First picture of likely planet around Sun-like star. Astronomers have unveiled what is likely the first picture of a planet around a normal star similar to the Sun. — Science Daily

Friendly invaders. New research suggests that exotic species, instead of causing extinctions, may actually aid diversity. — New York Times

Old growth forests are valuable carbon sinks. Contrary to 40 years of conventional wisdom, a new analysis published in the journal Nature suggests that old growth forests are usually “carbon sinks”… — Science Daily

Paul Theroux on the “populist totem of the moment” – the moose. All this talk about moose hunting! It is as though, because of the animal’s enormous size and imposing antlers, bringing one down is a heroic feat of marksmanship. Nothing could be further from the truth. As Henry David Thoreau wrote in “The Maine Woods,” killing these big, gentle, myopic creatures is more “like going out by night to some woodside pasture and shooting your neighbor’s horses.” — LA Times [via Grist]