Read Before Riding: Horses Have Consciousness

Horses have been domesticated for 5,000 years, but we’re still learning about how they think. By Simon Worrall.
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Why Cannibals Were on Every 16th-Century Map of the New World

Many of the first European maps of the Americas included warnings of cannibalism, despite no proof of such activity. By Allison Meier.
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Extreme Weather Kills 10 Across the U.S. ; More Snow, Flooding Expected

It's not even winter yet, but the deadly weather in parts of the U.S. suggests otherwise.
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Brutal baboon battle erupts for throne at Toronto Zoo after matriarch dies

The fight that erupted between the female baboons prompted a brief closure of the zoo’s exhibit. Medical records show injuries ranging from deep lacerations near their eyes to hair ripped out and tail injuries. By Liam Casey.
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25 Possible New Extinctions: Hawaiian Plants, Madagascar Orchids, Chilean Water Frog

All of these species have been assessed as critically endangered at best, extinct at worst
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Birds Accidentally Preserved Historic Documents

Swifts and jackdaws gathered money, contracts, and letters to build their nests—and preserved a slice of life from 200 years ago.
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11 of Britain's most legendary trees

Will the saplings we plant during National Tree Week’s 40th anniversary grow to have such amazing stories to tell as these magnificent specimens?
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Study: Half of Amazon Tree Species Could Become Extinct

More than half of the tree species in the Amazon, the world's most diverse forest, could become extinct if not protected from threats ranging from mining to climate-related fires and droughts, according to a study released Nov. 20 by Chicago's Field Museum. Some 36 percent to 57 percent of the Amazon's estimated 15,000 tree species probably qualify as “globally threatened” under International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria, said the study...
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The 21 most dangerous foods in the world

Go ahead -- pick your poison.
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A Quick History of Hippopotamuses

Hippos are represented today by just two species: the large, strongly amphibious Hippopotamus amphibius and the smaller, more terrestrial Pygmy hippo Hexaprotodon liberiensis As usual, the fossil record reveals a far greater number of species that were distributed over a far larger area than that associated with hippos today.
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The colorful, dark, dynamic art of life: 2015 BioArt winners

From Ebola to cancer and human development, winners capture biological beauty.
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Gardens: mushroom magic

Feed your autumn leaves to some baby oyster mushrooms and enjoy a fungal feast, says James Wong
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How a 2 C Temperature Increase Could Change the Planet

UN warns of 'severe', 'irreversible' impact if global temperatures rise
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The week in wildlife – in pictures

A playful scuffle of polar bears, crows feasting on fruit trees and mountain gorillas in the wild are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
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Bright orange monkey born at Sydney's Taronga zoo is a rare François’ langur

Male infant called Nangua, Mandarin for pumpkin, is fourth langur to be born at the zoo, the only one in the region to breed the endangered species
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Japan under fire over decision to resume whaling

Officials maintain a third of previous numbers will be caught and insist plan is scientifically sound. However, the announcement has been condemned by environmental groups and the Australian and UK governments.
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Soul Mates: Nutcrackers, Whitebark Pine, and a Bond That Holds an Ecosystem Together

In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, nutcrackers rely on whitebark pines as a crucial food source, the pines rely on nutcrackers to disperse and plant their seeds, and more than 100 other species of plants and animals benefit from that mutualism between tree and bird.
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An Ancient Chinese Ginkgo Tree Drops an Ocean of Golden Leaves

This towering ginkgo tree is located within the walls of the Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple in the Zhongnan Mountains in China. Every autumn the green leaves on the 1,400-year-old tree turn bright yellow and fall into a golden heap on the temple grounds drawing tourists from the surrounding area.
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Spiders sprayed with nanotubes have spun the toughest fibre ever measured

Spider silk is already one of the toughest materials around, but scientists have now made it even stronger by spritzing spiders with water containing carbon nanotubes and graphene flakes. In fact, the resulting super silk that the spiders produced in their webs is the toughest material ever measured, demonstrating strength and toughness beyond "anything that has been possible before," as MIT Technology Review reports. It sounds like something out of a Marvel comic...
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A breakthrough may make the mega flow battery commercially viable in the near future

Wind and solar power have the potential to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases and slow the progression of climate change. But since the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow, the big hurdle in expanding the use of renewables is the lack of cheap and efficient storage of that energy. That could be about to change.
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The Recent Aspects of Volcanic and Seismic Activity in Japan

Japan is the only major economic power in the world prone to both volcanic and seismic activities. Home to only 0.25% of the world’s land area, Japan has 7% of the world’s active volcanoes. Moreover, about 10% of all earthquakes occur in and around Japan. These are the reasons why Japan is very scenic and has many hot springs.
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Geckos have superpowers, starting with running on ceilings

These little lizards can see colour in darkness, detach and re-grow their tails, and of course, they can walk upside-down
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Tree

Stand alone trees are often beautiful. This tree is one of my favorites.
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Drowning Megacities. On the frontline of the African climate battle

Sub-Saharan Africa is the part of the world most affected by the dual pressure of climate change and the rapid, uncontrolled transformation of its cities into megacities.
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Interaction between malaria parasites and liver cells uncovered

"This discovery is significant because it reveals a vital interaction between the malaria parasite and the person it infects. Before, we knew little about that interaction. The molecular details of our discovery will facilitate the design of new drugs and new vaccines,"
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Winter Storm Cara a Dangerous Plains Ice Storm

Ice, snow, and a sharp arctic blast is challenging Thanksgiving holiday travel in the Plains.
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If you want to see them, you’d better hurry. Iconic glaciers are disappearing — fast.

