Biology News | Sci.News

In this electron micrograph, Varroa destructor (arrow) is wedged between the abdominal plates of a honey bee’s exoskeleton. Image credit: UMD / USDA / PNAS.

Californian Hybrid Honeybee Population Has Evolved Natural Defense against Varroa Mites: Study

Apr 13, 2026 by News Staff

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are important ecological and agricultural pollinators. In the United States, beekeepers experience substantial annual colony...

Stentor coeruleus. Image credit: Laboratory of Physical Ethology, Hokkaido University.

Trumpet-Shaped Unicellular Microorganism, Drawn to Corners, Reveals Hidden Sense of Geometry

Apr 8, 2026 by News Staff

A protist species called Stentor coeruleus appears to navigate by sensing physical shapes — a discovery that suggests even the simplest life forms...

Ayumu the chimpanzee spontaneously produced long, multicomponent instrumental displays by drumming, dragging, and throwing self-detached objects. Transition and rhythm analyses revealed non-random sequencing partially resembling pant-hoot structure, predominantly isochronous timing, and a more stable tempo when using tools than with the body. Accompanying play-face and silent bared teeth expressions suggest high arousal and positive affect, supporting the idea that affective vocal expression can be externalized through instrumental sound. Image credit: Hattori et al., doi: 10.1111/nyas.70239.

Chimpanzee’s Drum Solo Offers Clues to Origins of Music

Mar 31, 2026 by News Staff

Researchers who analyzed dozens of spontaneous performances by a captive male chimpanzee named Ayumu say the animal’s steady rhythms and expressive ‘play...

The Galápagos lava heron (Butorides sundevalli). Image credit: Casey Klebba / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Galapagos Lava Heron is Distinct Bird Species, New Study Shows

Mar 30, 2026 by Natali Anderson

The Galápagos lava heron, a small heron that stalks the lava-strewn shores of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, may finally have secured its place as a...

Large naturalistic style thylacine with sharp teeth from Injalak Hill, Northern Territory, Australia. Image credit: Craig Banggar.

Researchers Discover Tasmanian Tiger and Tasmanian Devil Paintings in Northern Australia

Mar 30, 2026 by News Staff

Both the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) are believed to have become extinct on the Australian...

Detail of the color pattern of the bill in adult specimens of the Chiloe steamerduck (A) and the Magellanic steamerduck (B). Image credit: Bernabé López-Lanús & Mariano Costa.

New Species of Steamer Duck Discovered in Chile

Mar 25, 2026 by Natali Anderson

In the cold, wave-battered channels off southern Chile, scientists have identified what they say is a new species of the steamer duck genus Tachyeres,...

The pygmy long-fingered possum (Dactylonax kambuayai), a female in Klalik area, Vogelkop Peninsula. Image credit: Carlos Bocos.

Two Species of Marsupials Thought Lost for 6,000 Years Found Alive in New Guinea

Mar 24, 2026 by News Staff

In the remote rainforests of New Guinea’s Vogelkop Peninsula, scientists have spotted two marsupial species — the pygmy long-fingered possum (Dactylonax...

Mortierellomycetes and Umbelopsidomycetes fungi from freshwater ecosystems in Korea. Image credit: Goh et al., doi: 10.4489/kjm.20230018.

Fungi Found to Trigger Ice Formation

Mar 19, 2026 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the United States and Germany has identified fungal proteins that can freeze water at relatively warm subzero temperatures,...

The Tokara leaf warbler (Phylloscopus tokaraensis) on Nakanoshima, the Tokara Islands, in June 2017. Image credit: Per Alström / Uppsala University.

Ornithologists Identify Cryptic New Bird Species in Japan

Mar 17, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Genetic and acoustic evidence show that the rare Ijima’s leaf warbler (Phylloscopus ijimae) is actually two distinct bird species, including the newly-identified...

Intense hot pink morph of an adult female Arota festae photographed on March 27, 2025, on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Image credit: Zeke W. Rowe.

