Flightless birds were more common before human-driven extinctions – new study

Evolution towards flightlessness has been much more common through history than scientists once thought.

Tim Blackburn, Professor of Invasion Biology , UCL • conversation
Dec. 2, 2020 ~6 min

How do geese know how to fly south for the winter?

Geese honk loudly and point their bills toward the sky when they're ready to start the migration. Here's how they know it's time, how they navigate and how they conserve energy on the grueling trip.

Tom Langen, Professor of Biology, Clarkson University • conversation
Nov. 16, 2020 ~8 min


Pterosaurs increased their flight efficiency over time – new evidence for long-term evolution

Fossils reveal that dinosaurs' flying cousins become twice as efficient at flying over 150 million years.

Michael J. Benton, Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of Bristol • conversation
Oct. 28, 2020 ~6 min

Little bat-winged dinos could glide, but not fly

Two small dinosaurs with bat-like wings, Yi and Ambopteryx, couldn't take the air as well as birds.

Shirley Cardenas-McGill • futurity
Oct. 22, 2020 ~6 min

‘Evolutionary tree’ clarifies shift from dinos to birds

A new evolutionary tree suggests powered flight may have evolved in feathered dinosaurs and early birds at least three different times.

Cynthia Lee-McGill • futurity
Aug. 11, 2020 ~4 min

Monarchs from east and west fly differently, but still mate

Even though eastern and western monarch butterflies have different styles of migration, they're genetically the same, researchers report.

Carol Clark-Emory • futurity
Aug. 11, 2020 ~9 min

Flight shaming: how to spread the campaign that made Swedes give up flying for good

The Swedish 'flight shame' campaign was a runaway success. We asked those it affected how it influenced their travel behaviour.

Avit K Bhowmik, Assistant Professor, Karlstad University, and Research fellow in Planetary Boundaries Research Network, Stockholm University • conversation
July 27, 2020 ~7 min

Flight shame – how the campaign that persuaded Swedes to give up flying could capitalise on COVID-19

The Swedish 'flight shame' campaign was a runaway success. We asked those it affected how it influenced their travel behaviour.

Avit K Bhowmik, Assistant Professor, Karlstad University, and Research fellow in Planetary Boundaries Research Network, Stockholm University • conversation
July 27, 2020 ~7 min


Watch an acrobatic drone pull off great stunts

A new drone can pull off acrobatic maneuvers like barrel rolls or loops. More than just looking cool, it could be a step to autonomous flying robots.

U. Zurich • futurity
June 23, 2020 ~5 min

Green bailouts: relying on carbon offsetting will let polluting airlines off the hook

Carbon offsetting is better regulated than it once was, but it's no solution to the climate crisis.

Ben Christopher Howard, Doctoral Researcher in Nature-based Solutions, University of Birmingham • conversation
May 27, 2020 ~6 min

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