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The Hidden Perils of Permafrost
There’s something buried in the Arctic soil that could have a huge effect on the future of our planet’s climate. Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have descended on Barrow, Alaska...
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What Gives the Morpho Butterfly Its Magnificent Blue?
There are more than 140,000 species of butterflies and moths in the world, fluttering on every continent except Antarctica. Their wings contain countless patterns and colors, providing critical tools...
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The Fantastic Fur of Sea Otters
California sea otters (Enhydra lutris) — the frolicking mascots of the coast who draw visitors to aquariums in droves and who float among the kelp beds just beyond the surf line — have the densest fur...
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How Electric Light Changed the Night
Electric light makes the modern world possible. But not all kinds of light are good for us. Numerous studies show that blue light – like the light of a tablet – can suppress our bodies’ flow of...
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In the Race for Life, Which Human Embryos Make It?
Every one of us started out as a single cell, dividing into two, then three and four cells during the first two days after fertilization. But only a few early embryos – about one in three – have a...
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Banana Slugs: Secret of the Slime
Article by Mallory Pickett Below the majestic trees and prehistoric ferns that grace California’s redwood forests lives a weird and slimy creature: the banana slug. Named for their bright yellow color,...
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From Drifter to Dynamo: The Story of Plankton
Melissa DuBose casts a net out into the sea on a crisp winter morning, from a wooden pier near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. “I come out here every week,” she says. She reels in her net to...
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What Happens When You Put a Hummingbird in a Wind Tunnel?
With spring in full bloom, hummingbirds can be spotted across the Bay Area flitting from flower to flower and lapping up the sugary nectar inside. These tiniest of birds have the highest metabolism of...
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Where Are the Ants Carrying All Those Leaves?
If you’ve ever visited the rainforest exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, or walked in a real rainforest in Central or South America, you might have wondered what the ants...
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These ‘Resurrection Plants’ Spring Back to Life in Seconds
California’s drought has sent researchers, policymakers, and farmers looking for water in farfetched places. They’re giving away recycled wastewater. They’ve pumped deeper and deeper underground....
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Can A Thousand Tiny Swarming Robots Outsmart Nature?
How do you simultaneously control a thousand robots in a swarm? The question may seem like science fiction, but it’s one that has challenged real robotics engineers for decades. In 2010, the kilobot...
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Nature’s Mood Rings: How Chameleons Really Change Color
Chameleons are some of the most brilliantly colored animals on the planet. But how did they evolve the ability to change color? Scientists used to believe that chameleons changed color by spreading out...
View ArticleGoPro Captures Sustainable Fishing 600 Feet Under the Sea
When the Monterey Bay Aquarium was first getting underway, local fisherman Giuseppe “Joey” Pennisi helped catch some of the octopus and ling cod to put in the tanks. But then, he says, his relationship...
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You’re Not Hallucinating. That’s Just Squid Skin.
For an animal with such a humble name, market squid have a spectacularly hypnotic appearance. Streaks and waves of color flicker and radiate across their skin. Other creatures may posses the ability to...
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Why Jellyfish Float Like a Butterfly—And Sting Like a Bee
At first glance, jellyfish appear to be simple creatures. They don’t have eyes, or hearts, or even a brain. Most species simply drift in the open ocean, going wherever the current takes them. But...
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California Drought Revives a River — and a Poignant History
California’s relentless four-year drought has had some unexpected consequences. It’s uncovered lost bits of history — ancient petroglyphs and remnants of mining towns at the bottom of reservoirs. And...
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Watch Flesh-Eating Beetles Strip Bodies to the Bone
For many people, fall is best time of year. The air gets crisp, and the barrier between the living and the dead begins to thin. For Dia de los Muertos we use feast and ritual to celebrate the lives...
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WATCH: Long-Lost Parachuting Beaver Footage From 1950
What’s better than parachuting beavers? Video of parachuting beavers. Boise State Public Radio, KBSU, has the story (and if you’re impatient, the parachuting beaver footage begins about 8 minutes into...
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See What Makes Owls So Quiet and So Deadly
With autumn upon us, you might have noticed a familiar sound in the night. It’s mating season for owls in Northern California and the sound of their hooting fills the darkness. “Owls try to breed...
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Nature’s Scuba Divers: How Beetles Breathe Underwater
People first crossed the line between land and sea to become scuba divers more than 70 years ago, when Jacques Cousteau pioneered the Aqua-Lung in Nazi-occupied France. But humans aren’t the only...
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