The main driver behind global climate change is often thought to be fossil fuel emissions, but the results of a survey of 41 international scientists published in Nature this December stresses the role of another factor. Led by University of Florida scientist Edward Schuur and University of Alaska Fairbanks graduate student Benjamin Abbott, the survey suggests that intense permafrost thaw could potentially increase greenhouse gases by nearly 150 percent.

Researchers studying the transmission of a deadly airborne strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus published a letter in both Science and Nature last month, announcing that they have suspended their work for 60 days to discuss the merits of this controversial research. Primary concerns regarding this research include the potential for this virus to escape laboratories and its possible use by bioterrorists.

A newly described frog species from New Guinea is now recognized as the world’s smallest vertebrate, averaging only 7.7 millimeters in length—small enough to sit comfortably on the face of President Roosevelt on an American dime.