A portfolio by Peter Essick pays tribute to Ansel Adams and the craggy California wilderness named in his honor.

Antarctic minke whales are mating with Arctic cousins, DNA shows.

The Colorado River, a water source to at least 30 million people in seven states and Mexico, is drying up. It hasn't reached the sea in ages, and in 2002, for the first time, total demand for the river's water climbed higher than the total river's supply.

Costa Rica Crocodiles: Osa Safari with Biologist Mike Boston

"An amazing picture of thousands of rays swimming through the ocean in a colossal school has scooped top prize in the CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year 2010 awards. The group of Munkiana Devil Rays were spotted in Baja California Sur, Mexico, by German conservation photographer Florian Schulz. He described how he was able to capture his jaw-dropping image named Flight of the Rays: "During an aerial expedition I came across something I had never seen before. Not even my pilot, who has surveyed this area for 20 years, had seen anything like it. As we got closer we started to discover its nature: an unprecedented congregation of rays. The group was as thick as it was wide, all heading towards the same direction. I have asked around why this took place but no one has been able to explain it to me. After such a unique sighting, I realise there are so many marvels in the oceans that we are yet to understand"

Video: Scorpion vs. Beetle. Costa Rica's La Selva Biological Station: #nature #wildlife #insects

Scientists in Australia have design a cane toad "sausage" to help protect vulnerable predators from the pois..

some of NASA's Earth Observatory photos

Madagascar’s limestone towers are a haven for strange species.

Scientists have discovered 850 new species by surveying murky underground waters, caves and 'micro-caverns' in central and southern Australia.

"Our research has revealed whole communities of invertebrate animals that were previously unknown," said evolutionary biologist Andy Austin of the University of Adelaide, in South Australia. "What we have discovered is a completely new component to Australia's biodiversity."

Incy vegetarian spider is a scientific first http://bit.ly/49WNEC

Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes

"In nearly 500 million years of vertebrate evolution, and many thousands of vertebrate species living and dead, this is the only one known to have solved the fundamental optical problem faced by all eyes - how to make an image - using a mirror," said Professor Julian Partridge, of Bristol University, who conducted the tests.

A wild dolphin is apparently teaching other members of her group to walk on their tails, a behaviour usually seen only after training in captivity. The tail-walking group lives along the south Australian coast near Adelaide. Scientists studying the group say tail-walk tuition has not been seen before, and suggest the habit may emerge as a form of "culture" among this group.

Magpies can recognise themselves in a mirror, scientists have found - the first time self-recognition has been observed in a non-mammal.

In the 1993 paper, Dr. Shafik explored the effect of wearing different types of underpants on the sexual activities of rats. He dressed 75 rats in a) 100% polyester, b) 50/50 polyester/cotton, c) 100% cotton and d) 100% wool underpants for one year.

The story of how the earth's age was determined has much to tell us about the nature of scientific discovery, its geniuses and its aberrations

From the diplodocus skeleton to a neglected room full of ghoulish specimens, the Natural History Museum is a world of wonders. Richard Fortey reveals its secrets after a lifetime working there.

specially designed "crow-cams" fitted to the birds' tails have shed light on the creatures, recording some tool-use never seen before.

Gorillas, corals and vultures are all closer to extinction, according to the latest bleak analysis of the natural world.

The ice fish has no red blood pigments or red blood cells. This adaptation to the frigid environment allows it to use less energy to pump blood through its body.

Zoologists ... global action plan to save hundreds of species of frogs believed to be on the brink of extinction. "Something really terrifying is happening to the planet...We'd be very stupid if we did not pay very close attention to this."

There are now just a few thousand tigers left. Seven hundred mountain gorillas. A hundred Iberian lynx. Can we do anything to help them? Emine Saner looks at 10 animals we just have to save - and how you can get involved

...and now, record numbers of bluebottle jellies on the beaches of Australia -- all of which suggest that their growing numbers are due to warming ocean waters as well as overfishing.