JJ Nitro

17 July 2008, for National Geographic News

People should help species threatened by climate change move to new habitats, researchers argue in a new paper.

Warming temperatures have already sent animals and plants inching toward the poles or climbing up mountains to seek out tolerable habitats.

26 June 2008, for National Geographic News

Like people vacationing in the mountains to escape summer heat, plants are "climbing" to higher elevations to cope with global warming, a new study shows.

Previous research has suggested that many plant and animal species have been shifting their ranges toward the Poles as the planet warms.

19 June 2008, for National Geographic News

Violent swings in weather patterns occurred after Earth's climate crossed "tipping points" thousands of years ago, a new study argues.

In as little as three years, patterns in the atmosphere have suddenly shifted and flipped into a new state, apparently contributing to rapid warming of the Northern Hemisphere, according to the new analysis of an ice core from northern Greenland.

17 June 2008, for National Geographic News

Earth's early atmosphere may have been highly corrosive to rocks, gradually dissolving away all but the toughest of minerals, a new study suggests.

The findings could explain a gap in Earth's geologic record that has puzzled scientists.

11 June 2008, for New Scientist

Seals in the open ocean may be able to navigate by the stars.

Whales, sea lions and seals exhibit a behaviour called spyhopping, where they stick their heads out of the water, apparently surveying their surroundings. This led some biologists to suspect that these mammals might use the stars for navigation.

11 June 2008, for New Scientist

Having a friend at your side can turn a mountain into a molehill.

Simone Schnall at the University of Plymouth, UK, and her colleagues asked students to estimate the steepness of a hill by tilting a board to match its slope.

30 May 2008, for New Scientist

A material with remarkable oil-absorbing properties has been developed by US researchers.

It could help develop high-tech "towels" able to soak up oil spills at sea faster, protecting wildlife and human health.

19 May 2008, for New Scientist

Darwin once puzzled over how ivy sticks to walls so effortlessly. Now researchers have begun to unravel the mystery.

A new study reveals that the plant's stem exudes nano-sized globules that let it cling tightly to sheer surfaces.

16 May 2008, for New Scientist

Contrary to the widespread view that a warming world will bring more hurricanes, a controversial new study suggests the number of cyclones could actually drop in the North Atlantic.

Hurricanes have become a lightning rod for arguments over what global warming might have in store.

15 May 2008, for New Scientist

Climbing stairs can be a slog for us humans, but for smaller primates scampering up trees requires no more energy than strolling along the ground, researchers say.

The new findings suggest a way that small, early primates could have invaded unexploited food niches without using more energy, giving them an advantage over other tree-dwellers.