 2.7 inches a year (northward and with a slight clockwise rotation). In contrast, the North American plate has been moving roughly one inch a year, though the Pacific plate moves three to four inches a year.

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Submitted on September 24th 2016 by drunkenninja with 1 comments and with 1 Related Links:

1. Australia Is Not as Down Under as Everyone Thinks It Is Added by gladsdotter on September 24th 2016.

Indonesian rescuers on Wednesday evacuated hundreds of tourists from a volcano that erupted a day earlier and were searching for as many as 50 climbers.

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Submitted on September 28th 2016 by jcscher

"Plant: Exploring the Botanical World" is a glorious visual compendium of plants and flowers that spans thousands of years.

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Submitted on September 23rd 2016 by gladsdotter with 1 Related Links:

1. The timeless pleasure of looking at plants Added by gladsdotter on September 25th 2016.

The karez channels that bring water from the mountains to the farmers of Turpan are under threat, a victim of global warming, oil drillers and industrial-scale agriculture.

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Submitted on September 26th 2016 by gladsdotter