http://discovermagazine.com/rss/topic-feeds/living-worldDinosaurs, Evolution, Genetics, New Species, Primates, Strange Animals, and more.http://backend.userland.com/rssWed, 19 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMThttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/CIbAc42-9lk/02-study-overturns-belief-that-molars-mean-the-end-of-nursing-for-chimpsScientists overturn the long-held belief that young chimpanzees wean once their back teeth start coming in.Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMThttp://discovermagazine.com/2013/julyaug/02-study-overturns-belief-that-molars-mean-the-end-of-nursing-for-chimpshttp://discovermagazine.com/~/media/3BC7170D4F604A39B23F307FFD37B8B4.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/3BC7170D4F604A39B23F307FFD37B8B4.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/2013/julyaug/02-study-overturns-belief-that-molars-mean-the-end-of-nursing-for-chimpshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/jHIC1_uAQZM/by Madeline Bodin With thousands of newly-hatched 17-year cicadas blanketing the Eastern U.S., residents would be forgiven for not noticing a less conspicuous absence: birds. Bird surveys have repeatedly shown a mysterious trend of a population downtick in areas of cicada emergence. It's the exact opposite of what might be expected---crows, blue jays and cardinals are among the species affected, and they feed on insects. And it's fascinated ornithologist Walter Koenig for years. “Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:05:57 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=3148http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/files/2013/06/cicadas.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/files/2013/06/cicadas.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=3148http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/hkrkpAxK910/08-save-rhinos-by-selling-their-hornsAlthough rhinoceroses are endangered, legalizing the trade in rhino horns may be the best way to protect them from poachers.Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:00:00 GMThttp://discovermagazine.com/2013/julyaug/08-save-rhinos-by-selling-their-hornshttp://discovermagazine.com/~/media/7FEBDE18C9AF45CD9B4DABF81D12C7BF.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/7FEBDE18C9AF45CD9B4DABF81D12C7BF.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/2013/julyaug/08-save-rhinos-by-selling-their-hornshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/RW5m2Reboys/ We knew the cheetah was the world’s fastest land animal — but now we know it can run circles around the competition. Using a new, high-tech collar that provides an unprecedented amount of data, a team studying wild cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in Botswana found the big cats’ hunting successes were based on maneuverability and behavior rather than simply speed. According to their study, published today in Nature, the cheetah’s ability to accelerate and decelerate rapidly without losing its Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:08:41 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1575http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/Moving_cheetah_with_collar.jpg-1024x562.jpeghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/Moving_cheetah_with_collar.jpg-1024x562.jpeghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1575http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/FOZjIE8iAmo/Dolphins Make Naval History! Dolphins have uncovered a marvel of naval history: the 125-year-old Howell torpedo, the first torpedo that could be released into the ocean and follow a track to smash a target without leaving a wake. Only 50 were made between 1870 and 1889 by a Rhode Island company before the competition copied the design. There are two others of its kind known to exist, housed in naval museums in Washington and Rhode Island. Now dolphins working for the Navy have turned up a tMon, 10 Jun 2013 19:28:13 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/visualscience/?p=3641http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/visualscience/files/2013/06/Untitled-artwork-2013-06-03-09.25.13-240-AM-1024x768.pnghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/visualscience/files/2013/06/Untitled-artwork-2013-06-03-09.25.13-240-AM-1024x768.pnghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/visualscience/?p=3641http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/51n9Fz_wgXA/By Kenneth Miller The border guards, wary of advancing rebels, fired their guns in the air as three motorized skiffs approached along the Sangha River in the late March night. But the boats’ occupants were unarmed foreigners, fleeing a bloody insurrection that had gripped the Central African Republic (CAR). Among the refugees was elephant researcher Andrea Turkalo, carrying $25,000 in cash and six hard drives—packed with more than 20 years of data—which she’d grabbed before fleeing her Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:55:39 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=3126http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/files/2013/06/elephants1-1024x783.