Biology News

Ornithologists Identify Two New Species of Toxic Birds

The rufous-naped bellbird (Aleadryas rufinucha). Image credit: Knud Jønsson.
Apr 3, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Most people are familiar with South and Central America’s iconic poison dart frogs, especially the golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis), that carry the potent neurotoxic alkaloid batrachotoxin. The discovery of two new poisonous bird species in New Guinea — which carry the same toxin in their skin and feathers — demonstrates that batrachotoxin is more widespread than once believed. The rufous-naped bellbird (Aleadryas rufinucha)....

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To investigate plants’ airborne sound emissions, Khait et al. constructed a reliable recording system, where each plant is recorded simultaneously by two microphones; first, they recorded plants within an acoustic box and developed machine learning algorithms to classify the recorded sounds; then they tested the system in a greenhouse, while monitoring physiological parameters of the recorded plants. Image credit: Kie-Ker.

Plants Emit Ultrasonic Sounds When Stressed, Groundbreaking Study Shows

Mar 31, 2023 by News Staff

In new research, biologists at Tel Aviv University recorded ultrasonic sounds emitted by tomato and tobacco plants inside an acoustic chamber, and in a...

Selaginella bryopteris in Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, Spain. Image credit: Luis Fernández García / CC BY-SA 2.1 ES.

Earth’s Earliest Land Plants Were Branched, New Research Suggests

Mar 28, 2023 by News Staff

Diverse branching forms have evolved multiple times across the tree of life to facilitate resource acquisition and exchange with the environment. As an...

The lavender-blushed dartfish (Nemateleotris lavandula), underwater photograph from Siaes Tunnel, Palau. Image credit: Yi-Kai Tea & Helen Larson, doi: 10.26107/RBZ-2023-0019.

Colorful New Species of Dartfish Discovered in Pacific Ocean

Mar 22, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Scientists from the Australian Museum Research Institute, the University of Sydney and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory have described...

Dong et al. elucidate grapevine evolution and domestication histories with 3,525 cultivated and wild accessions worldwide: in the Pleistocene, harsh climate drove the separation of wild grape ecotypes caused by continuous habitat fragmentation; then, domestication occurred concurrently about 11,000 years ago in Western Asia and the Caucasus to yield table and wine grapevines; the Western Asia domesticates dispersed into Europe with early farmers, introgressed with ancient wild western ecotypes, and subsequently diversified along human migration trails into muscat and unique western wine grape ancestries by the Late Neolithic. Image credit: Dong et al., doi: 10.1126/science.add8655.

New Study Sheds Light on Origins and Domestication of Grapevines

Mar 22, 2023 by News Staff

Humans have extensively shaped animals and plants through domestication. Although wine and table grapes have been important culturally for thousands of...

Spiranthes hachijoensis in Ena-shi, Japan: (a) inflorescence; (b) flower, lateral view; (c) flower, top view; (d) dorsal sepal; (e) petal; (f) lateral sepal; (g) labellum; (h) close-up of basal labellum callosities; (i) ovary and column; (j, k) column, bottom view; (l) column, top view; (m) pollinia without a viscidium. Scale bars - 20 mm in (a), 3 mm in (b-g), 0.5 mm in (h), and 1 mm in (i-m). Image credit: Suetsugu et al., doi: 10.1007/s10265-023-01448-6.

New Species of Orchid Discovered in Japan

Mar 21, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Spiranthes hachijoensis occurs in Kyushu, Shikoku, Chubu, and Kanto districts of Japan. Spiranthes hachijoensis in Ena-shi, Japan: (a) inflorescence; (b)...

Alkaliphile is a new taste receptor dedicated to sensing the alkaline pH of food. Image credit: Yali Zhang, Monell Chemical Senses Center.

Scientists Identify Taste Receptor for Alkaline pH

Mar 20, 2023 by News Staff

Monell Chemical Senses Center researcher Yali Zhang and colleagues identified a previously unknown chloride ion channel, which they named alkaliphile (Alka),...

Like humans, great apes voluntarily seek and engage in altered experiences of self-perception and situational awareness. Image credit: We-o.

Great Apes Spin Themselves to Deliberately Make Themselves Dizzy, Scientists Say

Mar 17, 2023 by News Staff

Among animals, humans stand out in their consummate propensity to self-induce altered states of mind. Archaeology, history and ethnography show these activities...

The Godlewski’s bunting (Emberiza godlewskii) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Image credit: Jargal Lamjav / CC BY 2.0.

Cryptic New Species of Songbird Identified in China

Mar 14, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

The northern and southern populations of a songbird species called the Godlewski’s bunting (Emberiza godlewskii) should be treated as two independent...

