Biology

Jul 11th, 2020 - Botanist Wesley Knapp has a reputation for finding lost plants. In 2016 Knapp’s rediscovery of a rare Maryland flower called Solidago rupestris —last seen more than 100 years ago—resulted in headlines calling him " the Indiana Jones of botany ." Now Knapp has contributed to a new discovery—the identity of a plant species that’s been hiding under experts’ eyes and noses for decades. It’s probably been extinct for much of that time. The lost plant, a three-foot-tall daisy called  Marshallia grandiflora , grew in just two western North Carolina counties and hasn’t been ... [Read More]

Jul 11th, 2020 - Older varieties of maize plant can send out a chemical signal to recruit parasitic wasps when 'stemborer' wasps lay their eggs on its leaves. The natural ability of some maize plants to resist insect attack could be harnessed as a biological pesticide, according to new research led by Keele University. Pests can cause devastating losses to crops, but some maize plants will send out a chemical signal when a ‘stemborer’ moth has laid its eggs on the plant, in order to recruit parasitic wasps that lay their eggs in the moth caterpillars . To find out more about the genetics behind the ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - Research has been limited thus far and the situation could be worse. It seems that bees, and not just humans, are forced to deal with a pandemic of their own. A new study has found that a fungal pathogen known as Nosema has been infecting bees around the world for the past two decades. The infection has been documented across Europe, Canada, and even in Kenya. The pathogen has almost exclusively affected the European honeybee, a well-known commercial pollinator. Nothing is known yet about the impact on native and solitary bees, which represent most of the 20,000 bee species that can be found ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - Study shows that chromosomal abnormalities in embryonic cells may be more common than previously thought and these conditions may lead to development of healthy babies during IVF The presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes in the genetic profile of early-stage embryos may be far more common and potentially less threatening during normal human development than is currently believed, according to new research from Johns Hopkins University biologists. The findings could have significant clinical implications for the in-vitro fertilization field, where debate still rages about the efficacy ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - Researchers found that wild rufous hummingbirds could remember which flower in a sequence held nectar New research suggests that wild hummingbirds can keep count as they forage and use their counts to keep track of the sweetest flowers. The new paper, published on July 8 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B , found that male rufous hummingbirds can learn which fake flower in a sequence holds a nectar-like syrup. Only one flower in ten held syrup. But even when the researchers moved the location of the artificial flowers and the distances between them, scientists observed the birds ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - Paleontologists have uncovered countless dinosaur fossils since the original "Jurassic Park" movie came out in 1993 . The discoveries have changed their understanding of how dinosaurs looked, sounded, and acted. Most of the creatures we see on screen throughout the franchise are not scientifically accurate .  New research shows that dilophosaurus — the human-sized carnivore that shot venom in the films — was actually 20 feet long and didn't have poisonous spit. Business Insider asked four dinosaur experts — including the science adviser on all the "Jurassic Park" and "Jurassic World" ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - The following piece was written for us by Reptile Systems in response to us asking what makes Reptile Systems Insect Food better than any other insect foods on the market. It’s safe to say that Insect Food is seriously good stuff, after reading the following, we’re sure you’ll agree! This insect food should form the starting point for your whole supplemental program if you keep any animal that consumes insects. Our premium gut loading formula is a highly palatable nutritional booster for feeder insects. Loaded with essential vitamins, minerals and natural colour enhancers, it ensures ... [Read More]

Jul 10th, 2020 - This 15-meter-long dolphin was also the first predatory whale to use echolocation. The fossil of a 15-meter-long extinct species of dolphin is helping us better understand how different lineages of marine mammal independently evolved the same characteristics. The species, christened Ankylorhiza tiedemani lived about 25 million years ago during the Oligocene in what today is South Carolina. It belonged to a group of large dolphins (Odontoceti) whose best-known modern representative is the orca (killer whale). The anatomy of this fossil suggests that it was likely a top predator in its day. It ... [Read More]

