Biology News

‘Habsburg Jaw’ Was Result of Inbreeding, New Research Confirms

King Charles II of Spain was the last in the Habsburg line and one of the most afflicted with the facial deformity.
Dec 3, 2019 by News Staff

A facial condition called the ‘Habsburg jaw’ (mandibular prognathism) owes its name to its high prevalence in the Habsburg dynasty of Spanish and Austrian kings and their wives. The members of this dynasty are characterized by other signs of facial deformity, including an everted lower lip, also known as the ‘Habsburg lip,’ and noses with a hump and overhanging nasal tip, also known as the ‘Habsburg nose,’ which are often indicative of...

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Tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata). Image credit: Judy Alderson / USFWS.

Puffins Regulate Their Body Temperature Thanks to Their Impressively Large Bills

Nov 29, 2019 by News Staff

Tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) possess large bills and are members of the bird family with energetically expensive flight. In a new study, a team...

Yin et al use X-ray microtomography to show that the 609-million-year-old Caveasphaera develops within an envelope by cell division, ingression, detachment, and polar aggregation in a manner analogous to gastrulation; together with evidence of functional cell adhesion and development within an envelope, this is suggestive of a holozoan affinity. The image shows a life cycle of Caveasphaera and a simplified phylogenetic tree of Holozoa. Image credit: Yin et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.057.

Animal-Like Embryos Evolved Long Before Complex Animals, Scientists Say

Nov 28, 2019 by News Staff

Complex animals evolved from single-celled ancestors, before diversifying into 30-40 distinct anatomical designs. When and how this major evolutionary...

A honeybee fallen on a water surface creates a wave and hydrofoils atop it. Image credit: Roh & Gharib, Caltech.

Honeybees Use Their Wings as Hydrofoils to Maneuver on Water Surface, Study Shows

Nov 19, 2019 by News Staff

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) trapped on a water surface use their wetted wings as hydrofoils for their water surface propulsion, according to a paper published...

Cheng et al report genome sequences and analyses of two early diverging Zygnematophyceae species, Spirogloea muscicola and Mesotaenium endlicherianum, that share the same subaerial/terrestrial habitat with the earliest-diverging embryophytes, the bryophytes. Image credit: Cheng et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.10.019.

Natural Genetic Engineering Allowed Plants to Move from Water to Land

Nov 15, 2019 by News Staff

Horizontal gene transfer from soil bacteria to algae allowed early life to move to land, according to new research. Cheng et al report genome sequences...

Strumigenys ananeotes. Image credit: Jack Longino / University of Utah.

Entomologist Discovers New Ant Species in His Own Backyard

Nov 14, 2019 by News Staff

Dr. John Longino, an ant expert in the Department of Biology at the University of Utah, has discovered a new ant species in an urban yard in Salt Lake...

Silver-Backed Chevrotain Rediscovered in Vietnam

Nov 12, 2019 by News Staff

The silver-backed chevrotain (Tragulus versicolor), a deer-like species the size of a rabbit or small cat, has been rediscovered by an international team...

The Great Barrier Reef anemonefish (Amphiprion akindynos) at Siaes Tunnel, Palau. Image credit: Lux Tonnerre / CC BY 2.0.

Study: Anemonefish Can See Ultraviolet Light

Nov 11, 2019 by News Staff

The Great Barrier Reef anemonefish (Amphiprion akindynos) can see ultraviolet light and may use it as a ‘secret channel’ to find both friends and food,...

An illustrated meteorite impact scenario to exemplify the Siljan impact event. Image credit: Henrik Drake.

Signs of Ancient Microbes Found within 381-Million-Year-Old Crater

Nov 6, 2019 by News Staff

Fractured rocks of impact craters may be suitable hosts for deep microbial communities on Earth and potentially other terrestrial planets, yet direct evidence...

Gynacantha vargasi, a male (top) and a female. Image credit: William A. Haber, doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4612.1.3.

Beautiful New Species of Dragonfly Discovered

Nov 6, 2019 by Natali Anderson

A new species of dragonfly, officially named Gynacantha vargasi, has been discovered on the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica. Gynacantha vargasi, a male (top)...

A deep-sea hydrothermal vent. Image credit: Oregon State University / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Life Originated in Hydrothermal Vents, New Study Suggests

Nov 5, 2019 by News Staff

By creating protocells — seen as a key stepping stone to the development of cell-based life — in hot, alkaline seawater, a team of scientists...

Groups of vulturine guineafowl can become very large, and when multiple groups come into contact the number of birds moving together can reach into the hundreds. However, when these ‘super-groups’ eventually split, they do so back into their original stable group units, meaning that individuals are knowledgeable about who is part of their group and who is not. Image credit: Danai Papageorgiou.

Vulturine Guineafowl Found to Live in Multilevel Societies

Nov 5, 2019 by News Staff

Vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum), a species of large terrestrial bird from East Africa, live in large, multi-male, multi-female groups that...

The Niemitz’s tarsier (Tarsius niemitzi) from Malenge Island, Sulawesi. Image credit: Myron Shekelle.

New Species of Tarsier Discovered

Nov 4, 2019 by Natali Anderson

An international team of scientists has discovered a new species of tarsier living on the Togean Islands of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Niemitz’s...

Chicks are born with the ability to distinguish and avoid dangers. Image credit: Marcel Langthim.

Chicks Born with Knowledge to Flee from Predators, Study Shows

Oct 31, 2019 by News Staff

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study also found that new-born chicks know to slow down or stop moving to avoid being...

Van Moerkercke et al made the surprising discovery that a plant’s reaction to rain is close to one of panic. Image credit: Anthony, Inspired Images.

Plants’ Reaction to Rain is Close to Panic, Study Shows

Oct 30, 2019 by News Staff

Complex chemical signals are triggered when water lands on a plant to help it prepare for the dangers of rain, according to a new study published in the...

Diversity within the family Viridiplantae. Image credit: Leebens-Mack et al, doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1693-2.

Researchers Generate Gene Sequences for 1,124 Plant Species, Illuminate One Billion Years of Evolution

Oct 28, 2019 by News Staff

As part of the One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes (1KP) Initiative, an international consortium of scientists has sequenced transcriptomes — the set...

The white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). Image credit: Hermanus Backpackers / CC BY 2.0.

White Sharks Choose Who They Hang With, New Study Reveals

Oct 24, 2019 by News Staff

White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are top marine predators that are typically solitary but can also form seasonal aggregations around seal colonies...

Psammogorgia pax. Image credit: Hector Guzman / Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Marine Biologists Discover New Species of Octocoral

Oct 23, 2019 by News Staff

A previously unknown species of coral has been discovered in Hannibal Bank, a guyot seamount off Pacific Panama. Psammogorgia pax. Image credit: Hector...

A male white bellbird (Procnias albus). Image credit: Anselmo d’Affonseca, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia.

White Bellbird Has Loudest Songs in Avian Kingdom: Study

Oct 22, 2019 by News Staff

A duo of ornithologists from the United States and Brazil has recorded the loudest bird song (up to 125.4 db) ever documented, made by males of the white...

An aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis). Image credit: David Haring.

Scientists Find Pseudothumbs in Aye-Aye’s Hands

Oct 22, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from North Carolina State University and CNRS have found that aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) possess pseudothumbs...

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