The structure of the bacteriophage P74-26. Image credit: Leonora Martinez-Nunez.

‘Rapunzel Bacteriophage’ Has Extremely Long Tail, Researchers Say

Mar 14, 2023 by News Staff

A bacteriophage (bacteria-infecting virus) called P74-26 and nicknamed ‘Rapunzel bacteriophage’ lives in inhospitable hot springs and preys on Thermus...

The thick-shelled river mussel (Unio crassus) squirts out regular water jets that land in the river water up to a meter away. Image credit: University of Cambridge.

Biologists Observe Highly Unusual Reproductive Behavior in Endangered Freshwater Mussels

Mar 14, 2023 by News Staff

In spring, female thick-shelled river mussels (Unio crassus) were seen moving to the water’s edge and anchoring into the riverbed, with their back ends...

Sardinian dwarf mammoth, Sardinian giant otter, deer, Sardinian dhole and giant pica. Image credit: Peter Schouten, http://studioschouten.com.au.

Study: Island-Dwelling Dwarfs and Giants are More Vulnerable to Extinction than Other Species

Mar 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Islands often contain distinctive ecological conditions that can lead to unusual evolutionary trajectories such as dwarf mammoths and giant rats. In new...

Toxorhynchites domrey: (A) thorax; (B) abdomen; (C) habitus; (D) lateral view of thorax. Image credit: Maquart et al., doi: 10.1016/j.aspen.2023.102064.

New Species of Elephant Mosquito Discovered in Cambodia

Mar 8, 2023 by Natali Anderson

A team of scientists from Cambodia and France has identified a new species of giant mosquito in the genus Toxorhynchites. Toxorhynchites domrey: (A) thorax;...

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of the Universe beginning with the Big Bang on the left followed by the appearance of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the cosmic dark ages, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Study: Our Momentary Perception of Time May Stretch or Shrink with Each Heartbeat

Mar 8, 2023 by News Staff

The role of the heart in the experience of time has been long theorized but empirical evidence is scarce. In new research, scientists from Cornell University...

The dusky tetraka (Xanthomixis tenebrosa) is the second species to be rediscovered by the Search for Lost Birds. Image credit: John C. Mittermeier.

Rare Songbird Feared Extinct Rediscovered in Madagascar

Mar 6, 2023 by News Staff

The previous documented sighting of the dusky tetraka (Xanthomixis tenebrosa) — one of the top 10 most wanted species by the Search for Lost Birds...

A digital reconstruction of a humpback whale trap feeding. Image credit: McCarthy et al., doi: 10.1111/mms.13009.

Head-Lifting Feeding Seen in Whales May Be Recorded in Ancient Texts

Mar 1, 2023 by News Staff

Trap feeding and tread-water feeding are whale hunting strategies first recorded in the 2000s in two whale species at opposite sides of the globe. In both...

The Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola). Image credit: Serge Santiago.

Study: Eurasian Woodcocks Have Brightest White Feathers Ever Measured

Mar 1, 2023 by News Staff

New research led by Imperial College London suggests that Eurasian woodcocks (Scolopax rusticola) have evolved their bright white feather patches for long-range...

Drosophila melanogaster and other non-migrating animals can sense external magnetic fields. Image credit: University of Manchester.

Animals’ Ability to Sense Magnetic Field May Be More Widespread than Previously Thought

Feb 23, 2023 by News Staff

New research led by University of Leicester and University of Manchester scientists shows that a molecule present in all living cells called flavin adenine...

In a controlled laboratory protocol, Isherwood et al. investigated if the human circadian system anticipates large meals. Image credit: Rita E.

Human Body Can Predict Timing of Regular Meals: Study

Feb 23, 2023 by News Staff

In new research, scientists at the University of Surrey tested the hypothesis that the human circadian system anticipates large meals. In a controlled...

Horse coats with patterns photographed in situ: (A) color photographs of the check, random check, black triangle, white triangle, gray and bark coat patterns; (B) polarization images of a bare horse (top), and black triangle (middle) and white triangle (bottom) coats; images on the left are monochrome photographs viewed through horizontally oriented polarizing filter; images on the right are false-colored according to the right-most scale to represent degree of polarization. Image credit: Caro et al., doi: 10.1242/jeb.244778.

New Research Reveals How Zebra Stripes Deter Horseflies

Feb 21, 2023 by News Staff

Stripes deter tabanid horseflies from landing on zebras and, while several mechanisms have been proposed, these hypotheses have yet to be tested satisfactorily....

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