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Delhey et al. demonstrate a general association between lightness and migratory behavior across all birds; their results confirm previous findings reporting a correlation between plumage lightness and migration, where the authors of those studies speculated that lighter plumage in migratory birds may be used in competition for territories; instead, Delhey et al. suggest thermoregulation as an alternative explanation that fits with the reported changes in migration altitude between night and day. Image credit: Frauke Riether.

Migratory Birds are Lighter Colored, New Study Shows

Dec 7, 2021 by News Staff

Migratory birds undertake long and challenging journeys that have selected for a suite of adaptations. Several recent studies revealed that migrating individuals...

Western honeybees (Apis mellifera). Image credit: PollyDot.

Western Honeybees May Have Originated in Asia, New Study Says

Dec 3, 2021 by News Staff

The origin of the western honeybee (Apis mellifera) has been intensely debated. Addressing this knowledge gap is essential for understanding the evolution...

Meteorus stellatus. Image credit: S. Fujie.

Newly-Discovered Parasitoid Wasp Species Constructs Enigmatic Star-Shaped Cocoons

Dec 1, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Meteorus stellatus inhabits primary forests of the Okinawa-hontô and Amami-ôshima Islands, subtropical Japan. Meteorus stellatus. Image credit: S. Fujie. “Parasitoid...

Kriegman et al. show that clusters of cells, if freed from a developing organism, can similarly find and combine loose cells into clusters that look and move like they do, and that this ability does not have to be specifically evolved or introduced by genetic manipulation. Image credit: Kriegman et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2112672118.

Researchers Create Self-Replicating Living Robots

Nov 30, 2021 by News Staff

Professor Joshua Bongard, a computer scientist and robotics expert at the University of Vermont, and his colleagues from Tufts University and Harvard University’s...

Proposed pathway between intestinal glycerophospholipid production and memory enhancement: based on metagenomic and metabolomic analyses, Li et al. suggest that increased levels of Lactobacillus apis (and other Firm-5 species which similarly contain many genes for the PTS sugar transport pathway) will cause increased sugar metabolism, which will lead to the production of more glycerophospholipids; these glycerophospholipids are then transported into the hindgut and are rapidly secreted into the hemolymph (perhaps helped by an increase in mGlu2 receptors); they are transported to the brain via the bee’s open circulatory system, with attached metabolites, leading to improved structure and function of neural and synaptic membranes, thereby promoting better memory. Purple shapes: genes that positively correlated with long-term memory; rectangles: genes found in all three analyses (analyses based on genes mapped to the whole gut microbiota, Firm-5 and Lactobacillus apis). Ovals: genes found in whole gut microbiota and Firm-5 analyses. Rounded rectangles: remaining memory-correlated genes. Gray shapes: genes which did not correlate with long-term memory. Blue arrows: sugar metabolism. Red arrows: glycerophospholipid metabolism. Purple arrows: the increase or decrease of metabolites after Lactobacillus apis supplementation. Image credit: Li et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-26833-4.

Study: Gut Bacteria Improve Long-Term Memory in Bumblebees

Nov 25, 2021 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Jiangnan University, Queen Mary University of London and the University of Oulu has identified a causal link between an increased...

The screaming tree frog (Litoria quiritatus), male, in Darkes Forest, New South Wales, Australia. Image credit: Jodi Rowley.

Two New Species of Tree Frogs Discovered in Australia

Nov 22, 2021 by News Staff

The two new frog species have been scientifically described with the help of citizen scientists and their recordings through the FrogID app. The screaming...

The star octopus (Octopus djinda). Image credit: Mark Norman / Amor & Hart, doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5061.1.7.

Marine Biologists Discover New Species of Octopus

Nov 18, 2021 by Natali Anderson

The newly-discovered octopus species inhabits the shallow waters off southwest Australia and belongs to the Octopus vulgaris group, according to a new...

The calico rockfish (Sebastes dallii). Image credit: K. Lee.

Scientists Identify Genetic Drivers of Extreme Longevity in Pacific Ocean Rockfishes

Nov 16, 2021 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and elsewhere has sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 88 Pacific Ocean rockfish species...

Highly variable neuron size and input-output properties across 10 mammalian species. Image credit: Beaulieu-Laroche et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-04072-3.

