Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: species

species stories: 27 news summaries

1 - 20 of 27 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

 Rich May 
 Evolve Into 
 Own Species 

Wealthy winning huge edge with longer life, access to biotechnology

Oct 26, 09 4:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - The super wealthy will have such access to high levels of health care, biotechnology and robotics that they could develop into their own species of being, argues a Silicon Valley  futurist. The rich will be able to grow their own organs and manipulate genetics for superior abilities and freedom from... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health care • biotechnology • organs • species • robotics • rich • wealthy • Paul Scoffo

 Giant Rat 
 Found in 
 'Lost Volcano' 

Fanged toads, mini 'Ewoks' among species discovered in New Guinea jungle

Sep 7, 09 11:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new species of giant rat with no fear of humans has been discovered in a volcanic crater deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. It's the same kind of rat "you find in city sewers"—except it's 32 inches long, said a scientist traveling with a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
BBC • Papua New Guinea • rats • scientists • species • volcano • exotic animals • BBC Films • international • scientific expedition • Bosavi

(Newser) - A rare, giant Philippine pitcher plant that likely dines on rats and mice has been named after British naturalist Sir David Attenborough, the Times of London reports. The Nepenthes attenboroughii, which could number only a few hundred specimens, was discovered in 2007. Attenborough says he’s delighted to lend... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Philippines • species • rodents • Sir David Attenborough • pitcher plant • Nepenthes attenboroughii • naturalist • naming

(Newser) - A nearly perfectly preserved 37,000-year-old baby mammoth is giving up tantalizing secrets about her species, scientists report. The creature, dubbed Lyuba by researchers, still sports clumps of hair and eyelashes, according to the Telegraph. Scientists have been able to examine stomach contents and the mineral makeup of the bones... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Siberia • extinction • species • extinct • woolly mammoth • prehistoric • prehistoric mammals • Mammoth • ice age

 Scientists Discover Forest 
 by Searching Google Earth 

Scientists find hundreds of new species in uncharted African forest

Dec 22, 08 10:44 AM CST
(Newser) - British scientists have stumbled upon an unexplored forest in northern Mozambique—without taking a step. A conservationist for the Royal Botanic Gardens was scanning for a new project site on Google Earth when he came across the untouched area known as Mount Mabu, and an expedition later discovered hundreds of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Google Earth • Mozambique • species • exploring • forests

 Name This Species—for a Fee 

Purdue auctions rights on newly discovered bats, turtles to raise research cash

Dec 8, 08 11:44 AM CST
(Newser) - Purdue University has some recently discovered bats and turtles to name, and you can be the one to do it—if you’re willing to pony up some cash, the Chicago Tribune reports. The university is auctioning off naming rights to a number of species, planning to use the money... More »

MORE ABOUT:
species • bats • Purdue • name • animal • turtle

 Bush Pardons Eagle Killer 

Bush lets off man who indirectly poisoned birds

Dec 1, 08 11:02 AM CST
(AP) - Twelve years after pleading guilty to federal charges in the deaths of three bald eagles, Leslie Owen Collier learned last week that his name was cleared: He was pardoned by President Bush. "I guess I was humbled is the best way to say it—I never thought it would... More »

MORE ABOUT:
pardon • species • George W. Bush • bald eagle • Leslie Owen Collier

Ocean Census Surprises Scientists

Effort to chart all undersea life by 2010 finds 5K new species

Nov 10, 08 10:32 AM CST
(Newser) - Somewhere under the Antarctic Ocean, brittle starfish completely cover a submerged mountain. In the Pacific, sharks congregate in a region with few food sources but plenty of opportunity for romance. Those facts, along with an accounting of more than 5,000 newly discovered species, are part of the results of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Atlantic Ocean • shark • Pacific Ocean • ocean • species • ocean habitats • marine biology • Arctic Ocean • Census of Marine Life • Antarctic Ocean • starfish

 At 22.3 Inches, 
 Insect Is 
 World's 
 Longest 

Just-discovered Phobaeticus chani roams the Borneo jungle, looking twiggy

Oct 17, 08 12:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - A stick insect called Phobaeticus chani has claimed the distinction of world's longest insect, beating out its nearest competitor by an inch, the Independent reports. Named after the amateur naturalist who brought it to scientists' attention, the bug measures 22.3 inches with its legs outstretched. A treetop rainforest dweller,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
rainforest • world record • species • insects • Borneo

 Midwest Fights
 Weeds With Bugs 

Biological control takes a food-chain approach to invasive plants

Jul 2, 08 2:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Officials in the Midwest are returning to a tried-and-true technique to fight invasive plants, the Chicago Tribune reports. Biological control uses natural enemies to rein in pests, and importing a tiny brown beetle in the 1990s brought under control a fast-spreading European weed, known as loosestrife, that was terrorizing agriculture.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
agriculture • farms • plants • species • insects • predators • invasive species • biological control

