Smithsonian.com

Even marine biology is sounding sexy these days. “This is virgin geography,” a member of the International Polar Foundation told reporters when a so-called “lost world” of new species was discovered in the mushy remains of a melted antarctic ice shelf. Like any newly discovered virgin, the geography was raided.

More than 50 scientists from 14 countries spent 10 weeks collecting about 1,000 species in the first comprehensive ecological survey of the seabed underneath the Larsen A and Larsen B ice shelves, which disintegrated in 1995 and 2002, respectively. Among this cache of strange creatures is this really cool “psychedelic octopus.” (more…)

As full disclosure, I have thrice attended Star Trek conventions. Hence, I am well-versed in the kind of scientificating mumbo jumbo that is the basis of sci-fi.

So when the European Space Agency claimed to solve a 20-year-riddle involving stars that aren’t supposed to have the kinds of magnetic fields that they apparently have, I was skeptical.  (more…)

A pack of Senegalese chimps — but only the females and infants — sometimes snap off branches, chew the ends into a point, and stab holes in trees where bush babies sleep, in the hopes of skewering the morsel prey. The journal Current Biology reports 22 spear bouts in the last two years. Although they’re not good at it; just one of those 22 spearings resulted in a bush baby death. (more…)

IKEA may be cheap, but it’s not free. Or, at least, its bags won’t continue to be free to U.S. consumers. In an effort to reduce landfill, IKEA will charge $.05 per disposable plastic bag in all U.S. stores after March 15, 2007. Money from bag sales will be donated to American Forests, a non-profit conservation group.

The Swedish retail giant forecasts that their bag consumption will drop from 70 million to 35 million per year by 2008. IKEA is simultaneously decreasing the price of their reusable blue-and-yellow totes to $.59 (from $.99). IKEA’s efforts do not come without solid research: their U.K. stores dropped bag consumption by 95 percent after the chain began charging for them.  (more…)

Researchers have found a new way to classify nature: DNA barcodes. The barcodes, like those seen in the supermarket, record the unique genetics of a species. Scientists have barcoded the DNA of nearly 95 percent of North American birds, and in the process have discovered new species previously undistinguishable by sight alone.  (more…)