Pervasive environmental pollutants are triggering unnatural sexual changes in animals around the world, according to scientists. The scientists say the gender-bending effects of certain chemical compounds and human sewage pose a serious threat to polar bears, alligators, and other wildlife.
Anthropologist and ethnobotanist Wade Davis traveled to Finland to uncover J.R.R. Tolkien influences that stretch back into the misty past of northern Europe. He discovered an epic song and a melodious language that were powerful influences on Tolkien's book trilogy Lord of the Rings.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have developed a simple "reactor" that treats wastewater while converting electrons produced by resident bacteria into electricity. The still experimental and costly process might someday provide a clean energy source, effective wastewater treatment, and energy savings.
In the second part of a special focus on the endangered California condor, National Geographic News birding columnist Mathew Tekulsky reports on the successes and setbacks of the California Condor Recovery Program.
Before Plymouth and even Jamestown English colonists hoped to carve out a
new life—and substantial profits—in America. A new archaeological dig seeks to solve they mystery of their "Lost Colony."
Working to save wild cheetahs in Namibia, biologist Laurie Marker provides special guard dogs to livestock ranchers. Ranchers now kill far fewer cheetahs because the dogs are keeping the cats away.
Elephants are highly social animals, and they snort, scream, trumpet, roar, and rumble to communicate with one another. New research shows that African elephants may have found the best time to call long-distance is at night, when sound travels farthest.
Yesterdays announcement by NASA scientists that water once inundated Mars suggests life could have evolved on the red planet. Now scientists ponder the question, did it?
Bill Stone's got one thing on his mind these days—going where no one has gone before. For the past four weeks, he and 39 international teammates have been rappelling, hiking, and digging day in and day out in hopes of breaking into Cheve Cave.
Noisy, active, and ubiquitous, birds are one of the most effective alarm systems in nature, often warning other animals, including humans, of trouble in the neighborhood. Now the organizers of a global conference on bird conservation want more people to recognize what birds are telling us about the world environment.
After a 140-year run in an Ontario sideshow, the 3,000-year-old
mummy of Pharaoh Ramses I returned to Egypt last September. The
repatriation served to highlight Egypt's ongoing struggle to return
exported antiquities and restore its lost cultural heritage.
National Geographic Traveler geotourism editor Jonathan B. Tourtellot reveals how the magazine determined "which of the world's great destinations remain great and which may be in trouble."
Humans have an inherent ability to size up other members of their species. In minutes they assess social status and categorize one another into family, race, or caste. Baboons, as it happens, can do much the same thing. (A related story airs Sunday, March 7, on our U.S. cable television program Be The Creature).
Australia's prehistoric predators—flesh-eating kangaroos, thunder birds, giant monitor lizards—have never enjoyed the limelight like those of other continents. But a recent study of a marsupial "lion" may be about to change that. (A related story airs Monday, March 8, on our U.S. cable television program Super Predators)
For nine hours last January, some astronomers believed the
asteroid 2004 AS1 had a 25 percent chance of crashing into Earth within
the next 36 hours. While the scare proved to be a false alarm, it highlighted the vague procedures currently in place for dealing with an asteroid threat.
Researchers studying orchids in Sweden have decoded the bizarre
sexual antics of the flower in a study they say explains why some
orchids employ false advertising.
The Inamori Foundation bestows the annual Kyoto Prizes in the categories of advanced technology, basic science, and arts and philosophy. Kazuo Inamori, founder of the foundation, talks about scientific progress and the enrichment of human values.
For many children in the world, their last memory of home is of being
roused from sleep in the middle of the night and running to escape bombs, fires, and gunshots. Today there are an estimated 20 million children who have been forced to flee their homes.
Sixty-five million years ago, a city-size asteroid slammed into what is now Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, creating a massive crater and covering the Earth in ash. Many scientists believe the impact killed the dinosaurs. But controversial new research disputes that claim.
Millions of giant red crabs, first introduced to Russian seas
during the Cold War, have invaded Norwegian waters. Environmentalists
warn the army of red crustaceans could be marching south on the rest of
Europe, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Researchers working in frigid conditions thousands of miles apart simultaneously turned up two new Antarctic dinosaurs: a small carnivore found on the coast and a much larger herbivore discovered on a mountain peak. The find brings to eight the number of dinosaur species found on the southernmost landmass.
The bubonic plague may have originated in ancient Egypt, according to a new study. Egyptian tomb builders may have been early victims of the lethal, flea-borne pathogen that later claimed millions of lives in medieval Europe and became known as the Black Death.
Canada's Sable Island once boasted a thriving population of both gray and harbor seals. The island's gray seals continue to flourish. But researchers attribute a decline in harbor seals to shark attacks.
