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Living World / Extinction

#22: Y. Pestis, Mother of the Black Plague: Unknown–1353 

The bacterial strain that wiped out half of 14th century Europe, scientists found, soon died out itself. 01.05.2012

#63: How Many Species Inhabit the Earth? 

It's a tough question, but we now have the best answer yet. 12.22.2011

#43: Skin Cells Could Help Revive Rare Species

Turning them into eggs and sperm, courtesy of stem cell techniques, could make all the difference. 12.22.2011

Accidental Paleontology in L.A.

The sites of large construction projects are often rich sources of fossils, especially in California, where they're protected by law. 06.19.2011

Should Conservationists Allow Some Species to Die Out? 

In the battle to save endangered animals, some environmentalists say we should ignore the charismatic pandas and condors and instead practice "conservation triage." 05.09.2011

What Is Killing America’s Bats?

Wildlife biologists seem to have a better handle on the fungus that's decimating bat populations. But some other groups of animals are facing similar steep declines. 01.07.2011

#74: New Species: Found Today, Lost Tomorrow 

12.16.2010

The 100 Top Science Stories of 2010

Every year DISCOVER sorts through the scientific accomplishments of the past 12 months, and assembles a list of the coolest experiments, most brilliant discoveries, and most world-changing events. As you page through the countdown to the #1 science story, we think you'll come to the same conclusion we did: 2010 was quite a year. 12.16.2010

7 Visions of Our Hot, Awful Future

A bounty of 2010 books predict the future in a globally warmed world. Among the forecasts: boom town Detroit, abandoned Miami, an Arctic black gold rush, and a weirdly strong dried fruit market. 12.13.2010

Will the Walrus Withstand a Warmer World?

As the Arctic warms, researchers are scrambling to predict whether the walrus can adapt to its rapidly changing home. 11.05.2010

Extinct Birds Come Back to Haunt Us as Sculptures

Artist Christy Rupp reflects on the birds humans have driven to extinction by recreating them, one chicken bone at a time. 06.22.2010

The First, and Greatest, Reality Show: Evolutionary Biology

Sex, death, deception—it's all part of the dances between species. 11.23.2009

The Banks That Prevent—Rather Than Cause—Global Crises

Seed banks put some much-needed wild vigor back into today's specialized varieties, protecting critical crops from being wiped out. 11.20.2009

Humans vs Animals: Our Fiercest Battles With Invasive Species

From Burmese pythons to Galapagos goats, these animals are threatening a hostile takeover—unless we can stop them. 09.24.2009

Set Your CT Scanner to "Kill" and Look Inside Some Fossils

Penetrating chunks of amber and ancient rock, powerful new imaging machines render 3-D portraits of fossil creatures concealed for millions of years. 08.26.2009

3-D Scanning: How to Put the Real World Into Your Computer

The recent imaging of two 300-million-year-old proto-spiders was just the tip of the iceberg: Here are 12 new scanning technologies that are bringing amazing 3-D images into Hollywood, medical care—and home PCs. 08.12.2009

Birds May Have Used Big Brains to Outlast the Dinosaurs

The ancestors of modern birds seemed to have sophisticated hearing—and perhaps other sharp faculties, as well. 04.12.2009

Man's Greatest Crimes Against the Earth, in Pictures

Humans rule the world… and destroy it in the process. 04.08.2009

Jack Horner's Plan to Bring Dinosaurs Back to Life

The world's most famous dino-hunter says the key is embryonic development, not genetics. 03.27.2009

Is That a Dead Mouse You're Cloning?

