panda

Researchers Store Panda Pics in DNA, Hinting at a New Era of Data Storage

Two images were stored in and retrieved from DNA sequences, showcasing how the crucial genetic molecule can also can be used for data storage.

Biology Isaac Schultz Oct 23

Pandas Are Probably Still Screwed, Sorry

Last year brought some rare good conservation news: the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the folks who determine which species are endangered and which aren’t, bumped pandas from endangered to vulnerable. That’s a sign that conservation efforts have begun to reverse the effects of the human activity that wiped out the original bamboo-filled…

Tech News Ryan F. Mandelbaum Sep 25

A Blizzard Can’t Dampen The Spirits Of The Nation’s Panda Bears

As Winter Storm Jonas pummels the East Coast this weekend, Washington DC’s Smithsonian National Zoo posted up this fantastic video of one of their Pandas, Tian Tian, enjoying the weather.

Tech News Andrew Liptak Jan 23

We Never Should Have Taught The Pandas How To Fly

The pandas took to the skies as they took to few other things in their existence, and their own gut microbes were an integral to producing biofuel. The combination made them an unstoppable force — and they took back more than their habitat. Concept art by Steve Chinhsuan Wang. You can see more of Wang’s…

io9 Lauren Davis Mar 31

Panda Breeding Programs Are Way More Successful Than You Realize

Most people think giant pandas are doomed. We’ve all heard about the disastrous failures in breeding them in captivity, and the massive die-offs. But you may not realize that panda breeding programs have become a stunning success. Here’s why. Above: Giant panda at the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda at Wolong…

io9 Jason G. Goldman Aug 1

Giant Panda Breeding Efforts Have Actually Been Really Successful

Pandas are typically thought of as a lost cause. They’re one of the most endangered species on the planet; just 2500 giant pandas live in the wild. They’re notoriously difficult to breed; zoos keep them around primarily to attract tourists rather than for any ostensible conservation benefit. At least, that’s the perception. Until as recently…

Biology Jason G. Goldman Aug 1

How Do Red And Giant Pandas Coexist? The Secret Is In Their Skulls.

Red pandas and giant pandas have more in common than simply being equally adorable and included on the IUCN Red List. They both eat bamboo and live in the same habitats. How do they coexist without competing over the same resources? The secret might be hidden in their skulls. Despite their English language labels, red…

Biology Jason G. Goldman Apr 10

How Do Pandas Eat So Much Bamboo?

For members of the taxonomic order Carnivora, giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) eat surprisingly little meat. They’re nearly entirely herbivorous, subsisting almost exclusively on bamboo. What’s strange about the panda is that it isn’t really very well designed for a plant-based diet. At least not at first glance. Other herbivorous mammals have specialized adaptations in their…

Biology Jason G. Goldman Mar 26

It’s a cub! Watch the National Zoo’s Giant Panda give birth

Get out the party hats, a giant panda has been born! Yesterday afternoon, Mei Xiang, one of the ursine residents of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, gave birth to another little cub. Time to turn on the panda cam! The panda team saw Mei Xiang’s water break around 3:36pm ET yesterday, and at 5:32pm, she gave…

io9 Lauren Davis Aug 24

Panda blood could hold the secret to the next generation of antibiotics

Pandas aren’t exactly renowned for their health and hardiness — if anything, they’ve earned a reputation as a fragile, sex-averse species that needs constant human conservation just to keep from going extinct. Well, they might be about to repay the favor in a big way, thanks to a powerful antibiotic locked inside their blood. That’s…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jan 1

Now you can watch giant panda cub Xiao Liwu sleeping on Pandacam

The week is almost over and things are getting kind of unbearable. That’s why you need the San Diego Zoo’s awesome Pandacam, which reveals a giant baby panda, snuggling up in his den, sometimes with his mom and sometimes in his own adorable little curl. Now that the little guy is over 100 days old,…

io9 Annalee Newitz Nov 15

Sad Panda News. Warning: do not read if you were planning on having a good Monday. (UPDATED)

We’ve got some absolutely heartbreaking news here at Panda Watch. The cub that was born last week to Mei Xiang, The National Zoo’s giant panda, has died. Zoo officials report that more information is forthcoming, but, as of this morning, details surrounding the cub’s sudden passing are sparse: https://gizmodo.com/drop-everything-a-baby-panda-was-just-born-at-the-nat-5943896 We are brokenhearted to share that…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Sep 24