Modern-day submarine disasters are rare. But as the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk in 2000 illustrates, when such calamities do occur, there's limited opportunity to help. (A related story airs Thursday, March 11, on our U.S. cable television program Dangerous Jobs.)
The author of a new book says that not only is the universe full of life, but some of it may be intelligent beyond our wildest imagination. He further suggests that the collective destiny of human beings is to give birth to another universe.
The African wild dog is in serious trouble, largely because its instinct to roam widely keeps bringing it into lethal contact with humans. Now researchers are hoping to keep it from wandering where it is not wanted by using urine markings in the same way the wild dog does—to demarcate its territory.
To learn if people see the natural world in the same way, a group of Israeli researchers monitored the brain activity of volunteers as they watched a movie. The scientists found a surprising answer: Our brains tick together.
Since the time of ancient Rome, people haven't given much thought to the Calends of April or the Nones of May. But the Ides of March still resonates today as a day of infamy, due to the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.
Dozens of exquisitely preserved Inca mummies have been found on a barren hillside outside Lima, Peru, in an area near planned highway construction. The remains were found in an ancient cemetery used by the Inca middle class, researchers say.
A cloud of myth and fact surrounds St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the United States, rivaling the unclear history of the Irish patron saint for which the day is named.
An illegal fishing boom begun in the early 1990s threatens the Galápagos Islands Marine Reserve, one of the world's largest. Rangers who patrol the area face a formidable task to stop poachers. (This story is also covered Monday, March 15, on our U.S. cable television program National Geographic On Assignment.)
Wide-ranging predators found in isolated pockets of the Rocky Mountains, wolverines rarely respect the wilderness boundaries drawn on maps. The animals help spotlight the potential benefits of a bold—and controversial—environmental plan known as the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.
Astronomers announced Monday the discovery of the most distant object ever found orbiting the sun: a shiny, red body of rock and ice about three-quarters the size of Pluto. The planetoid is so far out that it takes 10,000 years to circle the sun.
On any given day during the United States tornado season—which begins later this month and peaks in May—there's a good chance that a twister will touch down somewhere in the country. Despite being so common, these dangerous and sometimes deadly storms remain shrouded in mystery.
White-naped cranes undertake epic migrations, facing many perils on their travels from Russia to China, the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and Japan. Working around political tensions to set up a chain of protected rest stops along their flyways is an essential step in conserving these rare birds, according to a new study.
After centuries in forced exile, the Eurasian crane has returned to the U.K. Despite reclaiming the title of Britain's tallest breeding bird, the crane's homecoming has gone virtually unnoticed—and for very good reason, experts say.
The world's most ambitious project to establish a protected region for tigers has been given official approval by the Myanmar (Burma) government. The Hukawng Valley Wildlife Sanctuary that was established in 2001 has been tripled in size. It is now more than twice the size of Yellowstone National Park in the U.S.
No species comes close to the wealth of culture that humans boast. But what explains our extreme cultural diversity? In a new study, researchers suggest human cultural evolution is driven in large part by a desire to control resources.
Analysis of peat in an Australian volcano may yield clues as to what caused abrupt warming during the last Ice Age, disrupting climate on a global scale. The findings have sparked a debate as to what triggers temperature cycles—and whether the theory can be used to predict climate change.
Specializing in bizarre-looking plants that grow in dry tropical terrain, Mexico-based plant biologist Mark Olson searches the world for species that have been found, filed away, and forgotten. His quest carries him to some of the most remote—and dangerous—spots on the planet.
For the first time, birds have been shown to distinguish among and respond to monkeys' alarm calls. Yellow-casqued hornbills defensively reacted to recordings of monkeys' eagle-warning calls, a new study says. The same birds ignored subtly different calls warning of leopards, which do not tend to prey on the birds.
The vernal equinox—one of two times each year when night and day are officially of equal length—is upon us. But day is actually longer than night during an equinox.
Fifteen years ago, human error caused the oil tanker Exxon Valdez to spill 11 million gallons (40 million liters) of crude into Alaska's Prince William Sound. While scores of other tanker accidents have dumped far more oil into the seas, few, if any, have caused more environmental damage.
NASCAR's Research and Development Center in North Carolina is dedicated to making race cars safer—without sacrificing speed. National Geographic News recently spoke with Gary Nelson, the center's managing director for research and development.
Select hotels are dimming their outdoor lighting, says National Geographic Traveler's Jonathan B. Tourtellot. The hostelries aim to treat guests, once again, to stunning views of star-filled skies.
This evening at twilight, two universal symbols of beauty will shine together in the western sky to create a stunning sight for North and South Americans. The planet Venus, the mythological representation of the goddess of love and beauty, will be seen very near the crescent moon, a night object with its own claims to beauty.