Researchers clone living pups from long-dead, frozen rodents. 01.12.2009

#20: The “Doomsday Vault” Stores Seeds for a Global Agriculture Reboot

Humanity's chances to survive global warming and nuclear attacks just increased. 12.19.2008

#37: Shorebird Population Is in Rapid Decline

Australian and Asian birds are a clear example of population collapse. 12.15.2008

#45: Huge Population of Lowland Gorillas Found

For once, researchers come up with good news for an endangered species. 12.14.2008

#79: The Ancient Rat as Big as a Bull

This giant rodent weighed as much as a compact car. 12.09.2008

10 Studies That Revealed the Great Global Amphibian Die-Off—and Some Possible Solutions

In our planet's sixth great mass extinction event, amphibians are among the hardest hit. 11.04.2008

Ten Ways the World Will End

Will it be a solar flare? Or a gamma-ray burst? DISCOVER's own Phil Plait lays out the odds. 10.28.2008

Forecasting the Future May Be a Matter of Fun and Games

A new online game uses crowdsourcing to find out how to save humans from extinction. 09.05.2008

Are Efforts to Save the Panda a Giant Waste of Money?

Sure, they're magnificent beasts, but they may be sucking eco-dollars from other, more critical species. 08.12.2008

Wildlife Conservation 2.0

A new software-based approach may be the key to saving thousands of species. 05.12.2008

The Species That Put the "Danger" in "Endangered"

From poison frogs to river dolphins, these 5 species are hanging on by a thread. 05.05.2008

Protect the Future of Ice Cream... by Eating Ice Cream

Häagen-Dazs pitches in to protect the honeybee. 03.20.2008

George Schaller's Grand Plan to Save the Marco Polo Sheep

"Obviously humans are evolution’s greatest mistake," says the conservationist. 02.21.2008

86. World’s First Trees Unearthed

01.15.2008

92. First Fossil Of A Leaf Insect Found

01.15.2008

69. Frozen Baby Mammoth Unearthed

01.11.2008

57. Distinctive Dinosaur Death Throes

01.09.2008

Death By Cosmic Pinball

Astronomers triangulate the source of the dinosaur destroyer. 12.03.2007

Hearing the Footsteps of Extinct Animals

Researchers infer how animals moved by studying inner-ear gyroscopes. 09.20.2007

What Caused the Great American Extinction?

A comet may have decimated native animals—and culture. 07.25.2007

Think Tank

Top scientists pinpoint the greatest discoveries of the last 25 years and predict wonders yet to come 07.07.2005

Tusk Tales

A trail of DNA may lead us to the killers of Africa's elephants 06.05.2005

Endangered by Association

04.28.2005

The Day Everything Died

The big knockdown fight in science these days is a debate about a cataclysm that occurred 250 million years ago 04.28.2005

On the Brink of Extinction

03.31.2005

Discover Dialogue: Conservationist Laurie Marker

We have loved the animal to near extinction 03.31.2005

Earth Without People

What would happen to our planet if the mighty hand of humanity simply disappeared? 02.06.2005

49: Endangered Species Act Reconsidered

01.03.2005

77: Comet Caused Nuclear Winter

01.03.2005

10: Australian Crater Implicated in Global Rubout

01.03.2005

Environment

01.02.2004

What Caused the Biggest Kill of All?

12.03.2003

When Good Trees Go Bad

Could a massive marine extinction have been caused by . . . trees? 11.18.2003

Works in Progress

The bug that can lead to peptic ulcers and stomach cancer is going extinct—for better or worse 02.01.2003

Discover Data: Extinction Trends: No Need to Fear the Asteroids?

02.01.2003

Discover Data: Doing Swimmingly With the Sharks

08.01.2002

Lights Out for the Birds

08.01.2002

Did an Asteroid Really Dust the Dinosaurs?

05.01.2002

By the Numbers: For Richer or Poorer

02.01.2002

Works in Progress

What could have wiped out 95 percent of marine life—not to mention 70 percent of all species on land? 10.01.2001

The Cold Zone

Testing a new theory of mammoth extinction in 02.01.2001

20 Species We Might Lose

And then there were none. 10.01.2000

Bad Medicine for Mother Earth

08.01.2000

Hanging by a Thread

With all but a quarter of Hawaii's native birds extinct or endangered, and its other species dying off faster than the dinosaurs, some island ecologists are risking their lives to save what's left 02.01.2000