Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'creatures'

In Lab, Clues To How Life Began

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST

Scientists long to understand how a bunch of chemicals on the early Earth transformed themselves into the first living creatures. Now one lab has made a self-replicating set of RNA molecules that the scientists say may mimic what might have happened during the early evolution of life.

Tiny Diamonds Support Comet Theory

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:00:00 EST

Scientists have long blamed climate change for the mass extinction of animals that took place in North America almost 13,000 years ago. Now some researchers say a comet broke apart and burned the landscape and many of the creatures living on it. The proof is "nanodiamonds," microscopic diamonds they've found in the soil across the continent.

Marine Life Census Being Updated

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:00:00 EST

More than 2,000 scientists in 82 countries are working on a census of marine life. The study will document all the sea's creatures.

Vampire Bats And Other Blood-Sucking Creatures

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:14:00 EDT

Bill Schutt, author of Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures, discusses the real "vampires" in this Halloween-day edition of Science Friday.

Swedish Pop, Exotic Creatures of the Deep, The Elephant 6 Orchestra, More

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:28:00 EDT

Sweden has been producing some of the best pop music of the past decade. On our latest mix we've got new music from singer Lykke Li (pronounced Leaky-Lee), and the sprawling, 30-member group I'm From Barcelona. Also on the show: the British band Wild Beasts with their oddly titled new song "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants;" the wildly strange and wonderful Sparks; twin sisters and the former drummer for Secret Machines form the band School of Seven Bells; and the influential Elephant 6 Orchestra reunites for a magical and historic live performance.

Video Game Lets You Play God

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:00:00 EDT

The video game "Spore" allows a player to control the evolution of a single-cell organism into a creature, a tribe, a civilization, and, finally, outer space.

Cells Are Stars Of 'Spore' Video Game

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:00:00 EDT

The creator of the hot-selling video game series The Sims has a new game coming out this weekend. In Spore, players create their own worlds starting from creatures the size of a cell. The cell and the world evolve, and ultimately an entire civilization is created. Will Spore help players learn about science?

Monkey Eludes Police In Tokyo Train Station

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:00:00 EDT

A cheeky little monkey made his way into a Tokyo train station Wednesday and perched on a ledge high above the morning commuters, many of whom grabbed their cell phones and snapped videos. The mischievous creature can now be seen all over the Internet. Dozens of police tried to get him to jump into nets, but the wild monkey skipped out of the station toward a nearby park.

'The Doorman' Bubblier Than Dance-Club Cristal

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:20:00 EDT

The Doorman offers a genial take on the absurdities of the velvet-rope culture, in the process gently lampooning the nightclub set. Bob Mondello calls the titular gatekeeper a "hilariously preposterous movie creature."

Critters Basking on Tarmac Jam New Delhi Airport

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:44:22 EDT

Of the many reasons for flight delays, consider this one Tuesday at the international airport in New Delhi. Almost a hundred planes couldn't take off or land because the runways were covered with raptors, jackals and huge monitor lizards. The creatures used the runways to dry off and get warm after the first monsoon rains hit.

Warming Waters Threaten 'Unicorns of the Sea'

Sun, 11 May 2008 17:45:00 EDT

Researchers studying the impact of climate change on arctic creatures say that the Narwhal — the long-tusked whale that gave rise to the myth of the unicorn — could be in danger. Narwhals hunt in ice-covered areas and may be among the first animals to feel the heat of warming arctic waters.

Minty E. coli and Other Bioengineering Feats

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:01:00 EDT

Scientists all over the world are matter-of-factly amending, changing and rearranging living creatures for all kinds of reasons, some silly, some profound. Take the case of the MIT team that made the icky-smelling bacteria E. coli and gave it a wintergreen-scented twist.

Roast Fish: An Elegant, Flavorful and Easy Solution

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:27:00 EDT

It almost seems perverse to take a fish, that wateriest of creatures, from its ocean home and subject it to the pummeling heat blast of a 450-degree oven. But it's a magical punishment, like that which turns coal into diamonds.

Spotted Eagle Ray Kills Woman

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:00:00 EDT

The creature, which resembles a stingray, jumped into a moving boat off the Florida Keys, taking the life of a woman on deck. Fish ecologist Tracey Sutton discusses the bizarre attack.

Antarctica's Sea 'Babies' in Limbo

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:00:00 EDT

The icy ocean around Antarctica is one of the most unspoiled in the world. It's world-renowned for its penguins, but one team of scientists is more concerned about the animals you can't see -- and the fate these microscopic creatures may face in a warming world.

Architect Creates Estates for Wild Animals

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:20:00 EST

Artist Fritz Haeg builds homes for wild animals in urban areas with the hope of luring them back. This week his installation appears outside New York's Whitney Museum. What kind of creatures can we expect?

FDA: Cloned Cow Is 'Safe and Traditional'

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST

The Food and Drug Administration is saying meat and milk from cloned cows are as safe as they are traditional. But how do they taste and will they turn us into mutated creatures?

Bat Winters in D.C., to Delight of Urban Dwellers

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 16:00:00 EST

In this week's Science out of the Box segment, host Andrea Seabrook gets out of the NPR building in Washington, D.C., to rescue a bat that has taken up residence across the street. Why would this urban habitat suit a wild creature?

Pennsylvania Man Revives Sasquatch Debate

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 06:00:00 EDT

A Pennsylvania hunter captures images of a mysterious furry creature. He says it was unlike anything he'd seen. So he submitted the photos to the Bigfoot Research Organization, which agreed it could be a juvenile Bigfoot. More likely, says the states game commission: a bear with mange.

Solving the Mystery of the Disappearing Turtles

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 16:00:00 EDT

How do you study a creature whose early life is hidden from view? For decades, sea turtle researchers have wondered what happens to the hundreds of thousands of green turtle hatchlings that haul themselves to the water each year and disappear from view.

Woman Claims to Find Mythical Chupacabra

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:00:00 EDT

Chupacabra, which in Spanish means "goat sucker," is a mythical creature thought to suck the blood out of livestock. Phylis Canion, a hunter in Cuero, Texas claims that she has found one, and is determined to prove it through DNA testing.

Spain Battles Devastating Vole Infestation

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 19:30:00 EDT

An invasion of mouse-like rodents is laying waste to a broad swath of farmland in central Spain. Farmers are trying everything from burning fields to squashing the creatures with giant rolling pins, but to little avail.

Signs a Mouse Has Been in Your Car

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:25:00 EDT

Commentator Julie Zickefoose has had many cars that have become homes to mice. She explains how to spot whether your car is desirable real estate for the furry little creatures.

Coping with New York's Roaches -- or 'Water Bugs'

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:35:00 EDT

New Yorkers are used to rats, pigeons and more than a fare share of household pests. But they still seem surprised -- and disgusted -- when some exceptionally large, six-legged creatures come out of the sewers and walk the streets at night.

The Strange Journey of the American Eel

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 17:37:00 EDT

The American eel makes an annual pilgrimage from freshwater rivers along the East Coast to the salty Sargasso Sea. How are creatures that spend most of their lives in fresh water able to adapt to the ocean? Biologist Steve Gephard explains.