Biology News

Scientists Find Anthropogenic Mercury in Earth’s Deepest Oceanic Trenches

This snailfish (bottom-left of the image) at 8,145 meters is a record for the deepest fish ever filmed; small amphipods are visible in the center. Image credit: University of Aberdeen.
Jun 23, 2020 by News Staff

Two teams of marine biologists have found methylmercury, a potent toxin that bioaccumulates in marine food webs, in sediments and endemic fauna from Mariana, Yap and Kermadec trenches in the Pacific Ocean. A snailfish (bottom left) and small amphipods (center) at 8,145 meters in the Mariana Trench, the deepest stretch of ocean in the world that is located in the western Pacific Ocean. Image credit: University of Aberdeen. One of the research teams,...

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Rhombophryne ellae. Image credit: Mark Scherz.

New Species of Diamond Frog Discovered in Madagascar

Jun 16, 2020 by News Staff

German herpetologist Mark Scherz has discovered a new species of diamond frog living in northern Madagascar. Rhombophryne ellae. Image credit: Mark Scherz. The...

Paaru, one of the red pandas tracked by the study. Image credit: James Houston, Red Panda Network.

Researchers Use GPS Collars to Track Red Pandas

Jun 14, 2020 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of scientists has conducted a GPS tracking collar study on red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) in eastern Nepal. This is the first time...

The Shirai’s spurdog (Squalus shiraii): lateral (A-C) and ventral (D, E) views. Scale bars - 50 mm. Image credit: Viana & Carvalho, doi: 10.3897/zse.96.51962.

New Species of Deep-Water Dogfish Shark Discovered

Jun 12, 2020 by Sergio Prostak

Marine biologists have discovered a new species of the shark genus Squalus in the tropical waters off southern Japan. The Shirai’s spurdog (Squalus shiraii):...

High-resolution microCT image of the chimpanzee’s os cordis. Image credit: Moittié et al, doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-66345-7.

Some Chimpanzees Have Tiny Bone in Their Heart

Jun 11, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of researchers in the UK has discovered that some individuals of the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), particularly those affected by myocardial...

A bright pink lesser flamingo shoving a paler bird. Image credit: Paul Rose.

Pinker Lesser Flamingos are More Aggressive, New Study Says

Jun 10, 2020 by News Staff

Lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor), a species of flamingo found in sub-Saharan Africa and India, do not have a breeding season — they breed when...

The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias).

New Study Sheds Light on Diet of Juvenile Great White Sharks

Jun 9, 2020 by News Staff

The diet of juvenile white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) is about 32% mid-water fish, 17% bottom-dwelling fish, 5% reef fish, and 15% batoid fish such...

Left: squid reflectin protein nanostructures in human cells (dark regions, with some indicated by white arrows). Right: associated pathlength for light traveling through a given area (red corresponds to longer pathlengths and blue corresponds to shorter pathlengths). Image credit: Atouli Chatterjee / University of California, Irvine.

Researchers Create Human Cells with Tunable Optical Properties

Jun 4, 2020 by News Staff

By drawing inspiration from the structures and functionalities of squid skin cells, a team of researchers designed and engineered human cells that contain...

Three New Bird Species Discovered in Peru

Jun 3, 2020 by Natali Anderson

An international team of ornithologists has described three new species of the bird genus Scytalopus from the Peruvian Andes. New Scytalopus species from...

A wild Siberian jay parent (left) and its retained offspring (right) foraging together. Image credit: Michael Griesser.

Study: Extended Parental Care Helps Juvenile Siberian Jays and New Caledonian Crows Grow Smarter

Jun 3, 2020 by News Staff

New research on two corvid species, Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus) and New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides), shows that extended family life...

Heavy Water Has Sweet Taste, New Study Confirms

Jun 1, 2020 by Sergio Prostak

Highly purified heavy water has a distinctly sweeter taste than same-purity normal (light) water, according to a study conducted by researchers from the...

Calidia pseudolobata. Image credit: Li-En Yang / Natural History Museum, London.

Marine Biologists Discover New Species of Red Alga

May 29, 2020 by News Staff

A team of marine biologists from China and the United Kingdom has revised the taxonomy of Pyropia, a large genus of red alga (seaweed) in the family Bangiaceae,...

Posterior view of the 3D reconstructed male rat heart: (A) whole-heart view showing the context, extent, and distribution of the intrinsic cardiac neurons (ICN), located on superior and posterior surfaces of the atria; (B-F) a higher-resolution view of the atria and blood vessels that are shown in (B), with various contoured features of heart anatomy that are selectively removed to appreciate the anatomical relationship of the ICN to (C) the pulmonary artery and superior vena cava (SVC), (D) the interatrial septum, (E) the left atrium and pulmonary veins, (F) the right atrium, where clusters #1 and #2 appear to be on the surface of both atria, whereas cluster #3, which is located around the border of the superior vena cava, left atrium, and right atrium, appears on the right atrium. Scale bars - 1,000 μm (A), 500 μm (B-F). Image credit: Achanta et al, doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101140.

Scientists Create 3D Map of Rat Heart’s Neurons

May 27, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has created a comprehensive anatomical 3D map and molecular profile of the rat intracardiac nervous system (ICN). Posterior...

Secretoneurin. Imager credit: Chemicalbook.

New Sex Hormone Discovered: Secretoneurin

May 26, 2020 by News Staff

A large protein called secretogranin-2 is important for the normal functioning of brain cells and other cells that secrete hormones to control body functions...

Bumblebee workers facing pollen scarcity use their proboscises and mandibles to cut distinctively shaped holes in plant leaves, with each damage event taking only a few seconds. Image credit: Hannier Pulido / ETH Zurich.

Bumblebees Bite Leaves of Flowerless Plants to Stimulate Earlier Flowering

May 25, 2020 by News Staff

Bumblebees rely heavily on pollen resources for essential nutrients as they build their summer colonies. Therefore, annual differences in the availability...

A photograph showing a snow algae bloom dominated by green algae on Anchorage Island. Image credit: Gray et al, doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16018-w.

Researchers Map Green Snow Algae Blooms in Antarctica

May 22, 2020 by News Staff

Using data from ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission and two field campaigns, a team of UK scientists has identified 1,679 blooms of Antarctic green snow...

Cosmic rays. Image credit: Pierre Auger Observatory.

Cosmic Rays May Have Played Key Role in Origin of Life’s Handedness

May 21, 2020 by News Staff

Living organisms comprise a system of molecules organized with specific handedness. Handedness — or chirality — is the geometric property of...

Seven New Species of Australian Peacock Spiders Discovered

May 14, 2020 by Natali Anderson

Museums Victoria arachnologist Joseph Schubert has described seven new species of the peacock spider genus Maratus from Australia. Maratus azureus. Image...

A ‘super’ Cape honeybee worker (black in center) is nearly as big as a queen (with white disc). Image credit: Benjamin Oldroyd, University of Sydney.

Study: Single Gene Causes ‘Virgin Births’ in Cape Honeybees

May 8, 2020 by News Staff

A protein-coding gene called GB45239 is responsible for thelytokous parthenogenesis — the ability to produce daughters asexually — in the Cape...

Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus). Image credit: Neil McIntosh / CC BY 2.0.

Hunger is Main Driver of Stone Juggling in Otters, New Study Shows

May 7, 2020 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the University of Exeter has studied potential drivers of ‘rock juggling’ in two species of otters in zoo environments. Asian...

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