Science

Saving The Tricolored Blackbird

9:14am August 07, 2016

by Ezra Romero

The tricolored blackbird population in California has declined to a point that it's a candidate for the California Endangered Species List. But efforts are underway to keep the bird from disappearing.

Nathan Tasker is transgender and adopted. He was surprised and delighted to meet other adopted transgender children at his camp in Maine.

Trans And Adopted: Exploring Teen Identity

6:09am August 07, 2016

by Martha Bebinger

A Boston health clinic that treats transgender kids and teens finds that the percentage of its young patients who are adopted is higher than expected. These kids might need extra support, doctors say.

The nutrient-rich milk crystals of the Pacific beetle cockroach are prettier than they sound.

Cockroach Milk: Yes. You Read That Right

1:08pm August 06, 2016

Turns out, cockroach milk is among the most nutritious substances on Earth. But it may still be a while before you can scurry to health stores for roach-milk protein shakes.

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Bug enthusiast Anna Lindqvist uploads photos like this — of the Ailanthus Webworm Moth (Atteva aurea) to the iNaturalist app. Like a social network for wildlife, her location paired with the photo help both amateur and expert naturalists identify the sp

The App That Aims To Gamify Biology Has Amateurs Discovering New Species

8:40am August 06, 2016

by Lauren Silverman

Not everyone outside staring into their phones is searching for Pokémon — some people are looking for actual wildlife. The app iNaturalist is bringing together urban biologists and curious citizens.

Veterinarians say that helping suffering animals and stressed-out owners can become grueling.

For Vets, Caring For Sick Pets And Grieving Owners Takes A Toll

5:00am August 06, 2016

by Kasia Galazka

Veterinarians have high rates of stress and suicide, so vet schools are trying to give them tools to deal with challenging tasks such as euthanasia — and with comforting with grieving pet owners.

Newly published research explains why young sunflowers turn to face the sun as it moves across the sky.

Science

The Mystery Of Why Sunflowers Turn To Follow The Sun — Solved

6:04pm August 05, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Scientists have answered a burning question central to the charm of sunflowers: Why do young flowers move their blooms to always face the sun over the course of a day?

A view of the main trench to the permanent camp at Camp Century, Greenland, in the 1950s. The U.S. Army base was abandoned in 1967, after Greenland's ice sheet began shifting and the Army realized that the tunnels wouldn't last.

Melting Ice In Greenland Could Expose Serious Pollutants From Buried Army Base

5:47pm August 05, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

Camp Century was a research station and test site for deploying nuclear missiles before it was abandoned under the ice in the '60s. Scientists say pollutants left behind may spread as the ice melts.

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Four states have no legal insanity defense.

With No Insanity Defense, Seriously Ill People End Up In Prison

3:13pm August 05, 2016

by Natalie Jacewicz

Four states have no insanity defense. Advocates say that means seriously ill people can be executed where in other states they wouldn't be convicted at all, and it makes it harder to get treatment.

(Left) Eleven elemental maps providing an overview of the construction of the painting. (Right) Detail of zinc map.

Science
Arts

X-Rays Reveal Hidden Portrait Under Painting By Edgar Degas

2:20pm August 05, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

A team of researchers in Australia used a special mapping technique to expose a striking painting of another woman under the French Impressionist's Portrait of a Woman.

Science

Alaskan Glaciers Tell A Story Of Deep Time

1:30pm August 05, 2016

by Shawn Fitzmaurice

Rock, once a seafloor of mud, sand, and pebbles, towers into the sky, only to erode away, becoming a new and different seafloor, layered like pages in a book.

Appalachian State University's Dr. Ellen Cowan reads these pages, most recently off the coast of Alaska. They tell the full story of geological changes on the continent, as written by glaciers over millions of years.

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