Few fish would survive a swim in Antartica’s ice-covered waters. Temperatures can drop to -1.9 ℃, whereas a typical fish starts to freeze at -0.8 ℃. If the water is colder, microscopic ice crystals will soon infiltrate the fish through gills and skin and start growing from within. Nerves are severed, tissues damaged, and the [...]

“But if (and oh what a big if) we could conceive in some warm little pond with all sorts of ammonia and phosphoric salts, light, heat, electricity etcetera present, that a protein compound was chemically formed, ready to undergo still more complex changes [..] ” ~Charles Darwin, in a letter to Joseph Hooker (1871) All [...]

These are good times to have tentacles. Thanks to the internet, even the most ordinary of octopuses can be catapulted to worldwide fame. Exceptional skills or abilities are not required. A simple coconut hiding act or a short crawl over land are more than enough to break the internet headlines. But as this new generation [...]

It was supposed to be extinct. Yet here it lay, with fins round and fleshy, scales as hard as bone and a tail unlike any living fish. “Lass, this discovery will be on the lips of every scientist in the world”, James Smith said to Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, curator of the East London Museum. Smith had [...]

Specks. Stripes. Red fur. Black fur. Eye masks. Bald spots. Beards. Moustaches. New World monkeys are nature’s motley crew. Their faces display an extraordinary range of colours and patterns. Some are simple and straightforward, others intricate and complex. Take the bald uakari. Its hypervascularized, red skin is striking, but uniform. The uakari’s nose is just [...]

Happy belated new year everyone! 2011 was a wonderful year for me. Not only did my blog move to its shiny new abode at Scientific American, I also joined the science desk of NRC Handelsblad, a daily Dutch newspaper. I started out as an intern and was later hired as a staff writer. Since I’m [...]

Like most evolutionary tales, this one could have started on the Galapagos Islands. Instead we find ourselves in an ancient sea, near the end of the Devonian, 360 million years ago. A mass extinction has struck life underwater. The armoured placoderms, once an abundant class of fishes, have gone extinct. Other groups of fishes have [...]

Remember the dancing Yeti Crabs? They’re back! Check out this amazing illustration of two farming Yeti Crabs by Irene Goede: So white, so hairy.. I want to pet them! Irene is a freelance illustrator who has specialized in nature and history. Every week, she draws an animal that has been in the news for the [...]

Isolation can be a blessing. I am most productive when I’m not connected to the web. If I’m writing in a train or plane, severed from the thoughts of others, it is easier to capture my own trails of thought and let them expand. Don’t get me wrong, my inner writer loves the internet. It’s [...]

Deep beneath the waters of Costa Rica, dozens of crabs are waving their claws in unison, in what seems to be a rhythmic performance. It’s almost as if these crabs are locked in a ritual dance. But these charming crabs are not dancing. They are farming. The hairy claws of these crabs are covered with [...]