A Blog Around The Clock

Transparent Adult Zebra Fish Will Make Human Biology Even Clearer:

Zebrafish are genetically similar to humans and are good models for human biology and disease. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have created a zebrafish that is transparent throughout its life. The new fish allows scientists to directly view its internal organs, and observe processes like tumor metastasis and blood production after bone-marrow transplant in a living organism.

Oldest Horseshoe Crab Fossil Found, 100 Million Years Old:

Few modern animals are as deserving of the title "living fossil" as the lowly horseshoe crab. Seemingly unchanged since before the Age of Dinosaurs, these venerable sea creatures can now claim a history that reaches back almost half-a billion years.

Coral Reefs May Be Protected By Natural Ocean Thermostat:

Natural processes may prevent oceans from warming beyond a certain point, helping protect some coral reefs from the impacts of climate change, new research finds. The study, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), finds evidence that an ocean "thermostat" appears to be helping to regulate sea-surface temperatures in a biologically diverse region of the western Pacific.

Did Birds Originate When Dinosaurs Went Extinct, Or Have They Been Around Far Longer?:

Did modern birds originate around the time of the dinosaurs' demise, or have they been around far longer? The question is at the center of a sometimes contentious "rocks versus clocks" debate between paleontologists, whose estimates are based on the fossil record, and scientists who use "molecular clock" methods to study evolutionary history.

Beaked Whales Actually Hear Through Their Throats:

Researchers from San Diego State University and the University of California have been using computer models to mimic the effects of underwater noise on an unusual whale species and have discovered a new pathway for sound entering the head and ears.

Pygmy Dinosaur Inhabited Tropical Islands In Britain's Prehistoric Past:

The celebrated Bristol Dinosaur, Thecodontosaurus, has now been shown to live on subtropical islands around Bristol, instead of in a desert on the mainland as previously thought.