e river of ice that hugs Mount Grinnell’s high ridges is neither big nor particularly beautiful, but it may be the most accessible glacier in all of North America. In as little as three hours, an average hiker can traverse the mountain’s well-groomed trail to plant a foot on a frozen relic of the Little Ice Age. But if you want to see it, you’d better hurry. Grinnell Glacier is disappearing — fast.
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Massive 'development corridors' in Africa could spell environmental disaster

"One of the key justifications for these corridors is to ramp up farm and food production, but in fact it appears that massive mining investments--securing access to high-volume minerals such as iron ore and coal--are actually a key driver for a number of the corridors,"
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Bill Gates will invest as much as $2 billion in new clean energy partnership

On Monday, Bill Gates will announce one of the largest clean-energy partnerships in history, according to a new report in ClimateWire. The partnership will be focused on researching and deploying new sources of carbon-free energy, funded by billions of dollars from Gates and other philanthropists. At the same time, a coalition of nations including the United States and India have agreed to double their research and development funding for clean energy research.
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What Birds Tell Us About Climate Change's Threats

Just in time for COP21, a new international report shows how a warming world harms birds. Birds, it seems, are the mediums of this message; they’re highly reactive to changes in their environment, and are well studied as a result.
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Russia unveils body armour for DOGS after death of police dog in Paris

A Russian defence company has released a new design of body armour to keep terror-sniffing police dogs safe in the wake of the death of French police dog Diesel, who died during a police raid in Paris following the Friday 13th terror attacks. In a new video Russian dog handler demonstrated the new design in a new video showing off the transformation from man's best friend to professionally protected police hound.
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Tarantulas evolved blue colour 'at least eight times'

A study finds that tarantulas evolved almost exactly the same shade of vibrant blue at least eight separate times.
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Sarcophagus of ‘high priest’ unearthed in Luxor

Egypt's Antiquities Minister Dr. Eldamaty announced today the discovery of the intact burial place with a coffin of a (Priest) of Amun-Re, King of the Gods who carried the name " Ankhef in Khunsu", inside the tomb of the Vizier Amenhotep, Huy number 28 in Asasif (Luxor).
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How Long Can Florida's Citrus Industry Survive?

The USDA recently stunned growers when it projected the smallest orange harvest for Florida in more than 50 years. The culprit: A tiny insect that's killing off the state's trees — and industry.
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How Early Feminists Helped Revolutionize Birding

To identify a bird, you used to have to kill it. Birding was either an expensive hobby or an academic pursuit. But by the end of the 19th century birding was morphing into a middle class hobby, and one heavily influenced by the women’s reform movement.
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Time travel

An isochronic map shows where to go, how long it took to get there – and what changes were on the way
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Brazil dam burst: environmental crisis reaches Atlantic in pictures

A mudslide at an iron ore mine in Brazil, in which at least 13 people died, has reignited calls for safer ways to dispose of millions of tonnes of waste as toxic mud leaks into the Atlantic ocean
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Dinosaur Erotica Novels Are A Real Thing

As well-read as you may be, you’ve probably never heard of this obscure subgenre before.
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Paris climate activists put under house arrest using emergency laws

French police arrest activists for flouting ban on organising protests during climate talks next week
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'Black Dragon River' Charts History Along the Amur

Dominic Ziegler's thrillingly thorough geo-history follows the Amur River from its origin on the Mongolian steppes, along the Trans-Siberian Railway and through centuries of Eurasian history.
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In Brazil, Deforestation Is Up, And So Is The Risk Of Tree Extinction

Brazil's Environment Ministry announced that deforestation in the country has increased by 16 percent. A separate study warned that more than half the Amazon's tree species may be threatened.
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Japan Pledges $10.6 bn for Climate Policies in Developing Nations

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday promised to give $10.6 billion to developing nations by 2020 to help them implement policies against global warming, ahead of the U.N. climate talks in Paris next week. The decision to offer 1.3-trillion yen ($10.6 billion) came after Japan gave a roughly combined 2.0 trillion yen for the same purpose in 2013 and 2014.
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India's Quandary: Climate Change And Coal

Coal is king in India. Some say there's little alternative. So how can this country, the world's third-largest polluter, provide energy and lift millions from poverty while trying to become "greener"?
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Moonlighting molecules: finding new uses for old enzymes

A collaboration has led researchers to identify a potentially significant new application for a well-known human enzyme, which may have implications for treating respiratory diseases such as asthma. “MMP8 is well-known, we all thought we understood its function, but it’s clear that this, and probably many other enzymes, ‘moonlight’ and have several functions within the body,”
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Climate Change Already Forcing World's Birds Towards Poles

One quarter of 570 bird species studied globally have been affected negatively by climate change, says Birdlife International
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How Audubon Pranked a Fellow Naturalist with a Bulletproof Fish

Field books capture essential information for ecological history but are often difficult to track down in scientific collections.
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Black mink

Spotted off our back deck yesterday, we think it is living around our woodshed. It gets awarded the new critter of the year at my house. (image not ours)
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Pollinators

Not just bees!
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The world's biggest spider web can span an entire river

The Darwin's bark spider is small and inconspicuous, but it spins a web 25m across using one of the toughest materials known to exist
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They Shoot Kangaroos, Don’t They?

Australia is home to 24 million people and roughly 60 million kangaroos. The cuddly looking creatures are still a beloved national icon, but they're also the scourge of ranchers, frequent roadkill, a favorite on restaurant menus, and now the target of government-sponsored sharpshooters. Our writer hops Down Under for a rugged tour of one of the world's most surprising human-animal conflicts. By Paul Kvinta.
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