May 2009

Bantu farmer
Features

Rational Fear

As human populations expand and lions’ prey dwindles, the poorest people—and hungriest lions—pay the price.

manatee
Nature.net

Wanderlust

An Internet guide to tracking and tagging the animal world

Barreleyes
Samplings

Tube Viewing

Bizarre barreleye fishes have eyes inside their transparent heads.

Viral shell
Samplings

Portrait of a Virus

Hi-tech image shows the proteins in a virus coat—and the atoms in the proteins.

Cave art lion
Samplings

Drawing on the Wall

Ancient rock art reveals the appearance of an extinct predator, the marsupial “lion.”

Fossil human hair
Samplings

Burial by Hyena

200,000-year-old human hair turns up in fossil hyena dung.

thrush
Samplings

Half a Nap

Migrating birds sleep with half their brains at a time.

Giant dunes
Samplings

Reach for the Sky

The size of giant sand dunes depends upon the height of the lowest atmospheric layer.

Schinderhannes bartelsi fossil
Samplings

The Little Pinch

An early marine arthropod fills a gap in the evolutionary history of horseshoe crabs and scorpions.

Bearded capuchin
Samplings

Nutcracker Suite

Capuchin monkeys choose and transport the right tool to crack a nut.

smg
Samplings

Ozone and the Greenhouse

Whether climate change speeds or delays the ozone layer's healing varies by location.

view counter

Recent Stories

Caves are among the predators’ favorite spots.

The brain doesn't much care whether an experience is real.

Humans will never win a sprint against your average quadruped. But our species is well-adapted for the marathon.

Recent Interview

Xiaoming Wang

Hear author Xiaoming Wang interviewed by Vittorio Maestro, Editor in Chief of Natural History. (MP3, 17 minutes)