Newsvine - natural-history

Forget Extinct: The Brontosaurus Never Even Existed : NPR

Sabastian Palpatine — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:39:33 +0000

It may have something to do with all those Brontosaurus burgers everyone's favorite modern stone-age family ate, but when you think of a giant dinosaur with a tiny head and long, swooping tail, the Brontosaurus is probably what you're seeing in your mind. Well hold on: Scientifi …

Immanuel Kant ~ Born April 22, 1724

J. Lemert Whitmer — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:50:03 +0000

“Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. ” ~ Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason

African Fossil Foot Indicates Another Hominin Species Lived With Lucy

euterpe-1641499 — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:37:51 +0000

Now it seems that Lucy shared eastern Africa with another prehuman species, one that may have spent more time in trees than on the ground. A 3.4-million-year-old fossil foot found in Ethiopia appears to settle the long-disputed question of whether there was only a si …

A forest grows in Antarctica - an extensive forest may have flourished about 3 million years ago

Crackhead Awards — Thu, 9 Feb 2012 08:30:22 +0000

, scientists came to believe that the stark and frigid landscape we see today has existed for a very long time; the climatic message embedded in sea sediments is that once an ice sheet enveloped East Antarctica 15 million years a …

Shark tracking reveals impressive feats of navigation

distracted — Thu, 3 Mar 2011 15:40:24 +0000

Sharks don't just swim ranomly. A facinating read for anyone who likes sharks and other fish.

Ancient Britons drank out of skulls used as cups | Mail Online

Liselotte — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:14:16 +0000

They were already branded cannibals. Now it appears that early Britons also enjoyed drinking out of cups made from their victims' heads.

The sea, the Census and statistics

Paul van der Laan — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:23:21 +0000

Plenty more fish in the sea? But how can one tell? And what strange creatures remain to be discovered? The largest ever survey of marine life has just been concluded. Andrew R.

Early meat-eating dinosaur unearthed

WoofWoof79 — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:37:04 +0000

Pint-sized, two-legged runner dates back to the dawn of the dinos

10 great travel freebies around the world

replytoj001 — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:18:57 +0000

Discovering a discount or two on vacation is a surefire way to put a smile on your face. But tracking down a must-see destination that doesn't cost a dime, well, it doesn't get much more satisfying than that.

The Castle of Lavaux-Ste-Anne

sustenergy — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:28:54 +0000

One of the great castles in the Belgian province of Namur.

The Redox Revolution

Wheel — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:57:45 +0000

Redox proxies, such as the ratio of chromium isotopes in banded iron formations or the ratio of isotopes in sulfide particles trapped in diamonds, tell geologists indirectly whether the Earth' s atmosphere and oceans were reducing (inclined to give away electrons to other atoms …

Visting Riverbluff Cave in Springfield, Mo

rottlady — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:08:37 +0000

My Sister and I visited the Missouri Institute of Natural Science last week where they have artifacts found in the Riverbluff Cave nearby. The cave is about 830,000 years old (making it the oldest known fossil cave site in the US.

From Museum Basement, a 'New' Dinosaur

Matti Viikate — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:59:18 +0000

When Nicholas Longrich stumbled upon a fossilized fragment from a previously unknown dinosaur genus in the basement of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, he rejected the traditions that usually govern dinosaur nomenclature.

Would dew believe it: Stunning pictures of sleeping insects covered in water droplets

Raat ki Raani — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:15:35 +0000

Glistening in the early morning, these insects look like creatures from another planet as dew gathers on their sleeping bodies. Captured in extreme close-up, one moth appears to be totally encrusted in diamonds as it rests on a twig.

Why Darwin? -- Why Evolution Is True

greenpagan — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:26:58 +0000

When I was a student I was enjoined to reject the "Cleopatra's Nose" theory of history, so called after Pascal's remark in the Pensées : "Cleopatra's nose: if it had been shorter, everything in the world would have changed."[1] The intent was not to dismiss biography as a way …

The World Around Us : Natural History Encyclopedia published between 1790 and 1830

Angel_C — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:58:48 +0000

Known as 'Bertuch's Bilderbuch für Kinder', this rather enlightened 12-volume natural history / science / enthnographic encyclopedia for children was published in instalments between 1790 and 1830

Let's Give Three Bronx Cheers for Bumblebees!

GrrlScientist — Thu, 2 Apr 2009 13:37:37 +0000

An essay about the natural history of Bumblebees, Bombus species, which are economically important (but overlooked) pollinators as well as fascinating scientific subjects. Includes photographs.

Waters give lift to nature's Eyre force

Sarcophilus — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:37:12 +0000

Dead centre? It's activity central, now that the floodwaters have arrived from Queensland, bringing life and creating one of the marvels of the natural world as the desert blooms and the vast saltpan 700km north of Adelaide begins to fill.

China Finds "Largest Dinosaur Fossil Site" In World

greenpagan — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:56:48 +0000

Scientists in China say they have discovered the world's largest dinosaur fossil site in the eastern province of Shandong, state media reported on Tuesday.

Ancient amphibian had a flip-top head

greenpagan — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:07:58 +0000

A peculiar amphibian that was clad in bony armor prowled warm lakes 210 million years ago, catching fish and other tasty snacks with one of the most unusual bites in the history of life on Earth.

Worm census will gauge the health of English soil

Red Wolf — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:46:47 +0000

They are one of the common creatures in our gardens and, according to naturalist Charles Darwin, one of the most important on earth, yet little is still known about the earthworm.

A little bird told me...

Jesusa Bernardo — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:07:50 +0000

Outside the Natural History Museum's bird collection at Tring, a cat basks in the late afternoon sunshine.

Snake Doctor, Horse Killer, Mosquito Hawk? By MillicentPhillips

Angel_C — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 22:04:13 +0000

(An article written for the Ozarks Society Buffalo River Chapter by a good friend of mine.) Go to page 2.

Neanderthals and modern humans—a key to understanding human evolution (concluded)

greenpagan — Sat, 4 Oct 2008 21:13:10 +0000

[R]esearch into the nature of the relationship between Neanderthals and modern humans has implications for understanding the course of human evolution more generally.

Neanderthals and modern humans—a key to understanding human evolution

greenpagan — Sat, 4 Oct 2008 21:02:53 +0000

[N]umerous research projects over several decades have been intended to address the question of whether Neanderthals and modern humans were members of the same or different species.