Drop everything — a baby panda was just born at The National Zoo, and there’s a baby panda cam (UPDATED)

Clear your schedules, people, you’re all booked solid for the rest of the afternoon. The occasion? Last night, a baby panda was born at The National Zoo in Washington, D.C.; and — because baby pandas are awesome and productivity is overrated — the zoo’s panda team has set up TWO baby panda cams. Update: The…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Sep 17

Neil Gaiman signs five book deal

If you have a shelf dedicated to the works of Neil Gaiman, then it may be time to add a second! Gaiman just signed a five-book deal with Harper Collins Children’s Books. In case you’ve been keeping score at home, in the next couple years we’re also expecting his non-fiction travel book about China, his…

io9 Michael Ann Dobbs Jul 17

The earliest known panda-like fossils have been found – in Spain!?

This little feller is Agriarctos beatrix, which roamed the forests of Spain some eleven million years ago. It represents the earliest known member of the giant panda’s evolutionary subfamily, and it was pretty much just ridiculously adorable. Agriarctos beatrix is a member of the Ailuropodinae subfamily, which is one taxonomic level below the Ursid family…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins May 27

Should We Just Let Pandas Die Off Already?

Pandas. Zoos want them, other bears want to be them (maybe?). But are they really worth all the trouble? Let’s fight about it: Point: Pandas Are Awesome! The panda bear, above all, is a survivor of the keenest degree. You might deride it for its sloth, for its listlessness, for its struggle to spread its…

Biology Sam Biddle and Brian Barrett Sep 16

Do pandas hold the key to reducing US reliance on foreign oil?

Pandas have all kinds of talents, like looking adorable, dozing off for no reason, and looking tiny next to Shaq. But pandas are also pretty big on eating and pooping, and, by extension, digesting raw plant materials. It’s this last skill, in particular, that has chemists interested in what pandas can teach us about next-generation…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Aug 30

Pandas really don’t want to mate with each other

Pandas are possibly the most iconic endangered species on the planet, but sometimes it seems like these creatures don’t even want to stick around anymore. Here’s the latest challenge for continued panda survival: males and females have completely different habitats. Pandas have notoriously low birthrates, both in the wild and in captivity. Now researchers have…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jul 17

Hone Your Chopstick Skills With These Adorable Pandas

Chopstick newbies in training need to toss thier trainer sticks and pick up a Panda Darake practice kit instead. Besides improving your finger dexterity, it’s about the most adorable gadget I have ever seen. The kit includes chopsticks, a balancing tire and 12 tiny pandas in a variety of cute poses that just scream “pick…

Commerce Kelly Jul 11

Pandas are vegetarians because they lost the meat-eating gene

Pandas are famously peaceful creatures, content to sit around quietly eating bamboo. But millions of years ago, they were as fierce and carnivorous as the rest of their bear relatives. It’s all a question of changing environments and shifting genes. Genetic research into pandas by Jianzhi Zhang at the University of Michigan found that pandas…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Dec 5

panda

Researchers Store Panda Pics in DNA, Hinting at a New Era of Data Storage

Pandas Are Probably Still Screwed, Sorry

A Blizzard Can’t Dampen The Spirits Of The Nation’s Panda Bears

We Never Should Have Taught The Pandas How To Fly

Panda Breeding Programs Are Way More Successful Than You Realize

Giant Panda Breeding Efforts Have Actually Been Really Successful

How Do Red And Giant Pandas Coexist? The Secret Is In Their Skulls.

How Do Pandas Eat So Much Bamboo?

It’s a cub! Watch the National Zoo’s Giant Panda give birth

Panda blood could hold the secret to the next generation of antibiotics

Now you can watch giant panda cub Xiao Liwu sleeping on Pandacam

Sad Panda News. Warning: do not read if you were planning on having a good Monday. (UPDATED)

Drop everything — a baby panda was just born at The National Zoo, and there’s a baby panda cam (UPDATED)

Neil Gaiman signs five book deal

The earliest known panda-like fossils have been found – in Spain!?

Should We Just Let Pandas Die Off Already?

Do pandas hold the key to reducing US reliance on foreign oil?

Pandas really don’t want to mate with each other

Hone Your Chopstick Skills With These Adorable Pandas

Pandas are vegetarians because they lost the meat-eating gene

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