The budget-starved U.S. National Parks Service has been warning for years that it has a growing backlog of deferred maintenance of facilities. Now park managers are being asked to consider ways to cut services—ranging from reducing lifeguards and guided tours to closing visitor centers and even entire parks on certain days.
Primatologist Elizabeth Vinson Lonsdorf is the first researcher to study how chimpanzee tool-use cultures are developed and passed on within their community. Studying chimps in Gombe Stream National Park in western Tanzania, Lonsdorf aims to co-develop management strategies to help ensure the primate's long-term survival.
The underwater talents who play living, breathing, bubble-blowing mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs on Florida's Gulf Coast are fighting to save the roadside attraction they say is a state landmark. (This story is also covered Tuesday, March 23, on our U.S. cable television program National Geographic On Assignment.)
A natural eye and the ability to go where most photographers can't have vaulted 30-year-old climber Jimmy Chin into the elite ranks of the world's adventure photographers. But five years ago, Chin didn't even own a camera.
Six high school seniors in San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico, have received college scholarships worth U.S. $10,000—the Kyoto Youth Scholar Discovery Awards.
The Three Flags Ceremony marking the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase was held on March 14 in St. Louis, overlooking the Mississippi River under the Gateway Arch. It replicated a similar ceremony two hundred years ago, when the flags of Spain, France, and the U.S. were raised and lowered to mark the transfer of power over a vast portion of North America—and launched the locomotive of U.S. expansion to the West.
Now cats may have more than nine lives. The company that funded the first successful cloning of a domestic cat two years ago has gone commercial. Four pet owners have each ponied up U.S. $50,000 to get their kitties copied by November.
Indonesia's poorest province, Papua, is a natural-resource trove that is awaiting exploitation and begging for protection. Conservationists say a new software program will help residents guide the province to sustainable development—by forecasting the consequences of their decisions.
Tiny flecks of DNA from the fossils of human ancestors and other primates may shed light on the evolution of modern humans, researchers believe. New laboratory techniques may make it possible to analyze genetic fragments embedded in ancient bones, and even feces, that are up to a million years old.
In Thailand there are men, women, and the so-called "third sex" known as ladyboys. Thailand's most famous ladyboy, a former champion kickboxer named Nong Tum, describes his transformation into a petit young woman.
Each year hundreds of people die during desperate and illegal attempts to enter the U.S. across the Mexico-U.S. border. Some 40 percent of them are never identified. Now a forensic anthropologist is using her skills to reunite the deceased with families desperate for news of their fate.
Elegant Universe author Brian Greene has popularized cutting edge physics. In his latest book, The Fabric of the Cosmos, he dives once more into questions about space, time, and where the universe is going. National Geographic News recently spoke with Greene about string theory, time travel, and the 11th dimension.
Brood X has arrived. Are you ready? Billions of black, shrimp-size bugs with transparent wings and beady red eyes are beginning to carpet trees, buildings, poles, and just about anything else vertical in the U.S. from the eastern seaboard west through Indiana and south to Tennessee.
With unusually large eyes and perhaps a unique way to keep their bodies warm, dinosaurs that once inhabited the polar regions were adapted to the long cold nights at the ends of the Earth. "Dinosaurs of Darkness," a traveling exhibition that opened last week in Seattle, shines a light on the little that is known about these animals.
During the Antarctic winter the South Pole becomes the coldest place on the planet. But emperor penguins not only survive the season—they raise their young in it. (A related story airs Tuesday, March 30, on our U.S. cable television program Living Wild.)
By disrespecting the Pashtun tribal culture in Afghanistan, the United States may have failed to gain a vital ally in its search for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to National Geographic Adventure magazine's Robert Young Pelton (pictured) and other Afghanistan experts.
Shark attacks helicopter. Switzerland sees a bumper spaghetti crop. The headlines are just several in a list of memorable hoaxes compiled by National Geographic News to mark April Fools' Day.
Eastern lowland gorilla numbers may have declined by 70 percent to fewer than 5,000 individuals over the past decade, according to conservation groups. The news has spurred a new effort to step up the protection of the last of these great apes in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ostrich-eggshell beads found in Tanzania have been dated at about 70,000 years old—adding weight to the theory that modern human behavior originated much earlier than many experts believe.
New genetic findings reveal that ruling dynasties may monopolize leadership of many neighboring groups of western gorillas. The results may help to explain curiously peaceful interactions observed between groups of these African great apes—and perhaps provide clues to the origins of kinship in human society.
In recent years incidences of beaked whale beachings from the Bahamas to the Canary Islands have been associated with sonar exercises conducted by the U.S. Navy. Puget Sound-based whale expert Ken Balcomb believes the military tests could also potentially affect killer whales.
