Fairy Circles
Mysterious “fairy circles” on African plains are caused by termites, which destroy patches of grass but help the surrounding grass thrive.
Reviving Extinct Species
Using frozen DNA, researchers have created early-stage embryos of an extinct frog.
Podcast for 5 April 2013
LESSONS FROM THE DEAD - Scientists attempt to bring back an extinct frog. Mummies showing signs of heart disease make researchers rethink assumptions about lifestyle and diet. The mysterious death zone within African "fairy circles" explained. Also: a miniature laboratory under the skin monitors blood chemistry.
Electric Flowers
Low-voltage electricity may help guide bees to the right flowers.
Bird Roundup
Cliff swallows are evolving rapidly in response to an urban environment.
Arctic Camels
Camels seem perfectly suited to life in the desert, but they may have evolved those traits in the high Arctic.
Podcast for 8 March 2013
INSECTS & ALCOHOL - Insects that arm their offspring with alcohol. Drinking may have a 10 million year history. And the importance of wild insects to the worldwide food supply. Also: prosthetic ears from a 3-D printer and seals that sleep with one eye open.
Podcast for 1 March 2013
SWEET SCIENCE - What tomatoes can tell us about cutting back on sugar and a diabetes cure for dogs. Also, behind the mechanics of beatboxing, the evolution of whales, and writing your way to a better relationship.
Ape Psychopathology – 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting Coverage
Chimpanzees in captivity sometimes suffer from simian versions of psychiatric disorders.
Dung Beetle Navigation
Dung beetles use the Milky Way to roll their dung balls in a straight line.
Sensitive Reptile Roundup
Some dinosaurs may have used feathers to show off, much like some modern birds.
Birdsong Bluster
Female songbirds sometimes have a hard time separating truly worthy male crooners from the fly-by-night wannabees.
Detachable Gecko Tails
Gecko tails fall off along pre-determined lines.
Stressed-out Scallops
Scientists can assess the health of marine ecosystems by recording the coughing sounds made by scallops.
Bird Passwords
An Australian bird thwarts nest invaders by requiring its young to sing a secret call to get fed.
Ice Melt & Ice Age
A meltdown of Arctic ice may have triggered the last deep freeze in the Northern Hemisphere.
Blind Mole Rats
The blind mole rat, like its distant cousin the naked mole rat, never gets cancer.
Coral SOS Signals
Seaweed-covered corals emit a chemical that entices goby fish to clean them.
Podcast for 16 November 2012
BIRDS, BUTTERFLIES & BEETLES - How radar helped solve a migration mystery, why malaria could be heading north, and how dung beetles cool themselves off. Also: a 21st century technology that's helping archaeologists crack an ancient code.
Butterfly Migration Radar
Radar data, along with highly coordinated observations, has solved a disappearing-butterfly mystery.
Podcast for 9 November 2012
SURVIVAL - Why female Komodo dragons die young, a whale that sounded like a person, and algae that flee their predators. Also: how the brain's insulation differs between us and chimpanzees, and why that insulation is so important to social development.
Komodo Dragon Housework
Housework may be killing female Komodo dragons at an early age.
Fleeing Phytoplankton
Scientists report that plant-like organisms called phytoplankton flee their predators just like animals do.