Biology News | Sci.News

Male Bothriechis guifarroi, the newly discovered palm-pitviper from Honduras (Josiah H. Townsend)

Gorgeous, but Highly Poisonous Snake Species Discovered in Honduras

May 15, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of biologists headed by Dr James Austin from the University of Florida in Gainesville has described a new species of green palm-pitviper from a...

Gonatocerus ucri, named after University of California Riverside (Entomology Research Museum, UC Riversde)

Nineteen New Wasp Species Discovered, One Named after University of California Riverside

May 13, 2013 by Natali Anderson

Dr Serguei Triapitsyn from the University of California Riverside’s Entomology Research Museum has identified 19 new species in the mymarid wasp genus...

3D surface renderings of the mouse neocortex. Color codes for all segmented regions are shown below (Jeremy F.P. Ullmann et al)

Mouse Brain Mapped in Greatest Detail Yet

May 7, 2013 by Sergio Prostak

Australian scientists have created the most detailed atlas of the mouse brain, a development that is helping in the fight against brain disease. 3D surface...

The Little Pygmy Perch, Nannoperca pygmaea, is found in Western Australia (Murdoch University, via freshwaterfishgroup.com)

Australian Researchers Identify New Freshwater Fish Species

May 6, 2013 by Natali Anderson

Biologists at Murdoch University have described a new species of freshwater fish from Western Australia. The Little Pygmy Perch, Nannoperca pygmaea, is...

The Hawaiian bobtail squid seems to have its biological rhythms regulated by a symbiotic bacterium (William Ormerod / Margaret McFall-Ngai)

Symbiotic Bacterium Shown to Regulate Biological Clock of its Host

Apr 24, 2013 by Natali Anderson

A new study published online in the journal mBio is the first to show that a bioluminescent bacterium known as Vibrio fischeri regulates a daily rhythm...

The South Andean deer, Hippocamelus bisulcus, is returning to former habitat thanks to collaborative conservation efforts (Alejandro Vila)

Conservation Efforts Save South Andean Deer from Extinction

Apr 17, 2013 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Oryx shows that collaborative approaches to conservation can give hope to endangered species such as the South Andean...

Grey reef shark, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos (Albert Kok / CC BY-SA 3.0)

Study: Moon Affects Diving Behavior of Sharks

Apr 17, 2013 by Sergio Prostak

A study of Grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) published in the journal PLoS ONE has revealed that the Moon, water temperature and even time...

NEFSC researcher Larry Alade holds a tagged monkfish prior to release (Pasha Ivanov)

Scientists Amazed by Monkfish’s Bizarre Feeding Habits

Apr 16, 2013 by Natali Anderson

An international team of biologists studying monkfish has found that the bottom-dwelling creature can prey on a small Arctic seabird called dovekie, the...

Magpie fiddler ray (Brett Williamson / ABC Adelaide, via the South Australian Research and Development Institute)

Magpie Fiddler Ray Caught in Australian Waters – First Specimen Since 1954

Apr 15, 2013 by Natali Anderson

Australian biologists announced the unexpected capture of an extremely rare ray – the Magpie fiddler ray (Trygonorrhina melaleuca). Magpie fiddler...

Niumbaha – New Bat Genus Identified in Sudan

Apr 10, 2013 by Natali Anderson

An international team of biologists led by Prof DeeAnn Reeder from Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, and Dr Adrian Garside from Fauna & Flora International...

A family group of geladas (Dave Watts / CC BY 2.0)

Geladas’ Lip-Smacking Resembles Human Speech, Says U.S. Researcher

Apr 9, 2013 by Sergio Prostak

According to a study published in the journal Current Biology, the vocal lip-smacks that wild gelada monkeys (Theropithecus gelada) use in friendly encounters...

Restoration of the Lesser Megalapteryx, also known as the Upland moa, Megalapteryx didinus. The Lesser Megalapteryx was the last moa species to become extinct (Lionel Walter Rothschild)

Late-Holocene Bird Extinction Linked to Human Colonization

Apr 9, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that more than 1,000 bird species became extinct on Pacific islands...

Ancient Weapons Reveal Two ‘Lost’ Shark Species

Apr 8, 2013 by Natali Anderson

An analysis of weapons made from shark teeth and used by 19th century residents of the Gilbert Islands (Republic of Kiribati, Central Pacific) has revealed...

Allium spathulatum, a close relative to the newly found Allium formosum (Georgy Lazkov / CC-BY 3.0)

Beautiful New Onion Species Found

Apr 4, 2013 by Natali Anderson

Biologists from the University of Helsinki and the Institute of Biology and Soil Science in Bishkek have found a new species of onion in the Babash-Ata...

Tadpole Shrimp Study Challenges Term ‘Living Fossil’

Apr 4, 2013 by News Staff

A new study published in the new peer-reviewed open access journal PeerJ sheds light on the origin of tadpole shrimps, a group commonly regarded as ‘living...

Cyanogaster noctivaga (George M. T. Mattox et al)

New Species, Genus of Transparent Fish Found in Amazon

Apr 2, 2013 by Natali Anderson

An international team of ichthyologists has described a remarkable new genus and species of miniature fish from the Rio Negro, one of the best explored...

The discovery of a new molecular mechanism that helps trigger long-term memory formation adds a piece to the puzzle in the ongoing effort to uncover the mysteries of memory (University of Minnesota)

Neuroscientists Discover New Molecular Mechanism for Long-Term Memory Formation

Apr 1, 2013 by News Staff

A team of researchers led by Dr Marcelo Wood from the University of California at Irvine has discovered a new molecular mechanism that helps trigger long-term...

Aye-ayes in the northern part of the island of Madagascar show a significant amount of genetic distance from the populations in the east and west, suggesting an extensive period of time during which northern aye-ayes have not interbred with other populations (Edward Louis / Omaha Zoo)

Scientists Sequence Genome of Aye-Aye

Mar 27, 2013 by Natali Anderson

An international team of genetic researchers has sequenced and analyzed the complete genomes of three separate populations of aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis),...

Two-headed bull shark (Patrick Rice, Shark Defense/Florida Keys Community College)

Marine Scientists Confirm Two-Headed Bull Shark

Mar 26, 2013 by Sergio Prostak

A new research led by marine scientists at the Michigan State University has confirmed the shark specimen caught in the Gulf of Mexico in 2011 was a bull...