The Mammoth Cometh. The first time Ben Novak saw a passenger pigeon, he fell to his knees and remained in that position, speechless, for 20 minutes. He was 16. At 13, Novak vowed to devote his life to resurrecting extinct animals.... Ben Novak needed no convincing. When he heard that Revive & Restore had decided to resurrect the passenger pigeon, he sent an email to Church, who forwarded it to Brand and Phelan. "Passenger pigeons have been my passion in life for a very long time," Novak wrote. "Any way I can be part of this work would be my honor."... Novak, who is 27, hastened to assure me that the construction of the passenger-pigeon genome was also underway. In fact, it had been for years... Because de-extinction requires collaboration from a number of different disciplines, Phelan sees Revive & Restore as a "facilitator," helping to connect geneticists, molecular biologists, synthetic biologists and conservation biologists. New York Times

Spectacular Northern Lights Time-Lapse Video Will Make You Wish You lived in Norway. Book your ticket to Norway, folks. If this is what the northern lights look like over one of Norway's fjords, it seems like a pretty beautiful place to live. Nature photographer Øyvind Schei captured photos of the aurora borealis in Trondheim throughout 2013 and decided to create a 4-minute time-lapse of the sight. The stunning video of the northern lights over Trondheimsfjord -- an inlet of the Norwegian sea -- features images from January, March and October. Huffington Post

Aurora 2013

Much Ado About America's Arctic "Ambassador." When America takes over the presidency of the Arctic Council in 2015, it hopefully will be with a newly minted Arctic envoy at the helm. The move to create such a position, announced on February 14, has been heralded as a sign that the US has renewed its commitment to the region, but leading voices say they are worried the position, officially a special representative for the Arctic region, lacks the prestige it will need to defend the country's interests abroad. By establishing the office, John Kerry, the secretary of state, made the US the last of the eight Arctic powers to name a senior official to tend to issues in the region. The Arctic Journal

State Wants Humpbacks Struck from Endangered List. The state of Alaska is asking the federal government to remove Endangered Species Act protections for the humpback whales that swim between Alaska and Hawaii, spending months each year off Alaska's Arctic Coast, a prospective oil-rich region. The state on Wednesday filed a petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service to "delist" whales that feed in Alaska in the summer and breed in Hawaii in winter. The state wants those humpbacks defined as a distinct, central North Pacific population, which could lead to removal of protection for them even if other humpback populations remain officially endangered. Anchorage Daily News

Scientists Survey Canada's Polar Bears From Space. They look like tiny white specks on a mottled grey background. They're polar bears seen from space - using the newest tool in the kit for scientists to monitor Canada's populations of the mighty Arctic predator. "They really do stand out as a bright white dot against that dark grey landscape," said Seth Stapleton, a University of Minnesota scientist pioneering the technique. Anchorage Daily News

Report: 'Perfect Storm' of Oil Risks in US Arctic Waters. With Shell uncertain about its future in U.S. arctic waters, a consortium of environmental advocacy groups said the region presents a "perfect storm of risks." Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in January a series of mishaps in its drilling campaign off the Alaskan coast meant his company lacked a "clear path forward" in the Arctic. UPI

The Bering Strait Poses Increased Risk of Collision Between Whales and Ships. A large population of whales and ships is increasingly using the ice-free Bering Strait, the channel that connects the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, raising the risk of collision with ships. In the recent past, the Arctic sea ice has melted unusually early in the spring due to which a large number of whale population is travelling north towards the Bering Sea to feed in the biologically rich Chukchi Sea. In a three-year study researchers used underwater microphones to track these whales by their sounds. Science World Report

Spotted Seal Study Reveals Sensitive Hearing in Air and Water. Two spotted seals orphaned as pups in the Arctic are now thriving at UC Santa Cruz's Long Marine Laboratory, giving scientists a rare opportunity to learn about how these seals perceive their environment. In a comprehensive study of the hearing abilities of spotted seals, UCSC researchers found that the seals have remarkably sensitive hearing in both air and water. The findings, published February 26 in the Journal of Experimental Biology, are important for understanding how spotted seals might be affected by noise from human activities in the rapidly changing Arctic environment. Reductions in sea ice due to climate change have led to increased shipping and industrial activity in the Arctic, including oil and gas exploration. Science 2.0