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Map of New Guinea Island and examples of fruits of (A, B) Musa acuminata ssp. banksii and closely related cultivated AA accessions from Papua New Guinea: (C) ‘Mero Mero;’ (D) ‘Nesuri;’ (E) ‘Wiau;’ (F) ‘Talasea;’ (G) ‘Seseve;’ (H) ‘Tobaung;’ (I) ‘Tavilo;’ (J) ‘Nape’e.’ Dark blue dots on the map represent collection locations for accessions within the cluster ‘banksii.’ Image credit: Julie Sardos / NARI.

Domestication History of Bananas is More Complex Than Previously Thought

Oct 10, 2022 by News Staff

New research led by the global research-for-development organization Bioversity International confirms that the genomes of today’s domesticated banana...

Kopakaius nicolae. Scale bar - 50 µm. Image credit: Zawierucha et al., doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107634.

Two New Species of Glacier Tardigrades Discovered in New Zealand

Oct 7, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Biologists have described two new tardigrade genera and associated species — two of which are new to science — from the mountain glaciers of...

Oil-damaged feathers of the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) under a digital high-powered microscope. The microstructure within the feather clumps together after exposure to oil, letting water pass through more easily. Image credit: Richard Unitt, University College Cork.

Tiny Amounts of Crude Oil Can Damage Feathers of Seabirds, New Study Shows

Oct 6, 2022 by News Staff

Scientists have investigated the effects of surface crude oil on the feather structure of the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), a species of seabird...

The Cherry Satin flower (Geissorhiza seracina). Image credit: Goldblatt et al., doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2022.09.014.

Beautiful New Species of Iris Discovered in South Africa

Oct 4, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Botanists have described a new high-altitude species of the genus Geissorhiza from the Langeberg Mountains of South Africa. The Cherry Satin flower (Geissorhiza...

A male giant panda named Xiao Liwu at San Diego Zoo, California, the United States. Image credit: Sci.News.

All Bears are Omnivores Like Humans, New Study Suggests

Oct 3, 2022 by News Staff

New research on the diets of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) adds evidence that bears are low-protein macronutrient...

The Lord Howe Island wood-feeding cockroach (Panesthia lata). Image credit: Justin Gilligan / NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

Wood-Eating Cockroach Missing for Over 80 Years Rediscovered

Oct 3, 2022 by News Staff

The Lord Howe Island wood-feeding cockroach (Panesthia lata), a species of large wingless cockroach that disappeared from its home island following the...

Each dog performing their alert behavior to indicate their choice on the three alternative forced choice apparatus. Top left: Soot (stand-stare), top right: Fingal (stand-stare), bottom left: Winnie (nose-on sit), bottom right: Treo (nose-on sit). Image credit: Wilson et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274143.

Study: Dogs Can Detect when Humans are Experiencing Stress

Sep 29, 2022 by News Staff

Dog can smell the changes in our breath and sweat that occur when we’re stressed, according to new research by scientists from Newcastle University and...

Platystele peruviana, frontal view and natural color. Image credit: Federico L. Rizo Patrón, doi: 10.11646/phytotaxa.564.1.9.

New Species of Tiny Orchid Discovered in Peru

Sep 26, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Platystele peruviana, which occurs in the Peruvian Department of Pasco, is the smallest species of orchid found in this South American country. Platystele...

Raccoons (Procyon lotor). Image credit: Daniel Steinke.

Study: Docile Raccoons are Trash Can Criminal Masterminds

Sep 26, 2022 by News Staff

Researchers have assessed the habituation, learning and cognitive flexibility of a wild population of raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Wyoming, the United States. Raccoons...

Vocal learning is thought to have evolved in three orders of birds (songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds), with each showing similar brain regions that have comparable gene expression specializations relative to the surrounding forebrain motor circuitry; Schuppe et al. searched for signatures of these same gene expression specializations in previously uncharacterized brains of seven assumed vocal non-learning bird lineages across the early branches of the avian family tree. Image credit: Premek Hajek.