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/files/2013/06/elephants1-1024x783.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=3126http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/4Jtfet3JZYg/up-close-with-the-oceans-underwater-crittersFri, 07 Jun 2013 21:00:00 GMThttp://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2013/june/up-close-with-the-oceans-underwater-crittershttp://discovermagazine.com/~/media/C0A55C4B4C5D44DD8FB629DF400065C5.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/C0A55C4B4C5D44DD8FB629DF400065C5.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2013/june/up-close-with-the-oceans-underwater-crittershttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/XcbqU4cIJCU/ The fossil of an ancient primate found in China, Archicebus achilles, is the most well-preserved primate skeleton of its kind and one of the oldest yet discovered. It should fill in some much-needed blanks on the primate family tree and provide insight about our Eocene ancestors. A farmer uncovered the fossil in a lakebed in China's east-central Hubei Province a decade ago. Researchers used a synchrotron, a source of extremely high-powered X-rays, to visualize the near-complete skeleton wThu, 06 Jun 2013 20:53:44 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1506http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/artists_reconstruction-of-early-primate.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/artists_reconstruction-of-early-primate.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1506http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/7ZjrrzLSdZw/ Things are awkward in the avian locker room. While waterfowl like ducks can proudly strut their stuff, the rooster—that emblem of virility—probably keeps a towel wrapped firmly around his waist. Unlike the rooster’s well-endowed aquatic counterparts, he has a ridiculously small penis. Given the chicken’s agricultural importance, scientists long knew that, like 97% of bird species, roosters didn’t have a significant penis—at least, not one large enough to deliver semen deep inside a female’sThu, 06 Jun 2013 16:01:28 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1491http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/shutterstock_109881317.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/shutterstock_109881317.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1491http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/tAl-jYDToIM/By Virginia Gewin Chuck Bonham, director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is no stranger to potentially controversial species restoration plans: His agency will soon poison non-native fish in an effort to re-establish the Paiute cutthroat trout to its historic range. Still, the practicalities of efforts to revive extinct species raised mixed emotions among Bonham and participants at the "De-Extinction: Ethics, Law and Politics" conference held at the Stanford Law AudiWed, 05 Jun 2013 14:39:47 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=3111http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/files/2013/06/passenger-pigeon-1024x682.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/files/2013/06/passenger-pigeon-1024x682.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=3111http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/ZIsvTqMTg7I/ Paleontologists digging in northeastern Wyoming have uncovered fossilized remains of three triceratops---possibly the most complete specimens of the dinosaurs yet found. The triceratops bones were initially discovered by a rancher who owns the land in Newcastle, Wyo., just west of Mt. Rushmore. What is grassland today would have looked more like a subtropical flatland when the dinosaurs called it home during the Cretaceous period. So far the dig has uncovered bones from three triceratops-Tue, 04 Jun 2013 16:24:55 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1444http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/ZW2L4425.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/ZW2L4425.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1444http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/FmqBfqClW_I/ Researchers were wrong about the Hula painted frog — twice. The frog, once classified as extinct, has survived significant habitat destruction, and new analysis has revealed it is actually a living fossil more closely related to extinct animals of the Oligocene-Pleistocene eras than to the modern genus in which it had been placed. According to an article published today in Nature Communications, Israel’s Hula painted frog was declared extinct in 1996, after not having been observed in thTue, 04 Jun 2013 15:00:01 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1440http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/D_nigriventer.jpg-1024x679.jpeghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/D_nigriventer.jpg-1024x679.jpeghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1440http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/QYytYAhYVF0/ Is it a coincidence that the word vole is an anagram of love? Probably so, but since prairie voles mate for life, they have since been designated as the unofficial species used to study monogamy in lab animals. And a new study finds that their rare partnerships are cemented by chemical changes on their genes, called epigenetic changes, that result from their sexual encounters. When a prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) finds a mate, the two form a strong bond. Not only do they stay togethMon, 03 Jun 2013 21:19:09 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1425http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/voles-in-love-1024x680.