Biology
Jul 16th, 2025 - Golden oyster mushrooms , with their sunny yellow caps and nutty flavor, have become wildly popular for being healthy, delicious and easy to grow at home from mushroom kits. But this food craze has also unleashed an invasive species into the wild, and new research shows it's pushing out native fungi . In a study we believe is the first of its kind, fellow mycologists and I demonstrate that an invasive fungus can cause environmental harm, just as invasive plants and animals can when they take ... [Read More]
Source: theconversation.com
Jul 16th, 2025 - These complex, looping tracks pressed into ancient seafloor mud look much more like doodles made by a child with a stick than fossils of animal movement. However, new measurements have shown those squiggles were, in fact, purposeful movements along paths made by primitive animals navigating their world almost 550 million years ago, well before textbooks say complex life "took off" during the Cambrian Explosion. Analysis of 170 trace fossils , which are the preserved marks of animal movement ... [Read More]
Source: earth.com
Jul 16th, 2025 - Snow leopard cubs have been photographed in Mongolia - the first time researchers have visited one of the animals' dens since 2019 A pair of researchers have visited two snow leopard dens in Mongolia's Tost mountains, where they studied and photographed five cubs, offering a rare opportunity to gather data on this threatened species . Prior to this expedition, which took place in June and July, researchers hadn't been able to visit a snow leopard den anywhere in the world since 2019. ... [Read More]
Source: newscientist.com
Jul 15th, 2025 - It's a commonly held belief: Sperm cells are like runners in an epic race, competing against each other for access to the coveted egg at the finish line. The egg, in turn, waits patiently for the winning sperm to pierce its outer membrane, triggering fertilization. This narrative of racing sperm and waiting eggs has persisted through time — and yet, it simply isn't accurate. Scientific research has debunked this idea time and time again. In her new book " The Stronger Sex: What Science ... [Read More]
Source: livescience.com
Jul 15th, 2025 - By 25,669 Northern Gannets in Canada. 134 harbor and gray seals along the coast of Maine. 21 California Condors in the western U.S. These are just a tiny fraction of the wild victims of a strain of high pathogenicity avian influenza—what we colloquially call bird flu . The virus, which scientists call H5N1, has spread like wildfire around the globe in recent years, surprising and horrifying scientists at every unpredictable turn. And while most people have fretted about the rising price ... [Read More]
Source: scientificamerican.com
Jul 15th, 2025 - New scans of two small predatory dinosaurs reveal a pea-sized wrist bone once thought unique to birds. The research suggests that the engines of flight were revving inside dinosaur arms long before any creature flapped skyward. The study was led by James Napoli of Stony Brook University with colleagues at the American Museum of Natural History and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences . The research overturns earlier claims that theropods lacked a bird-like pisiform and raises the possibility that ... [Read More]
Source: earth.com
Jul 15th, 2025 - Scientists have recovered ancient proteins from a fossilized rhinoceros tooth, breaking new ground in the study of ancient life on Earth. The 24 million-year-old tooth, which was unearthed in the Canadian Arctic, contains proteins that are 10 times older than the most ancient known DNA . Using the sample, scientists have now analyzed the oldest detailed protein sequence on record. "Enamel is so hard it protects these proteins over deep time (long time scales)," said Ryan Sinclair Paterson, a ... [Read More]
Source: cnn.com
Jul 14th, 2025 - What started as a student field trip along the cliffs of Dorset turned into the discovery of a new prehistoric species. A 16.5-millimeter lower jaw, embedded in rock near Swanage, is now reshaping how scientists view early mammal evolution. The discovery was made by an undergraduate student from the University of Portsmouth . The fossil belongs to a type of extinct mammal called a multituberculate. These small, rodent-like creatures once lived alongside dinosaurs and were known for their ... [Read More]
Source: earth.com
Jul 14th, 2025 - Would you like some garum with that? The Romans had a remarkably rich and varied diet. Fish played a key role in this diet. They were, above everything, a Mediterranean culture (they called the Mediterranean "Mare nostrum" or "Our sea"). Large fish, such as tuna, were cleaned, gutted and layered with salt in stone vats. This preserved them for longer periods of time and facilitated commerce throughout the Empire. Meanwhile, smaller fish were often used to make sauces. Garum, liquamen, allec and ... [Read More]
Source: zmescience.com
Jul 14th, 2025 - With a bottlenose population threatened by fishing gear, boats and pollution, campaigners on South Korea's Jeju island are lobbying to extend legal status to the vulnerable cetaceans I t is a beautiful sunny day on the island of Jeju in South Korea and as the boat cuts through the water all seems calm and clear. Then they start to appear – one telltale fin and then another. Soon, a pod of eight or nine dolphins can be seen moving through the sea, seemingly following the path of the boat. ... [Read More]
Source: theguardian.com
Jul 14th, 2025 - Sharks have survived five mass extinctions and ruled the oceans for over 400 million years. As apex predators, they play a critical role in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems. But today, sharks are more threatened than ever. On Shark Awareness Day, we highlight the science behind their importance. Without sharks, ocean ecosystems would become unbalanced, leading to overpopulation of some species and the collapse of others. This disruption would harm the overall health of the ... [Read More]
Source: earth.com
Jul 14th, 2025 - Extinct. That word used to carry a sense of finality with it. If a species went extinct, that was the end of it. There was no bringing it back; it was gone forever. That is how it has always been, until recently. Lately, scientists have been working on de-extinction projects. These projects aim to recreate species that have since been lost to us. So far, they have succeeded with some, but their vision is far from over. Now, those scientists plan to bring back another extinct animal, and it is ... [Read More]
Source: wideopenspaces.com
Jul 13th, 2025 - About 400 million years ago, some intrepid fish became the first vertebrate animals to walk on land. Now a fossil jawbone found in northern Australia might help explain what these pioneering fish ate. Lobe-finned fish such as coelacanths are closely related to modern lungfish. Lungfish got their name because these "living fossils" from Africa, South America and Australia can breathe air. Fossil jawbones from ancient lungfish that lived 380 million years ago (mya) have been re-examined using new ... [Read More]
Source: cosmosmagazine.com
More than half of koalas relocated to NSW forest died in failed government attempt at reintroduction
Jul 13th, 2025 - Exclusive: Translocation and deaths of seven out of 13 koalas in April, with some showing signs of septicaemia, not made public by state government An attempt by the New South Wales government to reintroduce koalas to a forest in the state's far south has failed after more than half of the moved animals died, including two with signs of septicaemia, and the remaining marsupials were taken into care. The translocation and deaths of seven out of 13 koalas in April were not made public by the ... [Read More]
Source: theguardian.com
Jul 13th, 2025 - New research on Monday contradicted the commonly held idea that males dominate females among primates, revealing far more nuanced power dynamics in the relationships of our close relatives. "For a long time we have had a completely binary view of this issue: we thought that a species was either dominated by males or females—and that this was a fixed trait," Elise Huchard, a primatologist at the University of Montpellier in France, told AFP. "Recently, this idea has been challenged by ... [Read More]
Source: phys.org
Jul 12th, 2025 - More than 200 new giant viruses discovered in our marine ecosystems Within the complex hierarchy of marine ecosystems, giant viruses are now being recognized as novel drivers of both ecological balance and carbon cycling. A new study published in Nature npj Viruses, by researchers at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School, broadens our understanding of these viral giants, revealing 230 new genomes and hundreds of previously unidentified proteins. The study's lead author, Benjamin Minch, ... [Read More]
Source: newatlas.com