Tropical Bush Cricket’s Hot-Pink Phase May Be Nature’s Perfect Disguise

Mar 16, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Entomologists in Panama have observed a leaf-masquerading katydid species that begins life bright pink before turning green days later, a shift that may...

Multiaccess puzzle box with easy (a), medium (b) and hard (c) solutions. Image credit: Griebling et al., doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2026.123491.

Study: Raccoons Don’t Just Solve Puzzles for Food, They Do It for Fun

Mar 11, 2026 by News Staff

In a new study led by University of British Columbia Ph.D. student Hannah Griebling, raccoons (Procyon lotor) continued manipulating complex puzzle boxes...

Cercomacra raucisona. Image credit: Fernando Zurdo.

Two New Bird Species Identified in Amazonia

Mar 9, 2026 by Natali Anderson

An antbird long thought to be a single widespread species across the Amazon rainforest is, in fact, several different ones. Among them are two newly-described...

Renderings of an exemplary Antscan specimen: subsoldier of Eciton hamatum. Image credit: Katzke et al., doi: 10.1038/s41592-026-03005-0.

Entomologists Create Digital Library of Global Ant Diversity

Mar 5, 2026 by News Staff

Using powerful X-ray beams, automated robotics and AI, entomologists have created interactive digital images representing 212 genera and 792 species of...

This is an artist's impression of a rocky and water-rich asteroid being torn apart by the strong gravity of the white dwarf star GD 61. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick, Space-art.co.uk / University of Warwick / University of Cambridge.

Extremophile Bacteria May Hitch Rides on Asteroid Fragments

Mar 4, 2026 by News Staff

Earlier work has demonstrated that an extremophile bacterium species called Deinococcus radiodurans can survive the radiation, cold, and desiccation associated...

The arrival of Homo erectus in Southeast Asia 1.8 million years ago triggered the evolution of major human malaria vectors.

Arrival of Homo erectus in Southeast Asia Changed Mosquito Menu, New Study Suggests

Feb 26, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

The ancestors of today’s malaria-spreading mosquitoes in the Anopheles leucosphyrus (Leucosphyrus) group may have shifted to feeding on humans around...

Coronae glow on the tips of spruce needles, induced by charged metal plates in a laboratory. Image credit: William Brune.

Scientists Observe Electrical Discharges on Trees under Thunderstorms

Feb 26, 2026 by Sergio Prostak

Most people know about lightning and the havoc it wreaks on forests. They do not know about the weak electrical glow, called a corona, that is thought...

NASA astronaut Michael Scott Hopkins performs a microgravity experiment on the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA.

Fungi on International Space Station Show Surprising Metal Extraction Skills

Feb 18, 2026 by News Staff

As human space exploration pushes farther from Earth, the need for sustainable ways to obtain local resources is becoming increasingly urgent, as routine...

Isolated colonies of Psychrobacter SC65A.3 on R2A medium at 4 degrees Celsius (A) and on TSA medium at 15 degrees Celsius (B). Image credit: Ioana Paun et al., doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1713017.

Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Strain Found Preserved in 5,000-Year-Old Cave Ice

Feb 17, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Scientists have isolated a new strain of the Psychrobacter cryohalolentis species from 5,000-year-old ice from Scarisoara Ice Cave in Romania. Remarkably,...

Schulz et al. examined the whiskers that cover Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) trunks and found that they are geometrically and mechanically tailored to facilitate tactile perception by encoding contact location in the amplitude and frequency of the vibrotactile signal felt at the whisker base. Image credit: Schulz et al., doi: 10.1126/science.adx8981.

Remarkable Sense of Touch in Elephant’s Trunk Isn’t Just about Muscles or Nerves: Study

Feb 17, 2026 by News Staff

Keratin composites enable animals to hike with hooves, fly with feathers, and sense with skin. Mammalian whiskers are elongated keratin rods attached to...