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/files/2013/06/voles-in-love-1024x680.jpghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/?p=1425http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/Xn5XQ0ZSlU4/life-under-the-iceSat, 01 Jun 2013 04:30:00 GMThttp://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2013/june/life-under-the-icehttp://discovermagazine.com/~/media/F8818C3AA7664B3393BB0E2F46C6C0DC.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/F8818C3AA7664B3393BB0E2F46C6C0DC.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2013/june/life-under-the-icehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/FMjwN5hvk50/how-mushrooms-could-save-the-worldSat, 01 Jun 2013 04:00:00 GMThttp://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2013/june/how-mushrooms-could-save-the-worldhttp://discovermagazine.com/~/media/369B59CD17134D0C85FDDED402659CA1.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/369B59CD17134D0C85FDDED402659CA1.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2013/june/how-mushrooms-could-save-the-worldhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/6Zs0FXaX2V0/13-mushrooms-clean-up-oil-spills-nuclear-meltdowns-and-human-healthCrusading mycologist Paul Stamets says fungi can clean up everything from oil spills to nuclear meltdowns.Fri, 31 May 2013 10:00:00 GMThttp://discovermagazine.com/2013/julyaug/13-mushrooms-clean-up-oil-spills-nuclear-meltdowns-and-human-healthhttp://discovermagazine.com/~/media/369B59CD17134D0C85FDDED402659CA1.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/369B59CD17134D0C85FDDED402659CA1.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/2013/julyaug/13-mushrooms-clean-up-oil-spills-nuclear-meltdowns-and-human-healthhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/dKJ3oK64ehE/15-first-life-found-in-ancient-lake-miles-below-antarcticaA team drills thousands of feet into the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to reach a lake buried for millennia.Fri, 31 May 2013 10:00:00 GMThttp://discovermagazine.com/2013/julyaug/15-first-life-found-in-ancient-lake-miles-below-antarcticahttp://discovermagazine.com/~/media/8A721FB7ECEC48B68C384FFA94892CE8.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/8A721FB7ECEC48B68C384FFA94892CE8.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/2013/julyaug/15-first-life-found-in-ancient-lake-miles-below-antarcticahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/EIOu_oAgR4k/15-struggling-to-save-sharks-from-extinctionFor years, sharks have been hunted for their valuable fins, but now most of these vital ocean predators have vanished from the deep.Thu, 30 May 2013 00:00:00 GMThttp://discovermagazine.com/2013/june/15-struggling-to-save-sharks-from-extinctionhttp://discovermagazine.com/~/media/BD9E6B87601F42FEA5C4CF51F5B932CD.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/BD9E6B87601F42FEA5C4CF51F5B932CD.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/2013/june/15-struggling-to-save-sharks-from-extinctionhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/UHE78amPBOo/In our increasingly globalized world, it's not just commodities that get shipped around---ocean critters all too often tag along. Now scientists have developed a model to predict which ports and shipping routes are most at risk for invasions by non-native species. Researchers from the University of Oldenberg in Germany, led by Bernd Blasius, used information from three million ship trips between 2007 and 2008 to study 1,400 ports and identify those most likely to be receptive to an invasionTue, 28 May 2013 18:37:20 GMThttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/visualscience/?p=3609http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/visualscience/files/2013/05/Port-to-Port-768x1024.pnghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/visualscience/files/2013/05/Port-to-Port-768x1024.pnghttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/visualscience/?p=3609http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DiscoverLivingWorld/~3/JkzbQmkWvCc/07-carp-use-internal-compasses-to-detect-magnetic-fieldThe fish detect magnetic fields and use them to orient themselves along a North-South axis.Thu, 16 May 2013 21:30:00 GMThttp://discovermagazine.com/2013/june/07-carp-use-internal-compasses-to-detect-magnetic-fieldhttp://discovermagazine.com/~/media/29543129B05B44409C146A9404A8FD47.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/29543129B05B44409C146A9404A8FD47.jpg?mw=500http://discovermagazine.com/2013/june/07-carp-use-internal-compasses-to-detect-magnetic-field