Coffee crisis? 60% of wild species could go extinct, some within decades
Loss of genetic diversity could threaten global supply
Plants & Animals
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The contiguous United States just lost its last wild caribou
Canadian biologists capture animal for controversial conservation effort -
How hagfish launch slime missiles that swell 10,000 times in size
Drag forces in the water rapidly unfurl their slimy fibers, new study suggests -
Why Japan’s exit from international whaling treaty may actually benefit whales
Commercial whaling will replace a controversial research program, but the market for whale meat is declining -
Surprise: These termites are good for trees
The wood-munching insects boost soil moisture in rainforests and help seedlings survive -
The gluey tentacles of comb jellies may have revealed when nerve cells first evolved
Studies of jelly embryos suggest a single ancient origin of the nervous system from secretory cells -
Monogamy may have a telltale signature of gene activity
Animals that partner up share certain gene expression patterns -
Dog breeds really do have distinct personalities—and they’re rooted in DNA
Findings may have implications for humans as well -
Watch this sea star bounce to get around
Some sea stars can coordinate their thousands of “feet” to leap instead of crawl -
This worm’s lifestyle is the stuff of science fiction
Thousands form a “blob” to keep moist and survive conditions that would kill them as individuals -
This sharpshooter insect pees faster than a cheetah accelerates
Unique excretory system could help engineers design better printers and medical devices -
A lopsided face helps this eyeless cave fish navigate
Left-right differences linked to gene involved in facial disorders -
Once considered outlandish, the idea that plants help their relatives is taking root
Some plants appear to move leaves, roots to share resources with kin -
Leafcutter ant ‘compost piles’ produce potent greenhouse gases
On a per-square-meter basis, they emit as much nitrous oxide as a wastewater treatment plant -
Middle East fossils push back origin of key plant groups millions of years
Finds point to the dry tropics as cradle for plant evolution 250 million years ago -
This is the first known sea turtle—and it laid hard eggs
Fragmentary fossil provides insight into the species’s growth and development
