Latest John VandenBrooks Stories

The giant dragonflies of ancient Earth with wingspans of up to 70 centimeters (28 inches) are generally attributed to higher oxygen atmospheric levels in the atmosphere in the past. New experiments in raising modern insects in various oxygen-enriched atmospheres have confirmed that dragonflies grow bigger with more oxygen, or hyperoxia.However, not all insects were larger when oxygen was higher in the past. For instance, the largest cockroaches ever are skittering around today. The question...