The Pet Blog

Zombie ants have fungus on the brain

Tropical carpenter ants (Camponotus leonardi) live high up in the rainforest canopy. When infected by a parasitic fungus (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) the behaviour of the ants is dramatically changed. They

Solving mouse genome dilemma

Laboratory research has always been limited in terms of what conclusions researchers can safely extrapolate from animal experiments to the human population as a whole. A number of promising findings in mice have not held up under further experimentation, in part because laboratory animals, bred from a limited genetic foundation,

Life-history traits may affect DNA mutation rates

A composite image of 4 of the 32 mammal species whose life-history traits and DNA mutation rates are studied in the Penn State University laboratory of Kateryna Makova. From the top left corner, moving clockwise: a wild dog, a hyrax, a bat, and an elephant. Individual images are online at http://www.science.psu.edu/news-and-events/2011-news/Makova6-2011.

Credit: Anton Nekrutenko, Makova lab, Penn State University

Where will grizzly bears roam?

Three grizzly bears walk within the Crown of the Continent.

Credit: WCS

The independent evaluation, written by WCS Senior Conservation Scientist Dr. John Weaver, is a compilation and synthesis of the latest information on these species �

Arrival of Whooping Crane

After an 88-year-long hiatus North America's tallest bird, the statuesque whooping crane (Grus americana), is once again on exhibit at the Bird House at the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park. An 11-year-old male whooping crane named Rocky left Homosassa Springs State Park in Florida