My picks from ScienceDaily

Save The Whales? Sure, But How Many?:

How many wildebeest should live in the Serengeti" How many grizzly bears should call Yellowstone home" Are there too few tigers in the world" Conservationist biologists grapple with the task of setting population targets for the species they are trying to protect -- a decision steeped in politics, emotion, and sometimes, science.

Two Rapidly Evolving Genes Offer Geneticists Clues To Why Hybrids Are Sterile Or Do Not Survive:

While hybrids -- the result of the mating of two different species -- may offer interesting and beneficial traits, they are usually sterile or unable to survive. For example, a mule, the result of the mating of a horse and a donkey, is sterile.

World's Oldest Ritual Discovered -- Worshipped The Python 70,000 Years Ago:

A startling archaeological discovery this summer changes our understanding of human history. While, up until now, scholars have largely held that man's first rituals were carried out over 40, 000 years ago in Europe, it now appears that they were wrong about both the time and place.

Extraordinary Life Found Around Deep-sea Gas Seeps:

An international team led by scientists from the United States and New Zealand have observed, for the first time, the bizarre deep-sea communities living around methane seeps off New Zealand's east coast.

Ancient Predator Had Strongest Bite Of Any Fish, Rivaling Bite Of Large Alligators And T. Rex:

It could bite a shark in two. It might have been the first "king of the beasts." And it could teach scientists a lot about humans, because it is in the sister group of all jawed vertebrates.

Detecting Explosives With Honeybees: Experts Develop Method To Train Air Force Of Bomb-sniffing Bees:

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a method for training the common honey bee to detect the explosives used in bombs. Based on knowledge of bee biology, the new techniques could become a leading tool in the fight against the use of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, which present a critical vulnerability for American military troops abroad and is an emerging danger for civilians worldwide.