Animals

The debate about sustainable diets has focused on meat production, which requires lots of land and water to grow grain to feed livestock. It also contributes to methane emissions. But the Cabinet secretaries with final authority say the 2015 dietary guide

New Dietary Guidelines Will Not Include Sustainability Goal

6:10pm October 08, 2015

by Allison Aubrey

A government-appointed panel wanted the federal government's 2015 nutrition advice to consider a food's environmental impact. But the Cabinet secretaries with final authority say it won't happen.

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Student Paleontologist Finds Fossil Remains Of New Species

2:07pm October 07, 2015

During her first fossil-hunting trip, Carissa Raymond, an undergrad at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, stumbled upon the teeth of a beaver-like animal that lived 65 million years ago.

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Ken (left) and Henry were created using DNA plucked from a skin cell of Melvin, the beloved pet of Paula and Phillip Dupont of Lafayette, La.

Cloning Your Dog, For A Mere $100,000

6:56pm October 06, 2015

by Rob Stein

The Duponts in Louisiana loved their mutt Melvin so much they jumped at the chance to replicate him. Melvin is gone now, but he has left behind two clones, Ken and Henry.

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A team of blacksmiths, welders, artists and scientists have been working together in Canada to mount the T. rex bones without damaging them. Metal cradles hold 150 of the major bones precisely in place.

'Nation's T. Rex' Strikes A Rapacious Pose

2:08pm October 06, 2015

by Christopher Joyce

Drills and screws would damage the frail, 65.5 million-year-old bones of the Smithsonian's 38-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex. So how do you make it stand? Blacksmiths in Canada are working their magic.

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Dry conditions in California have limited the amount of pollen and nectar bees can collect.

Drought Is Driving Beekeepers And Their Hives From California

12:45pm October 01, 2015

by Ezra David Romero

A lack of crops for bees to pollinate has California's beekeeping industry on edge. Some are feeding their colonies pricey processed bee food or moving their hives out of state to forage.

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Keepers had an opportunity to weigh the 4.5 week-old giant panda cub on Sept. 21.

National

Say My Name: Baby Giant Panda Is Named ... Bei Bei

12:10pm September 28, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

The name was chosen by first lady Michelle Obama and China's first lady, Madame Peng Liyuan. It was unveiled at a ceremony at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

The Art Of Panda Diplomacy, First Lady-Style

5:27pm September 25, 2015

by Will Huntsberry

First lady Michelle Obama took her Chinese counterpart, Peng Liyuan, to visit the pandas at the National Zoo — and revealed the baby panda's new name: Bei Bei.

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In Campaign To Prevent Ebola, A Vaccine For Apes Could Save Humans, Too

2:19pm September 25, 2015

After the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, University of Cambridge researcher Peter Walsh has been developing an Ebola vaccine for wild apes, hoping to stop transmission of the deadly virus to humans.

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Seattle Otter Treated For Asthma After Exposure To Wildfire Smoke

2:25pm September 23, 2015

It's not just humans that have been affected by wildfires this year. An otter called Mishka is being treated for asthma after being exposed to smoke by fires near Seattle.

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Lawsuits Will Be Next Battle In Sage Grouse Conservation Saga

12:06pm September 23, 2015

by Nathan Rott

The decision to keep the bird off the Endangered Species List is celebrated by those out West who worried it would cost them billions of dollars. But challenges to the decision are already emerging.

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