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2. June 2009

Could Insects Feasibly Evolve To Be Monsters?

Insects make perfect movie monsters. There’s something about the mix of cruel claws, impenetrable exoskeletons and bulging compound eyes that has continued to chill audiences for decades. It’s easy to conclude that mankind’s lot would be a pretty poor one if insects were much bigger than they are. But on a scientific level, how plausible are they?

29. May 2009

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10 Amazingly Beautiful Cactus Flowers

How anything so prickly and less inviting as a cactus can produce something as delicate and beautiful as a cactus flower seems a miracle. But then again, don't we all hide our most sensitive qualities under a prickly exterior sometimes?

27. May 2009

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Where Majestic and Deadly Rays Glide Beneath the Waves

This image featuring a whale shark, a school of stingrays and another school of unidentified yellow fish almost appears more like a painting than a photo, so fortuitously full of life does it seem. Yet for all the majesty and beauty of the other creatures in this shot, it is the rays that take centre stage. Gliding through the depths, wing-like pectoral fins outspread as they ride the ocean currents, rays are the free birds of the blue, swimming with a grace that is difficult to fathom.

12. May 2009

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Mankind’s First Island Voyages

Would you have dared to cross the oceans in a primitive boat, long before navigational routes were charted, to an unknown destiny? Find out more about the earliest sea voyages in history. Homo erectus rafting to undiscovered islands barely visible on the horizon is more than a courageous and dangerous sea voyage. It is a fascinating journey into the evolution of cooperative social behavior and the cognitive capacities of the human mind.

6. May 2009

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Homo Erectus Crosses The Open Ocean

Imagine a group of Homo erectus, the earliest members of our family genus, living near a coastline on an Indonesia island and well aware of a lush island that is visible only a few miles offshore. One day while on the coast, a herd of elephants emerges from the nearby forest and crosses the beach. They enter the ocean and swim successfully to the offshore island. Could this be the experience that triggers a creative process in our ancestors who are watching nearby?

20. April 2009

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Face to Face with an Ant Seeing Red

This incredible microscopic image makes you glad you're five or six feet tall, not five or six inches. If we were that small, of course we wouldn't stand much of a chance against these formidable insects, which may form up to a quarter of the mass of living creatures in a given ecosystem. But even though you wouldn't want to get bitten by an even vaguely oversized ant's mandibles, it's strange how like ants we are.

17. April 2009

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The Metamorphosis of Butterflies

There are few insects that fascinate us like butterflies: In their filigree moth or butterfly stage, they are often breathtakingly beautiful. As caterpillars, they can be cute, but also cause devastation if in huge numbers. Humans, too, have a secret desire to metamorphose…

27. March 2009

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Grapevine Fires: Creativity Born From Destruction

When the California wildfires struck in 2007 they shocked not just a state and a nation but the world. The facts speak for themselves: at least 1,500 homes destroyed, 500,000 acres of land burned, 9 people killed, and 85 others injured including at least 61 firefighters. Yet for all the scorching destruction they caused, the fires also proved to be the source for some fresh creative energies.

13. March 2009

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Simply Paw-Inspiring: Otters Hold Hands

Sea otters are pretty special creatures. Living at sea without ever having to set paw on land, they’re also known for using rocks when hunting to dislodge prey and crack open shellfish – making them one of the few tool-using mammal species. This aww-inspiring photo shows two of the lovable sea dogs in their habit of holding paws to avoid drifting apart.

2. March 2009

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Columbian Mammoth Found in Downtown L.A.

On February 18, 2009, the George C. Page Museum announced the discovery of 16 new fossil deposits under a parking lot owned by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art that is adjacent to the La Brae Tar Pits. The most exciting animal among these new deposits is Zed, a large male Columbian Mammoth. Zed's body and 10' tusks miraculously escaped predators and his skeleton is nearly complete. Find out other amazing facts about Zed.