Fossils of three new species of dinosaurs have been discovered in Australia
Fossils of three new species of dinosaurs have been discovered in Australia, including a meat-eater larger than Velociraptor from the Jurassic Park movies, suggesting Australia may have a more complex prehistoric past.
 
 

An aerial view of a patch of deforested jungle
More than 800 animal and plant species have gone extinct in the past five centuries with nearly 17,000 now threatened with extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature reported on Thursday.
 
 

Mice fed on a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids can sprint faster
Between the 1932 and 2008 Olympic Games, world record times of the men’s 100m sprint improved by 0.6 seconds due to improved training techniques and technological advances. Imagine if this improvement could be achieved by a simple change in diet. Scientists at the [...]

The Mexican Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) lives a very long life compared to closely related animals such as mice
Scientists from Texas are batty over a new discovery which could lead to the single most important medical breakthrough in human history—significantly longer lifespans. The discovery, featured on the cover of the July 2009 print issue of [...]

Salamander: superhero of regeneration
 The salamander is a superhero of regeneration, able to replace lost limbs, damaged lungs, sliced spinal cord — even bits of lopped-off brain. But it turns out that remarkable ability isn’t so mysterious after all — suggesting that researchers could learn how to replicate it in people.
 

Eeek is that hissing sound a snake? No its your headphones
French accessories company HOON has teamed up with audio company The Perfect Unison for a line of python skin skinned headphones.

 flowers show signs of evolution.
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have zeroed in on the genes responsible for changing flower color, an area of research that began with Gregor Mendel’s studies of the garden pea in the 1850’s.

Vienna’s Schonbrunn Zoo
Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna is host to a fascinating series of temporary art installations by Christoph Steinbrener and Rainer Dempf. In one animal enclosure, the German duo have half-submerged a car in a watering hole used by the resident rhinos. In another enclosure, penguins frolic in the shadow of an oil pump, and [...]

Nematode
Caltech researchers studying the nervous control of nematode mating behavior have produced video footage of a male worm preparing to mate with a hermaphrodite.

Two Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins swimming off the coast of Oahu.
We can only marvel at the way that dolphins, whales and porpoises scythe through water. Their finlike flippers seem perfectly adapted for maximum aquatic agility. However, no one had ever analysed how the animals’ flippers interact with water; the hydrodynamic lift that they generate, the drag [...]

 First litter of Lynx kittens found since 2006
Spring brought a surprise delivery from the stork: A litter of 10 lynx kittens-the first newborns documented in Colorado since 2006, gladdening the hearts of biologists leading the charge to restore the mountain feline, as well as drawing waves of squeals from computer monitors everywhere.  (Pics)

Papst Steals The Ugly Show

 
The World’s Ugliest dog contest has been decided … and the result ain’t pretty! Congrats to Pabst, a boxer-mix shelter dog who won the 21st annual World’s Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California.
 
From the official website:
As the crowd chanted “Pabst, Pabst,” the celebrity judges deliberated between the [...]

“No symphony orchestra ever played music like a two-year-old girl laughing with a puppy.” Bern Williams
A child’s first pet has become accepted knowledge in recent years that children with pets receive numerous benefits including increased kindness toward other children, increased self-esteem, even stronger physical and emotional development.  (Pics)

The platypus is helping Australian researchers to better understand ovarian cancer.
Researchers from the Royal Adelaide Hospital and University of Adelaide believe our oldest mammalian relative may help us to better understand ovarian cancer.

 Sometimes help comes from those who can least afford to give it
The thing we like about summer is that a whole new season of two-bubbles-off-plumb photos begin to make their appearance. The photos come from nowhere and from everywhere. Here are a few that are sure to loosen your elastic and tickle your cosmic funny [...]

 
University of Illinois cell and developmental biology professor David Clayton
When a zebra finch hears a new song from a member of its own species, the experience changes gene expression in its brain in unexpected ways, researchers report. The sequential switching on and off of thousands of genes after a bird hears a new tune offers [...]

 
A flock of homing pigeon flying
Using a “neurologger” specially designed to record the brain activity of pigeons in flight, researchers reporting online on June 25th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have gained new insight into what goes through the birds’ minds as they fly over familiar terrain.

 
 piranhas teeth
How did piranhas — the legendary freshwater fish with the razor bite — get their telltale teeth? Researchers from Argentina, the United States and Venezuela have uncovered the jawbone of a striking transitional fossil that sheds light on this question. Named Megapiranha paranensis, this previously unknown fossil fish bridges the evolutionary gap between flesh-eating [...]

 
Scientists have developed the ability to take regular cells from a pig’s connective tissues, known as fibroblasts, and transform them into stem cells.
For years, proponents have touted the benefits of embryonic stem cell research, but the potential therapies still face hurdles. Side effects such as tumor development, a lack of an effective and long-term animal [...]

 
Lamprey mouth
In addition to providing fundamental insights into the early evolution of the estrogen receptor, research by a team at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine may lead to a contraceptive for female lampreys – a jawless fish considered an invasive pest species in the Great Lakes region of the United States. [...]

 
Animals all around the globe are dying from fibropapillomatosis,
a disease that causes tumors on the skin
While cancer touches the lives of many humans, it is also a major threat to wild animal populations as well, according to a recent study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

A cheeky monkey decided to spend a penny on Zambian President Rupiah Banda – as he held a news conference on the economy in the capital Lusaka.

Jellyfish can be as beautiful as they are dangerous and artist James Pan shows off that fact through his colorful and captivating artistic endeavors. Simply stunning!
(more art after jump…)