The Plant Kingdom's Most Unusual Talents [Slide Show]

Plants seem so passive. Tree branches bow to the wind, losing their leaves. Lettuce just sits there as snails help themselves to a free salad bar. And grass lets everyone walk all over it.

How Can We Cope with the Dirty Water from Fracking?

The nation's oil and gas wells produce at least nine billion liters of contaminated water per day, according to an Argonne National Laboratory report. And that is an underestimate of the amount of brine, fracking fluid and other contaminated water that flows back up a well along with the natural gas or oil, because it is based on incomplete data from state governments gathered in 2007.

Cuttlefish Use Ancient Ink Formula

Tens of millions of years ago, cephalopods were hiding from their enemies in clouds of ink. And it turns out that cuttlefish today produce ink that’s almost identical.

Skywatchers Prepare for 'Transit of Venus'
On June 5 and 6, astronomers across the world will get a fleeting glimpse of Venus as it passes directly between Earth and the Sun. This 'Transit of Venus' won't occur again until the year 2117. (25/05/2012)

How Do Octopuses Navigate?

Getting around is complicated business. Every year, animals traverse miles of sky and sea (and land), chasing warmth or food or mates as the planet rotates and the seasons change. And with such precision! Some animals rely on visual landmarks, others on subtle changes in magnetic fields, and yet others match their internal clocks with the movement of the sun and stars across the sky.

California Condor Populations Hit Important Milestone, but Still Face Threats

The population of endangered California condors ( Gymnogyps californianus ) hit an important milestone last month, reaching a high of 405 birds quite an achievement for a species that was down to its last 22 individuals just 25 years ago.

California condors North America’s largest birds, with a wingspan of up to 2.8 meters were almost wiped out by poaching, DDT and lead poisoning before all of the remaining birds at the time were brought in from the wild in 1987. Captive breeding programs have increased the number of condors dramatically since then, and according to the April 30 census cited by The Oregonian , there are now 226 California condors living in the wild in California, Arizona and nearby Baja, Mexico. An additional 179 birds live in zoos and breeding centers. The population has increased more than 20 percent in the last two and a half years alone.

Once-Rare Butterfly Species Now Thrives Thanks to Climate Change

The once rare brown argus butterfly is on the move , expanding its range and numbers in the U.K. and it’s all thanks to climate change.

Thus far, the world’s climate has warmed roughly 0.8 degree Celsius over the course of the last century or so, thanks to a rise in greenhouse gas concentrations now approaching 400 parts-per-million. With that amount of warming, biologists expect some species ranges to expand and others to contract but, thus far, many wily animals and plants have been confounding scientists’ expectations. In some cases, species that favor a warmer climate have actually retreated (think: lizards or amphibians). Or others have expanded even faster than the climate has warmed (think: tree species moving up a mountain slope).

Why America's Love Affair with Cars Is No Accident

Drivers may feel spooked by seeing the first self-driving cars appear in coming years. But the new era could prove far less disruptive and bloody than the automobile's 20th-century battle to push pedestrians off U.S. streets.

Dollars and Scents: The Chemistry of a Delicious Tomato

The typical supermarket tomato: ripe red, firm to the touch, free of blemishes--and of flavor. Since at least the 1970s, U.S. consumers have lamented the beautiful but bland fruits that farmers breed not for taste, but rather for high yield and durability during shipping. Recently, organic farmers and foodies have championed the superior flavors of heirloom tomatoes --older varieties that come in an assortment of shapes, sizes and colors. In a new study, researchers took a close look at the chemical composition of both standard tomatoes and hundreds of different heirloom varieties, which they also fed to 170 volunteers in a taste test. Their new findings confirm what scientists have learned in recent years: a tomato's flavor depends not only on the balance of sugars and acids within the fruit, but also on subtle aromatic compounds--many of which are lacking in the modern supermarket tomato. In the future the researchers hope to work with seed companies and farmers to breed tomatoes that produce large quantities of flavorful fruits packed with aromatic compounds--a healthier solution than engineering super-sugary tomatoes. [More] (24/05/2012)