1500-Year-Old Moss Lives

Researchers have demonstrated moss frozen in ice on the Antarctic Peninsula for at least 1530 years can be revived and continue to grow, showing that a vital element of ecosystems can survive long-term, millennial-scale ice ages.

Ancient Forest Found Underwater

Divers have discovered a Bald Cypress forest at least 0.8 km long off the coast of Alabama, freshly preserved for at least 52,000 years under ocean sediment in an oxygen-free environment in the Gulf of Mexico and most likely uncovered by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Grasslands Most Diverse

A new study has overturned conventional wisdom and found that ordinary grasslands contain the greatest number of plant species per 50 square meter area, more than tropical rain forests, with the grasslands of Eastern Europe and Argentina proving to be the most diverse in the world.

Invasive Ants Vanish

One of the world's most invasive species, colonies of the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) are collapsing and disappearing from New Zealand without human intervention, with speculation that low genetic diversity has made then susceptible to widespread disease.

Rubbing Boulders of Atacama

Geologists have discovered the boulders of Chile's Atacama Desert have been rubbed smooth not by typical mechanisms of water or wind erosion but by the previously unknown method of jostling about by periodic earthquakes grinding stones against each other.

Female Fish with Testes

A recent study of Atlantic croaker fish living in the Gulf of Mexico show that the annual low-oxygen "dead zone" caused by agricultural and waste runoff of the Mississippi River shows the female fish developing malformed testes, a result of hypoxia to the brain during sexual development reducing production of estrogen and necessary neurohormones with as little as ten weeks exposure.

Banana Peels as Filters

New research shows ground and processed banana peels to be effective in extracting heavy metals from water, even exceeding the capacity of other traditional materials that are themselves toxic or environmentally hazardous.

Tigers Found in Himalayas

A "lost" isolated population of tigers has been discovered and captured on video in the mountainous Himalayan foothills of Bhutan, living and successfully breeding at elevations higher than any other tiger species.

Coffee and Genetic Diversity

A new study shows that shade-grown coffee farms preserve the genetic diversity in tropical regions by supporting native bees, migratory birds, bats and other creatures as they cross-pollinate native tree populations of the region.