"Wildfires sparked by lightning near Canada's Hudson Bay are threatening the habitat of polar bears, encroaching on the old tree roots and frozen soil where females make their dens, a conservation expert on the big, white bears said on Thursday."

"Forget fluffy pandas and doe-eyed forest creatures. This TV presenter is all about the ugly, the freakish, the unloved."

"ROSEBURG, Ore. -- Bureau of Land Management biologist Rob Horn carries a foot-long cylinder full of mice into a lush forest searching for northern spotted owls."

"A University of Michigan genetic analysis has found that the global trade in bullfrogs is a prime conduit for the chytrid fungus, which has been devastating amphibian populations around the world. The paper is being published in the journal Molecular Ecology."

"A petition by environmentalists notes that young sharks are frequently caught in gill nets. There are about 340 mature great whites in the northeast Pacific, researchers say."

"CHICAGO -- At Ming Hin Cuisine in Chicago's Chinatown, a giant shark fin decorates the wall in the main dining room, and shark fin soup is offered on the banquet menu for customers willing to pay the price."

"A new survey suggests a popular class-room solution for Canadian and American teachers may be causing problems for Mother Nature. The study from Oregon State University says a quarter of teachers who use live organisms as teaching tools release the species into the wild when the classroom unit is finished, but only 10 per cent of them do it through a planned release program."

"WASHINGTON -- Storied manufacturer Gibson Guitar Corp. will pay $350,000 and improve its import controls in exchange for the government deferring prosecution of environmental crimes, the Department of Justice announced Monday."

"As the Midwest crunches into sweet corn season, a new type will be appearing on grocery store shelves — even though shoppers have no way to recognize it. It's genetically modified sweet corn from the biotech giant Monsanto, engineered to resist a common herbicide and certain pests."

"A gray whale baby boom appears to be under way along Alaska's arctic coast. Scientists tracking marine mammals in the Chukchi Sea report an unprecedented number of sightings of gray whale calves in July."

As ethnobotanists meet in New York City, they offer reminders that obscure and endangered species should be preserved because they sometimes form the basis of miracle drugs.

"Beekeepers in the U.S., looking for a way to stop or slow the die-offs devastating their industry, are watching their options dwindle along with the bees. Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rejected a petition [PDF] that beekeepers and environmental groups filed back in March asking EPA to stop sales of clothianidin, a pesticide believed to be harmful to bees. EPA said use of the chemical does not present an “imminent hazard” — the requirement to suspend registration of a pesticide."

"When Hadyn Parry, chief executive officer of the British biotechnology company Oxitec Ltd, appeared at a Key West town hall meeting to present his plan to use genetically modified mosquitoes in the fight to eradicate dengue fever, he came up against familiar resistance."

Researchers are studying whether the chytrid fungus -- which has decimated frog and salamander populations around the world -- is being spread among wild amphibians by the release of infected animals bought at pet stores. The fungus has devastated some 200 species globally, and may be responsible for the greatest known disease-caused loss of biodiversity in recorded history.

"HENDERSON, Minn. — Minnesota made headlines around the world in 1995 when schoolchildren discovered dozens of grossly deformed frogs in a pond in south central Minnesota."