extinction
Narwhal thriving despite low genetic diversity
Megacarnivore found in drawer
Drone finds Hawaiian plant, believed extinct
The plant, Hibiscadelphus woodii, was formally discovered in 1991 and had been declared extinct in 2016: In 2016, the same year the plant was listed extinct, the National Tropical Botanical Garden teamed up with drone operator Ben Nyberg to supplement the work of intrepid scientists like Wood, who rappel down cliffs and trudge through rainforests to conserve plants. In January, National Geographic reports, Nyberg saw what looked like a Hibiscadelphus woodii plant while surveying via drone… The following month, Nyberg and Wood hiked 700 feet into the valley, according to Quartz. Unable to go further, they flew a drone 800 feet deeper into the ravine. The image the drone transmitted back to their portable monitor confirmed their hopes: living Hibiscadelphus Read More ›
Is there a fixed time limit for recovery after mass extinctions?
Learning more about the asteroid that doomed the dinosaurs
Insectologists swat insects-are-doomed paper
Insects in decline? Science writer says it’s myth
Move over, bee! Tortoise, feared extinct, turns up again
Alfred Russel Wallace’s giant bee turns out not to be extinct
Researchers: Biodiversity today is not higher than in the past
Can DNA survival change the meaning of extinction?
Human extinction as collateral damage
Recently, Clemson U philosopher Todd May whistled through the system on the pros and cons of human extinction: May’s reasoning is fascinatingly nihilistic. He argues that human extinction would be tragic because we have a tragic flaw – our shortsighted use of the environment – which would be recitified by our extinction. “Humanity,” he says, “is the source of devastation of the lives of conscious animals on a scale that is difficult to comprehend.” And while he recognizes that “nature itself is hardly a Valhalla of peace and harmony,” humans are uniquely cruel (in our defense, we don’t have a generalized habit of cannibalizing our mates, as some species do). He explains that we’re wrecking the world. Ben Shapiro, “Clemson Read More ›