Jul 9th, 2020 - A world-first ultrasound and chance sightings of potential mating rituals could help in the urgent work to save these gentle giants from extinction C overed in polka dots and stretching the length of a single-decker bus, the gentle giant barrelled towards them. The team of scientists, ready with a 17kg waterproof ultrasound machine they had lugged to one of the world’s most isolated dives sites, waited for the whale shark. Months of preparation had gone into the encounter, expected to last between 30 and 45 seconds. Aided into position by a propeller mounted on his air tank, one scientist ... [Read More]

Jul 9th, 2020 - The evolution of human teeth began among ancient armored fishes more than 400 million years ago. In the scientific journal Science , an international team led by researchers from Uppsala University presents groundbreaking findings about these earliest jawed vertebrates. Using powerful X-ray imaging, they show that unique fossils found near Prague contain surprisingly modern-looking teeth. Teeth are made of dentine, a tissue which in humans is only found in teeth . However, in sharks, the entire body surface is covered with tooth-like scales made of dentine. Fossils show that similar dentine ... [Read More]

Jul 9th, 2020 - A third of all the lemur species on Earth are "one step from extinction". This is according to the latest update of the Red List , the comprehensive, continually updated report on the status of species. Human activities, particularly deforestation and hunting, drive the declines in these unique primates. Such habitat destruction has also been linked to an increased risk of wildlife diseases - like the coronavirus - spilling over into human populations. The update shows that 33 lemur species - primates unique to Madagascar - are now classified as Critically Endangered, with 103 of the 107 ... [Read More]

Jul 8th, 2020 - » How To Get Rid Of Tomato Worms [10 WAYS] Tomato worms or tomato hornworm   Manduca quinquemaculata  is a very common green caterpillar in North America. This tomato caterpillar eats a wide variety of popular veggie host plants including members of the Hemlock family, such as: Tomato plants Potato Pepper Eggplant The tobacco hornworms Manduca sexta wreak havoc on tobacco crops. These enormous and rather dazzling-looking tobacco worm caterpillars are relentlessly destructive. They eat leaves whole and also . Our Top Picks On Getting Rid Of Tomato Worms Bacillus thuringiensis bt Food Grade ... [Read More]

Jul 8th, 2020 - (CNN) Paleontologists may have identified a new species of dinosaur that lived, mated and nested in the Arctic 70 million years ago. Analysis of the tip of a fossilized jawbone, just 14 millimeters long, found in northern Alaska, showed that the creature was a type of dromaeosaurid, a group of predatory dinosaurs closely related to birds, whose members include the Velociraptor, the dinosaurs that terrorized in "Jurassic Park." The jawbone would have been from a young dinosaur chick, and the early developmental stage of the bone suggests it was born nearby. Many paleontologists believe the ... [Read More]

Jul 8th, 2020 - Some animals fake their body size by sounding 'bigger' than they actually are. Researchers studied 164 different mammals and found that animals who lower their voice to sound bigger are often skilled vocalists. Both strategies -- sounding bigger and learning sounds -- are likely driven by sexual selection, and may play a role in explaining the origins of human speech evolution. Some animals fake their body size by sounding 'bigger' than they actually are. Researchers studied 164 different mammals and found that animals who lower their voice to sound bigger are often skilled vocalists. Both ... [Read More]

Jul 8th, 2020 - When 323 reindeer were killed by lightning on a remote Norwegian plateau, their bodies were left for nature to take its course I n August 2016, a park ranger stumbled upon 323 dead wild tundra reindeer in Norway’s remote Hardangervidda plateau. They had been killed in a freak lightning event. But instead of removing the carcasses, the park decided to leave them where they were, allowing nature to take its course – and scientists to study this island of decomposition and how it might change the arctic tundra ecosystem. Over the years scientists observed the bloated, fly-infested bodies ... [Read More]

Jul 7th, 2020 - These tiny dinos started evolving many of the traits of today's birds. A diminutive fossil is teaching us about how dinosaurs evolved to their impressive sizes. Christened Kongonaphon kely , meaning ‘tiny bug slayer’, this dinosaur is unusually proportioned — it was about the size of a coffee cup. The dino belonged to the group which dinosaurs and pterosaurs (flying dinosaurs) eventually branched away from. Small, but dangerous! "There’s a general perception of dinosaurs as being giants,"  says  palaeontologist Christian Kammerer from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, ... [Read More]