Biology News

82% Species of Birds-of-Paradise are Biofluorescent, New Study Shows

The greater bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea apoda). Image credit: Andrea Lawardi.
Feb 11, 2025 by News Staff

Birds-of-paradise are a family of small to medium-sized forest birds found in the New Guinea region. With their elaborate and colorful feathers, these birds are among the most beautiful creatures on Earth. In a new study, ornithologists from the American Museum of Natural History and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found 37 of the 45 currently recognized species of birds-of-paradise are biofluorescent. They suggest that this special ‘glow’...

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A proposed model for CsMYB73 negatively regulating the accumulation of theanine mediated by CsGGT2 and CsGGT4 in tea shoots of ‘Huangkui’ returning green from yellow. The blue arrows indicate theanine metabolism involved in CsGGT2. The orange arrows indicate the theanine metabolism involved in CsGGT4. The black arrows represent upregulated and downregulated gene expression and theanine content. The gray arrows represent a positive effect, and the gray vertical lines represent an inhibitory effect. Glu - glutamine; CsGGT2 and CsGGT4 - γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase from tea plants; CsMYB73 - transcription factor from tea plants. Ellipses embedded with question marks represent unverified regulatory factors that may participate in this model. During the yellowing period of ‘Huangkui’ leaves, a significant suppression of CsMYB73 further inhibited the theanine hydrolase CsGGT2 activity, and activated the theanine synthase CsGGT4 activity, resulting in a higher level of theanine accumulated in tea shoots. As tea shoots transition from yellow to green, the upregulation of CsMYB73 leads to an enhancement in the activity of theanine hydrolase CsGGT2, while simultaneously suppressing the synthesis of theanine by the theanine synthase CsGGT4. Consequently, this process culminates in a persistent reduction in the accumulation level of theanine in ‘Huangkui’ shoots. Image credit: Chang et al., doi: 10.1093/hr/uhae012.

New Study Provides Insights into Theanine Metabolism in Tea Plants

Feb 11, 2025 by News Staff

The metabolism of theanine — a unique non-proteinogenic amino acid — is a necessary biological process during the planting and production of...

Disruption of iron and copper recycling from industrial whaling. Image credit: Monreal et al., doi: 10.1038/s43247-024-01965-9.

Trace Metals and Other Nutrients from Whale Feces Fertilized Ancient Oceans, New Study Confirms

Feb 10, 2025 by News Staff

Blue whales and other baleen whales, which filter seawater through their mouths to feed on small marine life, once teemed in Earth’s oceans. In the 20th...

Arnon et al. uncovered the same statistical structure in humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song that is a hallmark of human language. Image credit: Christopher Michel / CC BY 2.0.

Songs of Humpback Whales Show Human Language-Like Statistical Structure

Feb 6, 2025 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has analyzed the groans, moans, whistles, barks, shrieks and squeaks in humpback whale song recordings collected over...

Gibellula attenboroughii. Image credit: Evans et al., doi: 10.3114/fuse.2025.15.07.

New Fungal Species Turns Cave Spiders into Zombies: Gibellula attenboroughii

Feb 4, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

Cave-dwelling, orb-weaving spiders of the subfamily Metainae infected by Gibellula attenboroughii exhibit behavioral changes similar to those reported...

Positions of electrodes used to cover the superior auricular muscles. Image credit: Schroeer et al., doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1462507.

Auricular Muscles Scientists Thought We Didn’t Use Actually Activate When We Listen Hard

Jan 31, 2025 by News Staff

If you can wiggle your ears, you can use the auricular muscles, which helped our distant ancestors listen closely. These muscles helped change the shape...

Brown et al. present the chromosome-scale assembly of the 20.3 Gb genome of the Iberian ribbed newt (Pleurodeles waltl), with a unprecedented contiguity and completeness among giant genomes. Image credit: Brown et al., doi: 10.1016/j.xgen.2025.100761.

Biologists Sequence Iberian Ribbed Newt Genome at High Resolution

Jan 30, 2025 by Natali Anderson

Aquatic, tailed amphibians called newts have large genomes harboring many repeat elements. How these elements shape the genome and relate to newts’ unique...

A ‘Blue Marble’ image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA’s Earth-observing satellite Suomi NPP (named in honor of Verner E. Suomi of the University of Wisconsin). This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface taken on January 4, 2012. Image credit: NASA / NOAA / GSFC / Suomi NPP / VIIRS / Norman Kuring.

