The Encyclopedia of Life is a new project in which the objective is to catalogue all known species of life in a single, online database:

Comprehensive, collaborative, ever-growing, and personalized, the Encyclopedia of Life is an ecosystem of websites that makes all key information about life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world. Our goal is to create a constantly evolving encyclopedia that lives on the Internet, with contributions from scientists and amateurs alike. To transform the science of biology, and inspire a new generation of scientists, by aggregating all known data about every living species. And ultimately, to increase our collective understanding of life on Earth, and safeguard the richest possible spectrum of biodiversity.

[via meshly]

Dr. Elaine Soloway germinated a sapling -- she named Methuselah -- from a 2,000 year old date seed that was found in Masada, Israel during excavations in the 1970s.  Not only is it the oldest seed ever to germinate, but it's also the only plant like it.

Last week, Methuselah underwent chronological testing, using the radioactive isotope Carbon-14, which confirmed that the tree grew from a seed that lived when the Romans ruled the land.

If the sapling continues to flourish, Soloway believes they will be able to renew a species of date that grew in the Kingdom of Judea at that time. Soloway says the type of date grown by ancient Judeans disappeared in the centuries following the repression of the revolt.

Read the full article here.

Dolphin fishing is an annual practice in the town of Taiji, Japan.  This year some Japanese fishermen had an interesting catch -- a bottlenose dolphin with an extra set of fins. 

"I believe the fins may be remains from a time when dolphins' ancient ancestors lived on land," Osumi told reporters.

Scott Baker, associate director of the marine mammal program at Oregon State University in Corvallis, agreed, saying that "this certainly is direct evidence of evolution."

The dolphin was captured alive and is being studied at the Taiji Wahling Museum.

The North American wood frog is quite a peculiar animal.  Unlike most frogs, the wood frog can be found in Alaska and above the Arctic Circle.  As the temperature drops below freezing and as soon as it "just touches an ice crystal", the frog will completely freeze.  The frog's organs stop functioning -- no breathing, no heart beat, nothing -- for several weeks.  When Spring arrives, the frog then spontaneously thaws and, within hours, is ready for mating season.

Sound like something in a sci-fi movie?  See for yourself.  Link.