Biology

Sep 25th, 2022 - Eels are a type of fish that have adapted to an aquatic lifestyle. They have a continuous digestive track that allows them to eat small prey items such as insects and worms. Eels reproduce by laying eggs in the water column. The eggs hatch into larvae which swim around until they find an adult eel to attach themselves to. The larvae then grows into an adult eel over time.  What are eels and how do they reproduce?  Eels are fish that live in freshwater environments. In order to ... [Read More]

Sep 25th, 2022 - In most of its habitats, the heavily trafficked pangolin's biggest threat comes from humans. But in Taiwan, the scaly mammals brave a different danger: a surging feral dog population. Veterinarian Tseng Shao-tung, 28, has seen firsthand what a dog can do to the gentle creatures during his shifts at a hospital in Hsinchu. Last month he worked to save the life of a male juvenile pangolin who had been lying in the wild for days with half of its tail chewed off. "It has a big open wound on its tail ... [Read More]

Sep 24th, 2022 - When we consider termites, we may think of the danger they can pose to our houses once they settle in and start eating wood. But in fact, only about 4 percent of termite species worldwide are considered pests that might, at some point, eat your house. In nature, wood-eating termites play a broad and important role in warm tropical and sub-tropical ecosystems. In feeding on wood, they recycle essential nutrients to the soil and release carbon back to the atmosphere. Our new research, published ... [Read More]

Sep 24th, 2022 - Rare frogs released into California mountains after 2020 Bobcat Fire (CNN) Over two years after they were removed from California's San Gabriel Mountains due to the Bobcat Fire , endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs have been released into their native habitat. The Aquarium of the Pacific acquired a total of 275 mountain yellow-legged frog tadpoles last July, according to Erin Lundy, who helps care for the frogs at the aquarium. The aquarium received two tadpole cohorts: one cohort of ... [Read More]

Sep 23rd, 2022 - Chaos theory improves understanding of Arctic narwhal behavior, with the aim of helping efforts to protect this vulnerable species. Researchers have used the mathematical equations of chaos theory to analyse the data from long-term monitoring of an electronically tagged narwhal. They have extracted previously undetected diurnal patterns within what initially appeared to be irregular diving and surface resting behavior, using records extending across 83 days. "While animal-borne ocean sensors ... [Read More]

Sep 23rd, 2022 - Dinosaurs originated in the late Triassic Period (approximately 225 million years ago) and dominated the Earth until their mass extinction 66 million years ago. Towards the end of the 19 th century, enough dinosaur fossils have been found for scientists to develop a binary classification system based primarily upon the shape of dinosaurs' hip bones: saurischians (lizard-hipped) versus ornithischians (bird-hipped).  Although this classification proved reliable enough for all dinosaur ... [Read More]

Sep 23rd, 2022 - Climate change and habitat destruction may have already caused the loss of more than one-tenth of the world's terrestrial genetic diversity, according to new research. This means that it may already be too late to meet the United Nations' proposed target, announced last year, of protecting 90 percent of genetic diversity for every species by 2030, and that we have to act fast to prevent further losses. Climate change and habitat destruction may have already caused the loss of more than ... [Read More]

Sep 23rd, 2022 - Fossil algae predates the origin of land plants and modern animals Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of algae more than 500m years old Combined image showing the external surface of Protocodium sinense (left), view through the outer layer made up of utricles (middle, colourised) and central siphons (right, colourised). Credit: Cédric Aria More on: evolution Palaeontologists have discovered an algae fossil in China, identifying it as a new genus and species called ... [Read More]

Sep 23rd, 2022 - Model animals, such as mice and fruit flies, have provided scientists with powerful insights into how cellular biology works. However, model animals are really just a guide, and it can be risky to generalize findings across animals from studying a selection of model organisms. Cysteine is an important amino acid used in multiple biological processes, including metabolism and protein synthesis. In animals, cysteine biosynthesis was thought to be created exclusively via the transsulfuration ... [Read More]

Sep 23rd, 2022 - are excavating a mummified dinosaur from a rock on Canada, with the deceased creature believed to be totally covered in skin. The dinosaur fossil, which was uncovered at the Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada, was first discovered by paleontologists from the University of New England and the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller in 2021, according to a blog from the museum. Since then, excavation efforts have continued. The skeleton belongs to a herbivorous species called a hadrosaur, ... [Read More]

Sep 23rd, 2022 - The demise of the dinosaurs has long captivated paleontologists. Their mass extinction after a fiery meteorite pummeled Earth some 66 million years ago, as volcanoes erupted and global temperatures rose and fell, was a tumultuous end to the reign of these once-dominant beasts. But now another study suggests dinosaurs were already on their way out millions of years before the fated meteorite hit, according to an analysis of over 1,000 fossilized eggshells unearthed in central China. "Dinosaurs ... [Read More]

Sep 22nd, 2022 - Close to a year after the world's largest rhino translocation took place, near-threatened white rhinos are in good health and having calves in Rwanda's Akagera National Park. Plus: Retreats in Africa that offer the chance to see—and support—rhinos during your stay. On a bright day in Rwanda's Akagera National Park, I stood watching a group of 10 southern white rhinos grazing with nothing between us but tall green grass. We were downwind so they couldn't smell us, and far enough ... [Read More]

Sep 22nd, 2022 - Traveling together helps the sperm navigate a tricky, sticky migration through a cow's reproductive tract Scientists first started putting semen under a microscope almost 350 years ago, and ever since, their sperm sightings have produced as many questions as answers. Back then, they couldn't figure out exactly what the squirmy little things were, or what they did, let alone the different ways across the animal kingdom that sperm carry out their reproductive role. Part of the problem stems from ... [Read More]

Sep 22nd, 2022 - A recent study of the gut microbiome of Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos) shows that the microbial life in bears' guts allows them to achieve comparable size and fat stores while eating widely different diets. The work sheds light on the role of the gut microbiome in supporting health in wild omnivores. "We think of bears as having simple digestive tracts, so it's easy to slip into thinking that they therefore have simple gut microbiomes," says Erin McKenney, co-author of the study and an ... [Read More]

Sep 21st, 2022 - Our earliest hominin ancestors used a variety of tools to interact with, and modify their environment. Such tools would have given them access to more sources of food and improved their chances of survival. Studies of early hominin tool use have been focused mostly on the production and diversity of stone flakes as cutting tools, rather than on the use of pounding tools. This is despite the fact that percussive artefacts have been identified at several Plio-Pleistocene archaeological sites and ... [Read More]

Sep 21st, 2022 - Mosquitoes are being genetically modified so they can't spread malaria Gene editing mosquitoes so they die before malaria parasites can develop inside them could stop the spread of the deadly parasite entirely, according to lab studies and computer models Malaria-carrying mosquitoes have been genetically modified in a way that slows the development of any malaria parasites inside them and also reduces the lifespan of the mosquitoes. The result is that the modified insects die before they can ... [Read More]