Puzzling platypus yields evolutionary insight

WASHINGTON - When the British naturalist George Shaw received a weird specimen from Australia in 1799 - one with a mole's fur, a duck's bill and spurs on its rear legs - he did what any skeptical scientist would do: He looked for the stitching and glue that would reveal it to be a hoax.

Using ears to keep an eye out for whales

ON CAPE COD BAY - A spotter bangs three times on the boat's cabin roof, signaling the captain to cut the throttle - now. In the foggy gray of Cape Cod Bay, the reason for the abrupt stop soon becomes apparent: The research vessel is surrounded by rare North Atlantic right whales, their glossy black heads bobbing just above the surface as they feed on plankton slicks.

Air pollution suspected of impairing pollination

WASHINGTON - Air pollution interferes with the ability of bees and other insects to follow the scent of flowers to their source, undermining the essential process of pollination, a study by three University of Virginia researchers suggests.

State backs Ashfield mill's biomass methane project

ASHFIELD - The Roberts Brothers Lumber Co. has won a $400,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to help pay for a $3 million system that will convert wood-chip waste into methane gas.

The gas will provide clean heat and electricity for the lumber mill.

Eureka!: Research on airline bacteria nothing to sneeze at

Contrary to popular belief, there may be more bacteria swirling around the office than inside an aircraft cabin.

According to research conducted by Christine A. Rogers, a University of Massachusetts public health professor, and several other scientists, the notion that airplane cabins are a bacteria pool may be overblown.

Furry robot ferrets out squirrel facts

AMHERST - One gray squirrel, its bushy tail twitching, barked a warning as another scrounged for food nearby.

It was an ordinary spring day at Hampshire College, except that the rodent issuing the warning was powered by amps, not acorns.

Squid has 'largest eye ever recorded'

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Marine scientists studying the carcass of a rare colossal squid said Wednesday they had measured its eye at about 11 inches across - bigger than a dinner plate - making it the largest animal eye on Earth.

Signs of hot springs give hints of early life on Mars

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The long and frustrating search for signs of past or present life on Mars took a hopeful turn this month when scientists said they had spotted what they believe are remains of two hot springs - the kind of warm, protected environments where many scientists think primitive life can thrive.

Across the universe