Comet Lovejoy C/2014 Q2, photographed on 22 Feb. 2015 by Fabrice Noel Astronomy and Astrophysics 

Comet Lovejoy Delivers Free Alcohol

By Kate Stone Comet Lovejoy recently released large amounts of alcohol and sugar into space, according to new observations by an international team. This is the first time we have found ethyl alcohol, the same type in alcoholic beverages, in a comet. The finding adds to the evidence that comets could have been a source of the complex organic molecules necessary for the emergence of life. Cocktails in Space “We found that comet Lovejoy was releasing as much alcohol as in at least 500 bottles of wine every second during…

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autumn leaves Biology Nature Photography 

Autumn Leaves: Last, Loveliest Smile

By Steven Spence Going Out in a Blaze of Glory Autumn … the year’s last, loveliest smile. (William Cullen Bryant) Fall is my favorite season for many reasons, but foremost among them is the joy I feel when surrounded by thousands of patches of light in a cacophony of colors all rustling in the wind. There are only a few special weeks each year to enjoy this transition from the searing heat of summer to winter’s icy grip. Whenever something captivates my imagination (or optic nerves) I want to learn…

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ravens Zoology 

Ravens Cooperate, but Not with Cheaters!

By Kate Stone Several recent studies have revealed that ravens are among the most intelligent species of birds and even species in general. Now, cognitive biologists from the University of Vienna add teamwork, cooperation, and avoidance of cheaters to the ravens’ already lengthy list of skills. “From the wild, it was already known that ravens are able to cooperate when, for example, mobbing predators. But using an experimental set-up working with captive ravens now allowed us to investigate how exactly they do so,” says Jorg Massen. In Massen’s experiment, two…

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Dinosaur fossils: The entrance to New Mexico’s Ghost Ranch in 1947, the year Edwin Colbert discovered the Coelophysis quarry. ©AMNH Paleontology Science Videos 

Dinosaur Fossils of Ghost Ranch

In more than a century of fossil collecting, paleontologists from the American Museum of Natural History have unearthed fossils from every corner of the globe. But there are some sites so fruitful in dinosaur fossils that they are visited again and again by the Museum’s fossil hunters, with each generation turning up new and unexpected finds. One of those sites is New Mexico’s Ghost Ranch, home to four quarries that paleontologists from the Museum have excavated for decades. The remains of animals from the Triassic era, including dinosaurs, reptiles, and…

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Theory vs. Hypothesis vs. Law… Explained! --Joe Hanson, Ph.D. Science Videos 

Theory vs. Hypothesis vs. Law… Explained!

Some people try to attack things like evolution by natural selection and man-made climate change by saying “Oh, that’s just a THEORY!” Yes, they are both theories. Stop saying it like it’s a bad thing! It’s time to learn the difference between a fact, a theory, a hypothesis, and a scientific law. Special thanks to Joe Hanson, Ph.D., for allowing us to publish his terrific videos. It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. @jtotheizzoe Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmart For more awesome science, check out: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com Produced by PBS Digital…

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Photographer in Alaska: Grizzly Bear Fight Nature Photography Zoology 

Photographer in Alaska: Grizzly Bear Fight

Visit the Alaskan wilderness with wildlife photographer Max Goldberg as he photographs a violent event in the grizzly bear community of the Kenai Peninsula. By Max Goldberg After crossing a river in our waders, we found the mother and three little cubs on the bank of another river.  We set up our cameras and tripods and watched the little cubs climb over their mother and goof off, getting shots of the raw cuteness. Now, we were sitting in a large open marshland, with hungry male bears all over the area–not…

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