Free Republic

Plant owners know just how difficult it can be to figure out what they need, especially when leaves start browning or wilting. But it turns out that plants may have been telling you all along. A new study found that when plants are stressed, they emit specific sounds that identify what's wrong. Previous studies had shown that plants vibrate when under stress, but for years, scientists have debated whether those vibrations become sound waves. By studying tomato and tobacco plants in an acoustic chamber inside a greenhouse, researchers at Tel Aviv University discovered that it's true – plants cry out...

Earth's oceans are feeling the wrath of human-induced climate change. Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and reefs are dying – and now, according to a new study published in Science Advances, the sea is losing its memory altogether.

In case you needed more proof that dogs are some of the most loyal, loving creatures on the planet, here you go. Actor and filmmaker Easton Dufur used to have two yellow Labradors — Cookie and Stitch. The dogs had always shared one food bowl, Easton said in a statement posted on Twitter. My dog Stitch trained my other dog Cookie to only eat half the food that’s in the bowl. So ever since she was young she knew to leave half the food so Stitch can have some (he liked to make sure she would eat,)” Easton wrote.

If you could change the way a monkey or an ape's brain is wired, that animal would be capable of producing perfectly intelligible speech. That's the conclusion of a study that closely tracked the movements of a monkey's mouth and throat with X-rays, to understand the full potential of its vocal tract. Researchers then used that information to create a computer model of what it would sound like if the monkey were able to say phrases such as "happy holidays." The finding calls into question long-held assumptions about how humans developed their unique ability to use spoken language. "What you'll...

When the witch hunt for Walter Palmer began on social media, following the killing of an old, collared lion tagged “Cecil” by humans, many warned that the emotional outburst would result in further loses of lions and lion habitat.This is because trophy hunting is what provides the mechanism to conserve lions in the wild.  This is especially true in Africa, where locals view lions as a pest, and only tolerate them if they bring in desperately needed dollars, marks, or euros. Trophy hunting makes lions valuable.  Social Justice Warriors (SJW) who work to destroy trophy hunting out of ignorance...

A humpback whale which was freed from almost certain death by three men off the coast of California repaid the favour to its rescuers with a breathtaking display of breaches and dives. The amazing hour-long performance was caught on camera moments after the creature was cut free from fishing nets. When the boat came across the whale it was trapped with its tail and flippers hopelessly entangled in the nets. Scroll down to watch video The whale watchers first thought the humpback was already dead as it was floating on top of the water. But then it let out a...

Two monkeys wed this weekend but were forced to do so secretly in the middle of the forests of Rajasthan. It would not be surprising if this love story between Raju and Chinki (the monkeys) was adapted into a Bollywood movie—the material is certainly all there! The wedding was India's first involving monkeys—probably because it is illegal in India for monkeys to wed, hence, the secrecy. Ramesh Saini, owner of the "groom," Raju, found the monkey unconscious three years ago and nursed him back to health. The monkey attracted crowds of people whenever he went outside. Ramesh, who has no...

For a blind watchmaker, Evolution is quite the seer. Science articles often personify Evolution into a wizard and worker of miracles. This is odd, considering that evolution is supposed to be an aimless, purposeless process of chance and necessity with no goals in mind. Evolution, the Learner: Evolution learns from past environments, we are told by Science Daily. Scientists at the Weizmann Institute believe that evolution learns its lessons so well it can parry them into inventions by digging into its bag of mistakes. The article states nonchalantly, “evolution can learn the rules of the environment and develop organisms that...

It was time for the annual Valentine's Day sex tour at the San Francisco Zoo, but none of the permanent residents got the memo. As human voyeurs learned about the torrid world of amorous beasts, most of the animals barely glanced at each other. "The wind seems to unnerve them," said Jane Tollini, inventor of the tour that has been copied by zoos throughout North America. "And they had a busy weekend." They did indeed. Tollini, former penguin keeper at the zoo, led excursions Saturday and Sunday and will do the same this weekend. She came up with the idea...

Six gay penguins at a German zoo are still refusing to mate with females of the species flown in from Sweden in 2005, the zoo said. The problem was that the female Humboldt penguins have proven too shy in their advances, the director of the zoo in the northern port city of Bremerhaven said. "The Swedes will not make the first move," Heike Kueck said. The females were flown in last year in a bid to bring the males to mate and help save the Humboldt species from extinction. Kueck said last year she was optimistic the initiative would be...

A South African mugger fleeing the scene of his crime hides in a tiger enclosure. On the country's coast, a woman attempts to be a good Samaritan by pushing a young seal into the sea, believing the poor thing is stranded. Both people paid heavily for their stupidity, underscoring one of nature's truisms: humans do dumb things around wild animals. "I blame it on Walt Disney, where animals are given human qualities. People don't understand that a wild animal is not something that is nice to pat. It can seriously harm you," said James Cameron, a South African professional hunter....

The finding of a parrot with an almost unparalleled power to communicate with people has brought scientists up short. The bird, a captive African grey called N'kisi, has a vocabulary of 950 words, and shows signs of a sense of humour. He invents his own words and phrases if he is confronted with novel ideas with which his existing repertoire cannot cope - just as a human child would do. N'kisi's remarkable abilities, which are said to include telepathy, feature in the latest BBC Wildlife Magazine. N'kisi is believed to be one of the most advanced users of human language...

Parrot's oratory stuns scientists By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent The finding of a parrot with an almost unparalleled power to communicate with people has brought scientists up short. The bird, a captive African grey called N'kisi, has a vocabulary of 950 words, and shows signs of a sense of humour. He invents his own words and phrases if he is confronted with novel ideas with which his existing repertoire cannot cope - just as a human child would do. N'kisi's remarkable abilities, which are said to include telepathy, feature in the latest BBC Wildlife Magazine. N'kisi...