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The human spermatozoon tail is a highly complex machine that consists of around a thousand different types of building blocks. Image credit: University of Gothenburg.

Researchers Find Previously Unknown Structure in Human Spermatozoon Tails

Feb 22, 2018 by News Staff

By using cryo-electron tomography, an international team of scientists has identified a completely new nanostructure — named the Tail Axoneme Intra-Lumenal...

First comprehensive map of butterfly evolution: branch support is color coded according to the support thresholds indicated on the legend, and the shape indicates whether the branch was supported using one or more methods; pie charts on certain nodes in Lycaenidae and Riodinidae indicate the probability of ant association (red) and no ant association (blue) based on ancestral state reconstruction; ants before tribe/subfamily names indicate at least one ant-associated species in the group; question marks denote taxa for which no data on ant association could be found. POLYOMMAT, PL – Polyommatinae, TH – Theclinae, PORITI – Poritiinae, NEM – Nemeobiinae, HED – Hedylidae, PARN – Parnassiinae, PAP – Papilionidae. Image credit: Espeland et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.01.061.

Scientists Complete Butterfly Evolutionary Tree

Feb 20, 2018 by News Staff

An international team of lepidopterists has compiled the most comprehensive evolutionary tree for butterflies to date. The results appear in the journal...

Rhynia gwynne-vaughanii, 400 million-year-old fossil plant stem from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Image credit: Natural History Museum, London.

Study: First Land Plants Appeared 500 Million Years Ago

Feb 19, 2018 by News Staff

According to a new study to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the first plants to colonize the Earth originated around...

New Species of Pygmy Squid Discovered

Feb 19, 2018 by Natali Anderson

James Cook University researcher Dr. Jan Strugnell and Australian Museum Research Institute’s Dr. Mandy Reid have discovered and described a new species...

Young Tasmanian devil. Image credit: Keres H. / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wild Populations of Tasmanian Devils Continue to Decline, Study Shows

Feb 16, 2018 by News Staff

The overall population numbers of wild Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) are continuing to decline, due to the presence of a transmissible cancer,...

Marseilleviridae particles; arrows indicate ‘large dense bodies.’ Image credit: Okamoto et al, doi: 10.1101/139097.

Giant Viruses May Have Played Important Role in Evolution of Life

Feb 14, 2018 by News Staff

Dr. Albert Erives, a biologist at the University of Iowa, has identified a virus family whose set of genes is similar to that of eukaryotes, an organism...

This is the first study to examine the relation between general intelligence scores and delayed gratification abilities in common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Image credit: Bernd Hildebrandt.

Chimps’ Self-Control is Related to General Intelligence: Study

Feb 9, 2018 by News Staff

Chimpanzees’ overall intelligence is correlated to their ability to exert self-control and delay gratification, according to a study published in the...

Flowering plants likely originated between 149 million years ago (Jurassic period) and 256 million years ago (Permian period). Image credit: Ilona Ilyés.

Flowering Plants Originated Between 149 and 256 Million Years Ago, Researchers Say

Feb 8, 2018 by News Staff

Angiosperms (flowering plants) are neither as old as suggested by previous molecular studies, nor as young as a literal interpretation of their fossil...

Viruses are circulating in the atmosphere of our planet. Image credit: Arek Socha.

Study: Viruses are Circulating in Earth’s Atmosphere — and Falling from It

Feb 8, 2018 by News Staff

Viruses fall back to Earth via dust storms and precipitation, according to new research published in the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal. Viruses...

Venus flytrap in its native habitat. Image credit: Clyde Sorenson.

Venus Flytraps Don’t Trap Their Pollinators

Feb 7, 2018 by News Staff

Scientists have for the first time discovered which insects pollinate a rare carnivorous plant called the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) — and...

The downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens). Image credit: Wolfgang Wander.

Woodpeckers Show Signs of What Looks Like Brain Damage in Humans

Feb 5, 2018 by News Staff

Woodpeckers experience forces up to 1,200-1,400 g while pecking. It is assumed due to evolutionary adaptations, the woodpecker is immune to brain injury....

According to Seaborne et al, ‘muscle memory’ exists at DNA level. Image credit: Composita.

Human Muscles Possess ‘Memory’ of Earlier Growth — at DNA Level: Study

Jan 31, 2018 by News Staff

Human skeletal muscles have an epigenetic memory of earlier encounters with growth, according to a Keele University-led study. According to Seaborne et...

Enterococci. Image credit: Francois Lebreton, MEEI.

Scientists Find Botulinum-Like Toxin in Strain of Animal Gut Bacteria

Jan 29, 2018 by News Staff

Enterococci are hardy microbes that thrive in the gastrointestinal tracts of nearly all land animals, including our own, and generally cause no harm. So...

Larger honeybee colonies have quieter combs. Image credit: Seagul.

Larger Colonies of Honeybees Have Quieter Combs, Scientists Find

Jan 26, 2018 by News Staff

Bigger honeybee colonies actually have quieter combs than smaller ones, according to a team of researchers at Cornell University, Ithaca. Larger honeybee...

Thin-section electron microscopy of an agar overlay containing plaques of the representative Autolykiviridae virus 1.008.O; virus particles in contact with cell membranes are observed to occasionally possess tail-tube-like structures, whereas those not in contact with cells do not. Image credit: Kauffman et al, doi: 10.1038/nature25474.

Scientists Find New Type of Virus in World’s Oceans: Autolykiviridae

Jan 25, 2018 by News Staff

Non-tailed double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses infect bacteria and dominate water samples from the world’s oceans. They have long escaped analysis because...

The eardrums move when the eyes move. Image credit: Jessi Cruger & David Murphy, Duke University.

Eyes and Eardrums Move in Sync, Researchers Discover

Jan 24, 2018 by News Staff

Duke University Professor Jennifer Groh and co-authors have found that keeping the head still but shifting the eyes to one side or the other sparks vibrations...

A schematic showing the processes involved in deep-sea mining for the three main types of mineral deposit. Image credit: Design Studio, University of Exeter.

Deep-Sea Mining Could Destroy Marine Ecosystems, Study Says

Jan 23, 2018 by News Staff

Mining on the ocean floor could do irreversible damage to marine ecosystems, according to a new study from the University of Exeter and Greenpeace Research...

In the study, male cats showed a left-side bias for natural behaviors, females a right-side bias. Image credit: Jan Mallander.

Study: Female Domestic Cats Are More Likely to Be Right-Handed

Jan 23, 2018 by News Staff

Female domestic cats are much more likely to use their right paw than males, according to a new study published in the journal Animal Behaviour. In the...

New Caledonian crows know what it takes to make a good tool. Image credit: James St Clair.

Researchers Discover Why New Caledonian Crows Make Hooked Stick Tools

Jan 22, 2018 by News Staff

A University of St Andrews-led study shows that New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) acquire hidden food several times faster when using hooked...