David Winter • Jun 08, 2010 •
I got a little bit starry eyed writing about the Neanderthal genome the other day. I chose to retrace the arc of scientific progress that links the initial description of Neanderthal man as something different than modern humans to the point reached l... Read More
David Winter • Jun 06, 2010 •
It occurs to me that some readers might be put off by my affection for spiders. I'd be interested to see which creature, the wasp or the spider, you find yourself cheering for at the end of this post. Let's introuduce them. First, the large black hunti... Read More
David Winter • May 23, 2010 •
Chondrocladia turbiformis, a ruthless carnivore hauled from bottom of the sea off new New Zealand by NIWA scientists, has been named among the top ten new species described last year. This abyssal predator isn't a kraken, a plesiosaur that time forgo... Read More
David Winter • May 16, 2010 •
A scene from the garden. On the left, the New Zealand Praying Mantis Orthodera novaezealandiae. On the right, a hover-fly that doesn't know how much trouble it's in. (for those interested in the final result: the hover-fly flew off; the mantis lunge... Read More