Biology News

Biologists Solve Mystery of Blue-Green Bird Eggs

Blue-green eggs of the Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis). Image credit: Eastern Kentucky University.
May 30, 2016 by News Staff

Blue-green egg color shields bird embryos from harmful sunlight, according to Dr. David Lahti from the City University of New York and Dr. Dan Ardia from Franklin & Marshall College. Blue-green eggs of the Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis). Image credit: Eastern Kentucky University. The authors tested the hypothesis that pigmentation might help an egg strike a balance between two opposing and potentially damaging effects of the Sun: light transmission...

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Port Jackson shark (Heterodontus portusjacksoni). Image credit: Evan Byrnes.

Sharks Have Distinct Personalities, New Study Finds

May 30, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Sharks of the same species can have different personalities, indicates a new study published in the Journal of Fish Biology. Port Jackson shark (Heterodontus...

Conception Bank silver boa. Image credit: Alberto R. Puente-Rolon.

Silver Boa: Scientists Discover New Snake Species in Bahamas

May 29, 2016 by Sergio Prostak

A team of researchers led by Dr. Graham Reynolds from the University of North Carolina Asheville has discovered a new species of non-venomous boid snake...

Cephalopods Thrive in World’s Oceans

May 24, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Current Biology, cephalopods’ numbers have increased in the world’s oceans over the past six decades. Giant...

A reconstruction of Homo naledi’s head by paleoartist John Gurche, who spent some 700 hours recreating the head from bone scans. The find was announced by the University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society and the South African National Research Foundation and published in the journal eLife. Image credit: John Gurche / Mark Thiessen / National Geographic.

Homo naledi, Galapagos Tortoise in ESF’s Top 10 New Species 2015

May 23, 2016 by News Staff

Taxonomy experts at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) selected the top 10 from among the estimated 18,000 new species named...

A Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus). Image credit: Tambako the Jaguar.

Invasive Nile Crocodiles Were Captured in Florida, DNA Study Confirms

May 20, 2016 by News Staff

Using DNA analysis, scientists have confirmed the capture of Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) in South Florida. A Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)....

Southern yellow-billed hornbills (Tockus leucomelas) keep cool by losing heat through their beaks. Image credit: Chris Eason / CC BY 2.0.

Desert-Living Hornbills Use Their Beaks to Cool Off

May 19, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by Tanja van de Ven from the University of Cape Town has found that southern yellow-billed hornbills (Tockus leucomelas) in the...

Sahara, Libya. Image credit: Victor Korniyenko / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Dust from Sahara Makes Significant Impact on Caribbean Sea Ecosystem, Research Shows

May 10, 2016 by News Staff

Atmospherically transported dust from the Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world, is bringing iron and other nutrients to underwater plants in...

Conobregma bradpitti. Image credit: Butcher B.A. et al.

Newly-Discovered Species of Parasitic Wasp Named after Brad Pitt

May 5, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of scientists has described a previously unknown species of wasp from South Africa and has named it Conobregma bradpitti, after the...

A leopard (Panthera pardus) in Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa. Image credit: Rebecca Schoonover.

Research: Leopards Have Lost 75% of Historic Range

May 5, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new research, leopards have lost as much as 75% of their historic range. A leopard (Panthera pardus). Image credit: Joseph Lemeris. The...

Left: Alternanthera costaricensis. Right: Alternanthera sp. Image credit: I. Sánchez-del Pino & D. Iamonico.

Jamesbondia: New Subgenus of Plants Named after Ornithologist James Bond

May 4, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of botanists has described a new subgenus of plants and named it after the notable American ornithologist James Bond. Left: Alternanthera...

This colorized scanning electron micrograph shows Mycobacterium tuberculosis, gram-positive bacteria that cause tuberculosis. Image credit: Ray Butler / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Biologists Estimate that Earth is Inhabited by One Trillion Microbial Species

May 3, 2016 by News Staff

Our planet could contain roughly 1 trillion microbial species, with only 0.001% now identified, says a duo of scientists at Indiana University. This colorized...

The Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus). Image credit: Solenodon Joe / CC BY 3.0.

Scientists Sequence Mitochondrial Genome of Hispaniolan Solenodon

May 3, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has completely sequenced the mitochondrial genome of the Hispaniolan solenodon (a venomous, insectivorous mammal that...

The central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps). Image credit: George Chernilevsky.

Bearded Dragons Share Sleep Patterns with Mammals, Study Reveals

Apr 29, 2016 by News Staff

A new study led by Dr. Gilles Laurent from the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, Germany, reveals slow-wave (SW) and rapid eye movement...

Adult female Pseudouroctonus maidu in life, dorsal view. Image credit: Savary W.E. & Bryson Jr. R.W.

Pseudouroctonus maidu: New Scorpion Species Discovered in California

Apr 28, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of entomologists has described a new species of scorpion — Pseudouroctonus maidu — from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in northeastern...

Scientific biofluorescent imaging camera and lighting system developed to obtain 4 K imagery shown underwater in Scripps Canyon, San Diego, CA. Image credit: Kyle McBurnie.

Biofluorescent Catsharks Increase Light Contrast Deep Underwater, Study Reveals

Apr 26, 2016 by News Staff

Marine scientists have found that biofluorescent catsharks, such as the swell shark from the eastern Pacific and the chain catshark from the western Atlantic,...

The Amazon River meets the Atlantic Ocean and creates a plume where freshwater and salt water mix. Image credit: Lance Willis.

Massive New Reef System Found at Amazon River Mouth

Apr 25, 2016 by News Staff

A new reef system has been found at the mouth of the Amazon River by an international group of researchers from Brazil and the United States. The Amazon...

A pack of gray wolves visits a scent station in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The photograph was taken by one of the remote camera stations and was triggered by the wolves’ movement. Image credit: Sarah Webster / Jim Beasley / National Geographic.

Camera Study Reveals Wildlife Abundance in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Apr 19, 2016 by News Staff

New research published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment documents animal species prevalent in the human-free Chernobyl Exclusion...

Asiagomphus reinhardti. Image credit: Oleg E. Kosterin / Naoto Yokoi / TU Dresden.

Asiagomphus reinhardti: New Species of Dragonfly Discovered

Apr 18, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of entomologists has described a new species of dragonfly from Annamense Mountains in eastern Cambodia and southern Laos. Asiagomphus...

The Ganzhorn’s mouse lemur (Microcebus ganzhorni). Image credit: Giuseppe Donati.

Three New Species of Mouse Lemurs Found in Madagascar

Apr 15, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Three new species of the genus Microcebus (mouse lemurs) have been discovered by an international team of scientists from the German Primate Center, the...

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