New Study Reveals at Atomic Level How Microbes Consume Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide

Jan 29, 2025 by News Staff

Over two billion tons of carbon monoxide are released into the atmosphere globally each year. Diverse bacteria and archaea consume about 250 million tons...

Labrys portucalensis F11 can be potentially used for PFAS biodegradation in contaminated environments. Image credit: Wijayahena et al., doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.178348.

Rare Aerobic Bacterium Found to Break Down ‘Forever Chemicals’

Jan 27, 2025 by News Staff

Labrys portucalensis F11, a strain of aerobic bacterium from the Xanthobacteraceae family, can break down and transform at least three types of per- and...

Boast et al. report ancient DNA and spores from the inside of two coprolites of the upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) that reveal consumption and likely dispersal of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Image credit: Boast et al., doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2024.0440.

Extinct Moa Consumed Colorful Truffle-Like Fungi, Scientists Say

Jan 24, 2025 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found ancient DNA and spores of truffle-like fungi, including at least one colorful species, inside two coprolites of the upland moa...

The great-crested flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) is notorious for using shed snake skin in its nest construction. Image credit: Barbara Taylor / Macaulay Library.

Cavity-Nesting Birds Use Shed Snake Skin in Nest Construction to Deter Predators

Jan 22, 2025 by News Staff

Many species of birds use shed snake skin in nest construction, but this behavior is poorly understood. In new research, ornithologists at Cornell University...

Tuber cumberlandense. Image credit: Sow et al., doi: 10.1080/00275514.2024.2407755.

Two New Edible Truffle Species Discovered in Eastern North America

Jan 21, 2025 by Natali Anderson

Two new species of the genus Tuber have been discovered with the assistance of trained truffle-hunting dogs. Tuber cumberlandense. Image credit: Sow et...

Chimpanzees eating leaves at the Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan. Image credit: Onishi et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.11.052.

Study: In Chimpanzees, Urinations Are Contagious

Jan 21, 2025 by News Staff

The decision to urinate involves a complex combination of both physiological and social considerations. However, the social dimensions of urination remain...

Dr. Nguyen Thanh Son holding a giant specimen of Bathynomus jamesi (weighs 2.62 kg) from a seafood market in Hanoi, Vietnam, October 2024. Image credit: Peter Ng.

New Species of Giant Isopod Discovered in South China Sea

Jan 21, 2025 by Natali Anderson

The new isopod species has been named Bathynomus vaderi after the most famous Sith Lord in the Star Wars movie series, Darth Vader, whose helmet resembles...

Predicted suitable distribution and morphospace of the modern and fossil snow leopards. Image credit: Jianhao Ye.

Snow Leopards Dispersed Out of Tibetan Plateau Multiple Times, Researchers Say

Jan 15, 2025 by News Staff

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is a large feline unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its surrounding areas. How this apex predator gradually adapted...

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

Nervous System in Octopus Arms is Separated into Segments, Study Finds

Jan 15, 2025 by News Staff

The octopus has a motor control challenge of enormous complexity. Each of its eight arms is a muscular hydrostat, a soft-bodied structure that lacks a...

Artwork representing calcium signalling in a rosette colony of the choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosetta. Image credit: Davis Laundon & Kate Zvorykina, Ella Maru Studio, Inc.

Biologists Find Evidence for Electrical Signaling and Coordinated Behavior in Choanoflagellates

Jan 8, 2025 by News Staff

Scientists at the University of Bergen have uncovered a remarkable diversity of behaviors within the rosette-shaped colonies of Salpingoeca rosetta, a...

Mycena crocata. Image credit: Heidy Baggenstos and Andreas Rudolf.

New Bioluminescent Fungal Species Identified: Mycena crocata

Jan 7, 2025 by Natali Anderson

Mycena crocata is a long-known species of fungus frequently reported from Europe and Japan, which was considered non-luminescent until now. Heinzelmann...

An anatomical illustration from Johannes Sobotta’s Human Anatomy, 1908.

New Study Highlights Role of Gene Expression in Human Brain Evolution

Jan 2, 2025 by News Staff

University of California, Santa Barbara’s Professor Soojin Yi and colleagues aimed to determine how genes in different types of brain cells have evolved...

Guo et al. confirmed the distinct taxonomic position of Hainan tea within Camellia sinensis, providing valuable insights for resource conservation and molecular breeding. Image credit: Lin2015.

Hainan Island’s Tea Plants Are Unique Variety of Camellia sinensis: Study

Jan 2, 2025 by News Staff

Tea (Camellia sinensis), originating in China over 3,000 years ago, has transitioned from a medicinal herb to a widely consumed beverage. Despite considerable...

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