Study: Woodpecker Drumming is Neurologically Similar to Songbird Vocalization

Sep 20, 2022 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the United States and Denmark has found specialized pecking-related regions in the woodpecker forebrain that show characteristics...

The Pando aspen clone from a distance (green foreground and middle -- not yellow). Image credit: Lance Oditt, Studio 47.60° North.

Pando, Earth’s Largest Living Organism, is ‘Breaking Up’ Because of Herbivory and Fencing

Sep 19, 2022 by News Staff

The 43-hectare Pando aspen (Populus tremuloides) clone in Utah, the United States, is thought to be the largest living organism on Earth by dry weight...

Callistoctopus xiaohongxu, live specimen. Image credit: Zheng et al., doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1121.86264.

New Species of Octopus Discovered

Sep 15, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Marine biologists have described a new species of the genus Callistoctopus from the waters of southeast China. Callistoctopus xiaohongxu, live specimen....

Todd et al. found a strong phylogeographic structure in modern donkeys (Equus asinus) that supports a single domestication in Africa around 5000 BCE, followed by further expansions in this continent and Eurasia and ultimately returning to Africa. Image credit: JackieLou DL.

Donkeys Were First Domesticated in Africa Over 7,000 Years Ago

Sep 10, 2022 by News Staff

Domestic donkeys (Equus asinus) have been important to humans for thousands of years, being the primary source of work and transport for many cultures....

This electron microscope image shows a tardigrade. Image credit: S. Tanaka / H. Sagara / T. Kunieda.

Newly-Discovered Mechanism Explains How Tardigrades Survive Extreme Dehydration

Sep 8, 2022 by News Staff

Tardigrades are able to tolerate almost complete dehydration by entering a reversible state called anhydrobiosis and resume their animation upon rehydration....

Shell of Pinctada phuketensis from Dok Mai Island, Phuket, Thailand; external and internal views of left and right valves: (A and C) paratypes; (B) holotype. Abbreviations: LV - left valve; RV - right valve. Scale bars - 5 cm in (A), 4 cm in (C). Image credit: Somrup et al., doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1119.87724.

New Species of Pearl Oyster Discovered

Sep 5, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Marine biologists have described a new species of the oyster genus Pinctada from the east coast of Phuket Island, Thailand, in the Andaman Sea. Shell of...

Calochilus kimberleyensis. Image credit: Barrett et al., doi: 10.7751/telopea15711.

Botanists Discover Four New Orchid Species in Australia

Sep 5, 2022 by News Staff

Three of the new orchid species are endemic to the rugged Kimberley region of Western Australia. Calochilus kimberleyensis. Image credit: Barrett et al.,...

High concentrations of OH radicals were found when people were exposed to ozone in a climate-controlled chamber, and were a product of a reaction with the skin-oil squalene. Image credit: Richard Duijnstee.

Human Body’s Exposure to Ozone Generates Highly Reactive Hydroxyl Radicals, Study Shows

Sep 2, 2022 by News Staff

Hydroxyl radicals are highly reactive chemical species that attack most of the organic molecules. High concentrations of OH radicals were found when people...

Seven new Lygodactylus species from Madagascar. Image credit: P.S. Gehring / H.P. Berghof / M. Vences / M.D. Scherz.

Eight New Species of Dwarf Geckos Identified in Madagascar

Sep 2, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

The newly-identified species belong to the gecko subgenus Domerguella in the genus Lygodactylus, and each of them is no longer than your pointer finger. Seven...

The subantarctic rayadito (Aphrastura subantarctica). Image credit: Rozzi et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-17985-4.

New Bird Species Discovered in South America

Aug 29, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Ornithologists have described a new species of the bird genus Aphrastura from the Diego Ramírez Archipelago, the southernmost point of the South American...