Biology News | Sci.News

According to scientists at the University of Manchester, UK, the color of light has a major impact on how mammalian body clock measures the time of day. Image credit: Axel Kristinsson / CC BY 2.0.

Color of Light Influences Circadian Clock in Mammals, Scientists Say

Apr 20, 2015 by News Staff

A new study appearing in the journal PLOS Biology is the first to demonstrate that the color of light influences the circadian clock in any mammalian species. According...

The first photograph ever taken of the Bouvier’s red colobus (Piliocolobus bouvieri): an adult female and infant. Image credit: Lieven Devreese.

Bouvier’s Red Colobus Monkey Rediscovered in Congo, Photographed for First Time

Apr 17, 2015 by News Staff

It’s not often that a mammal thought extinct, appears once again in the wild. But that’s what happened to the Bouvier’s red colobus (Piliocolobus...

An octopus at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island. Image credit: University of Southern California.

Octopuses Use Unique Strategies to Coordinate Their Arms in Crawling

Apr 17, 2015 by News Staff

Octopuses can crawl in any direction relative to the body orientation, says a team of marine biologists headed by Dr Binyamin Hochner of the Hebrew University...

White-cheeked macaques (Macaca leucogenys), juveniles of different age. Image credit: Cheng Li et al.

Macaca leucogenys: New Species of Macaque Discovered in Tibet

Apr 16, 2015 by News Staff

A group of scientists led by Dr Peng-fei Fan of the Dali University’s Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research in Yunnan has described a new...

The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus). Image credit: Merrill Gosho / NOAA.

Female Western Gray Whale Sets Record for Longest Mammal Migration

Apr 16, 2015 by News Staff

Varvara, a female western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), swam from northeastern Sakhalin Island to Mexico and back again – nearly 22,500 km...

Adult male West African chimpanzee uses tree branch with modified end to stab into a cavity within a hollow tree branch that houses a Senegal bush baby he ultimately captures as his adolescent brother looks on. Image credit: J. D. Pruetz et al / Royal Society Open Science / BBC.

Female West African Chimpanzees Prefer Tool-Assisted Hunting

Apr 15, 2015 by News Staff

According to a team of scientists headed by Dr Jill Pruetz of Iowa State University, female West African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ssp. verus) hunt...

The green turtle (Chelonia mydas). Image credit: Brocken Inaglory / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Young Sea Turtles Very Active Swimmers, Marine Biologists Say

Apr 10, 2015 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Current Biology, young sea turtles don’t just passively drift in ocean currents during a period known...

Scientists Decode ‘Language’ of Lar Gibbons

Apr 10, 2015 by News Staff

Researchers led by Dr Esther Clarke of the Durham University and the University of St Andrews, UK, have revealed that lar gibbons (Hylobates lar) produce...

The Alto Tambo woodlizard (Enyalioides altotambo), adult female, 13.2 cm long. Image credit: Luis A. Coloma.

Three New Species of Woodlizards Discovered in Peru, Ecuador

Apr 8, 2015 by Natali Anderson

An international team of researchers has described three new species of the genus Enyalioides from the tropical Andes in Ecuador and northern Peru. The...

Swift parrot (Lathamus discolor) on Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia. Image credit: JJ Harrison / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Tasmanian Swift Parrot is on Brink of Extinction, Finds News Study

Apr 3, 2015 by News Staff

The critically endangered swift parrot (Lathamus discolor) could become extinct within less than two decades, says a new study published online in the...

Willy (Wilhelm) the polar bear at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. Image credit: John / CC BY 2.0.

New Study Evaluates Nutritional Needs of Polar Bears

Apr 2, 2015 by News Staff

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus), increasingly forced on shore due to sea ice loss, may be eating land-based foods, but any nutritional gains are limited...

Arabian spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus). Image credit: Andy Mabbett / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Male Mice Sing like Songbirds to Attract Females

Apr 1, 2015 by News Staff

Male mice produce highly complex ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) to seduce females, says a team of biologists led by Duke University Medical Center. Arabian...

The blackpoll warbler (Setophaga striata). The ornithologists found that in some cases, the birds flew more than 2,500 km, non-stop, to reach their destinations. Image credit: William H. Majoros / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Blackpoll Warblers Migrate Thousands of Miles across Atlantic Ocean, Scientists Find

Apr 1, 2015 by News Staff

A team of ornithologists led by William DeLuca of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, reports the first direct evidence that the blackpoll warbler...

The Lesser bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea minor) was one of 977 species examined by Prof Peter Dunn and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in a worldwide study of the evolution of bird colors. Image credit: Reza Pratama / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Natural Selection Drives Evolution of Bird Colors, Say Scientists

Mar 30, 2015 by News Staff

In a worldwide study of the evolution of bird plumage coloration, a team of scientists led by Prof Peter Dunn of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee...

Giant panda cub Xiao Liwu and his mother Bai Yun at the San Diego Zoo.

New Study Sheds More Light on Secret Life of Giant Pandas

Mar 28, 2015 by News Staff

A new study, led by Dr Vanessa Hull of the Michigan State University’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, has revealed more details on...

Skin texture variation in one individual Pristimantis mutabilis; note how skin texture shifts from highly tubercular to almost smooth; also note the relative size of the tubercles on the eyelid, lower lip, dorsum and limbs. Image credit: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Pristimantis mutabilis: Scientists Discover Shape-Shifting Frog in Ecuador

Mar 24, 2015 by News Staff

Case Western Reserve University PhD student Katherine Krynak, naturalist Tim Krynak of Cleveland Metroparks’ Natural Resources Division, and their colleagues...

Neonothopanus gardneri. Image credit: Marina Capelari et al, doi: 10.3852/11-097.

New Study Explains Why Some Fungi Glow

Mar 20, 2015 by News Staff

According to a study co-led by Dr Cassius Stevani of the University of São Paulo and Prof Jay Dunlap of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, the...

Freshwater shrimp Gammarus duebeni celticus. Image credit: University of Leeds.

Tiny Parasite Pleistophora mulleri Can Turn Freshwater Shrimp to Cannibalism

Mar 19, 2015 by News Staff

In a new study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, scientists from the University of Leeds, Queen’s University Belfast and Stellenbosch...

Blue-Bearded Helmetcrest Rediscovered in Colombia, Photographed for First Time

Mar 19, 2015 by News Staff

Long thought to be extinct, the blue-bearded helmetcrest (Oxypogon cyanolaemus) – one of the world’s rarest hummingbirds – has been caught...