Bizarre Beasts, Past and Present – Exhibit at the The National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC depicts real animals with somewhat bizarre features. The artist, Gary Staab, created life size sculptures of these creatures. The bird shown at left was seven feet tall.

The Birds and the Bees (and Bats) affect over 1/3 of total crop production – according to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society. Unfortunately, many of these pollinators are under environmental pressure. For example, some studies suggest that honey bee populations have declined almost 50% in the last 50 years. The honey bee genome has recently been sequenced.
Nuclear powered bacteria – Think all life depends on photosynthesis? Apparently not. New finding reported in Science describes bacteria that harvest the energy from natural radioactivity to power their cells.

The Ressurection Plant – also called the Rose of Jericho, dries to a tumbleweed and appears dead. A little water retuns the plant to “life”.