Species Site Overwhelmed by Traffic on Opening Day

Encyclopedia of Life will eventually describe all 1.8M species on Earth

Feb 27, 08 3:15 PM CST
(Newser) - A much-anticipated web encyclopedia of all Earth’s life forms crashed hours after its launch yesterday, inundated by traffic. The Encyclopedia of Life had 11.5 million hits in its first 5½ hours—including 2 hours down—leading the site’s founders to ask their opposites at Wikipedia for bandwidth... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • Wikipedia • species • web traffic • Encyclopedia of Life • mushrooms

75% of Bear Species at Risk

Asia's sun bear now the fifth of eight bear species endangered worldwide

Nov 12, 07 7:15 PM CST
(Newser) - Southeast Asia's sun bear is now the sixth of eight bear species facing extinction worldwide, the Telegraph reports. Experts admit they know little about the bear, but blame deforestation, hunting, and fearful villagers for menacing the species. "We estimate that sun bears have declined by at least 30 per... More »

MORE ABOUT:
endangered species • endangered species list • extinction • deforestation • polar bear • panda • species • sun bear • grizzly bear

Iran, US Team to Save Cheetah

American scientists won't be allowed into Iran to help endangered Asiatic species

Nov 1, 07 8:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - In an unlikely collaboration, the US and Iran will undertake efforts this month to save the endangered Asiatic cheetah, whose numbers could be as low as 60, Der Spiegel reports. The New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society will send a team to the Kavir Desert in central Iran for a cheetah-tracking... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iran • endangered species • United States • species • Asiatic cheetah • animal

Half of All Species Risk Extinction as Earth Warms

Humans will survive climate change, many other species won't: study

Oct 24, 07 4:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Global warming could trigger the extinction of half the world's plant and animal species—although humans will probably survive, according to a new British study of the likely effects of climate change. Researchers studied links between mass extinctions and climate changes over 520 million years. In one event, 95% of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • global warming • extinction • species • biodiversity • University of York • University of Leeds • greenhouse

(Newser) - The recently discovered fossil of a giant dinosaur that roamed South America 80 million years ago is not only remarkably complete but also represents a new species, Brazilian and Argentine paleontologists announced today. Futalognkosaurus dukei, a four-legged, long-necked herbivore, measured about 110 feet from head to tail and was four... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Brazil • Argentina • Patagonia • fossil • dinosaur • species • Futalognkosaurus dukei

Hybrid Lizards Muscle Out
Mom and Dad

Discovery of new salamanders’ ‘vigor’
is a scientific first

Sep 18, 07 3:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - The offspring of California tiger salamanders and barred tiger salamanders are living proof that not all hybrids are mule-style genetic dead ends: They’re breeding their parents out of house and home. In a watershed instance of "hybrid vigor" among animals, Science reports, the progeny of two species for... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • hybrid animal • Texas • species • salamanders • mules • lizard • animal

Hunters Take Aim in Wyoming

Hunters look to thin once-endangered population

Sep 15, 07 4:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hunters take aim at a symbol of the American West today, as Wyoming’s National Elk Refuge opens the first buffalo season in almost a decade. Officials say they need to lower the population from 1,200 to 500 because of overgrazing and disease. But killing the once-endangered species has... More »

MORE ABOUT:
animal rights • wildlife • Wyoming • hunting • species • elk • bison

'Extinction Crisis' Threatens 40% of Species

Watchdog group sees serious danger to one
in four mammals

Sep 12, 07 1:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - More than 16,000 species are in serious danger of extinction, including one in four mammals and one in three amphibians being monitored by a global conservation group. With 40% of 40,000 surveyed species facing the highest levels of threat, “We’re at code red,” a top... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • endangered species • environment • endangered species list • extinction • El Nino • gorilla • species • Western Lowland Gorilla • Mauritius Echo Parakeet • World Conservation Union • biodiversity • animal

Bad News Plagues Bears

As ice caps melt, trophy hunters take aim, polar bears belong on endangered list

Sep 9, 07 3:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - It's bad enough when 40% of your habitat will disappear by mid-century, but add trophy hunters taking advantage of a loophole in US law, and it's not a good time to be a polar bear, the Independent on Sunday reports. The bears are not listed as endangered so 950 pelts... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • endangered species • John Kerry • global warming • Arctic • Endangered Species Act • hunting • polar bear • species

Save the Whales—but Forget the
Delta Smelt

Endangered Species Act hurts animals, industry

Sep 9, 07 5:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Endangered Species Act , enacted in 1973 to protect the likes of the bald eagle and the California grizzly, is in desperate need of overhaul, the Economist argues. The act’s latest ravagement is the protection of the delta smelt, a three-inch fish a judge deemed important enough late last... More »

MORE ABOUT:
endangered species • California • list • Endangered Species Act • Civil Rights Act • species • delta smelt

1 - 20 of 27 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


from our news partners