Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo Photograph by Carsten Peter.Nyiragongo is a two-mile-high volcano towering over the eastern edge of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—one of the most active volcanoes on the planet and also one of the least studied. Scientists aren’t sure of the lake’s depth, though recent lava samples indicate the magma originated in the Earth’s mantle more than 46 miles below.

TESTING SKIN RESILIENCE Braving 22-mile-an-hour (35-kilometer-an-hour) winds at minus 40°F (minus 40°C), a test subject participates in skin reaction experiments at Defence R&D Canada in Toronto. Researchers there subjected test participants to a variety of simulated weather conditions to test how long it takes skin to become frostbitten.

 

MISHMASH FISH There are more than 3,000 known species of nudibranch, and new ones are being identified almost daily. They are found throughout the world’s oceans, but are most abundant in shallow, tropical waters. Their scientific name, Nudibranchia, means naked gills, and describes the feathery gills and horns that most wear on their backs.

 

RED ALERT Among of the most common of South American monkeys, squirrel monkeys can move through the trees using great, bounding leaps. Squirrel monkeys, like colorblind people, lack the pigment gene that lets them distinguish red and green.l.

 

 

AFRICAN ELEPHANT African elephants, the largest of Earth’s land mammals, are thick-skinned. An African elephant’s skin can be up to one inch (2.5 centimeters) thick.

 

 

PRAIRIE DOGS These charismatic, rabbit-size rodents live on North America’s prairies and open grasslands in only a fraction of their former numbers. Family groups (a male, a few females, and their young) inhabit burrows and cooperate to share food, chase off other prairie dogs, and groom one another. These group members even greet one another with a prairie dog kiss or nuzzle. Young pups are very playful and can often been seen romping near their burrows.