Human Neurons are Strikingly Different from Those of Other Mammals, Study Says

Nov 11, 2021 by News Staff

Human neurons have a much smaller number of channels that control the flow of ions (such as potassium and sodium) than expected, compared to the neurons...

Vespa soror hornets attack a hive of eastern honeybees (Apis cerana) in Vietnam. Image credit: Heather Mattila / Wellesley College.

Study: Eastern Honeybees Use Specific Sound to Communicate Threat of Giant Hornets

Nov 10, 2021 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has documented the unique vibroacoustic signals the eastern honeybees (Apis cerana) use to alert members of their...

Pleurosaurus, a remarkable, long-bodied swimming rhynchocephalian that lived during the Late Jurassic epoch, some 150 million years ago, in what is now Germany. Image credit: Roberto Ochoa.

Fast-Evolving Species More Likely to Become Extinct, Paleontologists Say

Nov 10, 2021 by News Staff

‘Slow and steady wins the race,’ according to a new study of lepidosaurs (lizards, snakes, amphisbaenians, and tuatara) published in the journal Palaeontology. Pleurosaurus,...

The Inti tanager (Heliothraupis oneilli). Image credit: Louisiana State University / Lane et al., doi: 10.1093/ornithology/ukab059.

Inti Tanager: Colorful New Species of Bird Discovered in South America

Nov 3, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Ornithologists have discovered a new genus and species of tanager on the lower slopes of the Andes in southeastern Peru and western Bolivia. The Inti tanager...

New Type of Neuron Discovered in Mammalian Retina

Nov 2, 2021 by News Staff

Cell classes are the building blocks for the central nervous system. It is widely believed that major classes of neurons have been identified in the retina,...

Patagonian birds disperse viable spores of mycorrhizal fungi. Image credit: Caiafa et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.10.024.

Patagonian Birds Hunt for Truffles, Too

Oct 29, 2021 by News Staff

New research demonstrates that two common, widespread, and endemic Patagonian bird species — the chucao tapaculo (Scelorchilus rubecula) and the...

The Shelley’s eagle owl (Bubo shelleyi). Image credit: Robert Williams.

Extremely Rare Shelley’s Eagle Owl Photographed in Wild for First Time

Oct 28, 2021 by News Staff

The Shelley’s eagle owl (Bubo shelleyi) was photographed by Imperial College London researcher Joseph Tobias and freelance ecologist Robert Williams...

Giant panda Xiao Liwu at the San Diego Zoo.

Giant Panda’s Unique Black-And-White Coat Provides Effective Camouflage, New Research Confirms

Oct 28, 2021 by News Staff

While most mammals are drab browns and grays, there are a small number of well-known and intriguing exceptions. Perhaps the most famous of all is the giant...

True’s beaked whales (Mesoplodon mirus). Image credit: Roland Edler, Duisburg Zoo.

Marine Biologists Identify New Species of Beaked Whale

Oct 27, 2021 by Natali Anderson

The newly-identified species, named the Ramari’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon eueu), occurs throughout temperate southern hemisphere waters, with reports...

Indri indri. Image credit: Filippo Carugati.

Indri Lemur Songs Have Categorical Rhythm, New Study Shows

Oct 27, 2021 by News Staff

A lemur species called Indri indri displays, in its coordinated songs, the isochronous and 1:2 rhythm categories seen in human music, showing that such...

Bumblebees exhibit remarkable color pattern diversity that is primarily attributed to Müllerian mimicry. Previous research has identified the red-black mimetic color variation in Bombus melanopygus to be driven by genetic changes in a major upstream developmental gene (Hox gene Abd-B) dictating segmental morphology. Using a stage-specific transcriptomic approach, Rahman et al. unravel how this gene ultimately drives the melanic pigmentation differences, identifying a suite of genes from the most upstream Abd-B, to intermediate developmental genes, and finally to a set of interacting downstream melanin and redox genes. Image credit: Rahman et al., doi: 10.1093/gbe/evab080.

Researchers Discover Gene Network that Drives Color Variation in Bumblebees

Oct 26, 2021 by News Staff

A Hox gene, a major developmental gene that regulates the identity of structures on the segments of black-tailed bumblebees (Bombus melanopygus), turns...