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Genome-wide transcriptomics analysis of anatomically dissected regions in mammalian brains uncovers regional and species-specific expression: multiple regions of the human, pig, and mouse brain were dissected and analyzed; a uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) analysis (middle) shows the global expression patterns of 1,710 samples in the human brain, with the cerebellum as the outlier; the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) Brain Atlas (right) shows the expression of individual genes, for example, synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP25), in the different brain regions in the three mammalian species. Image credit: Sjöstedt et al, doi: 10.1126/science.aay5947.

Researchers Create Atlas of Protein-Coding Genes in Mammalian Brain

Mar 10, 2020 by News Staff

The Brain Atlas explores the protein expression in the mammalian brain by visualization and integration of data from three species of mammals: human, pig...

New Species of Pitcher Plant Discovered in Philippines

Mar 9, 2020 by Natali Anderson

A team of biologists from the Central Mindanao University has discovered a new endemic species of carnivorous plant in the montane tropical rainforests...

The Chinese red panda (Ailurus styani). Image credit: Yunfang Xiu, Straits (Fuzhou) Giant Panda Research and Exchange Center, China.

DNA Analysis Reveals There Are Two Distinct Species of Red Pandas

Mar 9, 2020 by Sergio Prostak

An analysis of DNA from wild populations of the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) has found that there is not just one species but enough genetic differences...

Durian fruits (Durio zibethinus). Image credit: Truthseeker08.

Researchers Find Rare Amino Acid in Durian

Mar 3, 2020 by News Staff

A rare amino acid called ethionine is present in the pulp of the durian (Durio zibethinus), a fruit called the ‘king of all fruits,’ and plays a key...

Coral garden found in Bremer Canyon, Western Australia as part of a month long expedition exploring canyon depths for the first time with ROV SuBastian. Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute.

Marine Biologists Find Coral Gardens in Deep-Sea Canyons Off Australia

Mar 2, 2020 by News Staff

A team of biologists led by University of Western Australia researchers used Schmidt Ocean Institute’s deep-sea remotely operated vehicle, SuBastian,...

A honeybee (Apis mellifera). Image credit: Vijaya Narasimha.

New Study Reveals Link between Bee and Human Brains

Mar 2, 2020 by Natali Anderson

A team of researchers from New Zealand and Germany has demonstrated that the honeybee brain generates oscillations which share characteristics of ‘alpha’...

The Taita Mountain dwarf galago photographed in Ngangao Forest in 2019. Image credit: Hanna Rosti.

Dwarf Galago Feared Extinct Rediscovered in Kenya

Feb 26, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A nocturnal primate called the Taita Mountain dwarf galago (Paragalago sp.) has been rediscovered by a team of researchers from the University of Helsinki,...

Biologists Discover Animal that Lacks Mitochondrial Genome, Doesn’t Need Oxygen to Live

Feb 26, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of biologists has discovered that a tiny parasite of salmon called Henneguya salminicola has no mitochondrial genome and thus has...

Cats love cat-appropriate songs. Image credit: © Natali Anderson.

Cat-Specific Music Can Lower Stress-Related Behaviors in Cats Visiting Veterinary Clinic: Study

Feb 25, 2020 by News Staff

Adding feline-specific music to veterinary offices as environmental enrichment could provide great value to the cat’s welfare in the clinic, to the client’s...

Solvi et al demonstrated that bumblebees possess the ability to integrate sensory information in a way that requires modality-independent internal representations. Image credit: Lars Chittka.

Study: Bumblebees Recognize Objects through Sight and Touch

Feb 24, 2020 by News Staff

In a study published this month in the journal Science, a team of researchers from Queen Mary University of London and Macquarie University found that...

An individual of Craspedotropis gretathunbergae. Image credit: Pierre Escoubas.

Scientists Identify New Snail Species, Name It after Greta Thunberg

Feb 21, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of professional and citizen scientists has discovered a new species of caenogastropod snail living in tropical lowland rainforests of Borneo and...

Cassiopea xamachana medusae (5-12 cm in diameter) resting on umbrella apex with oral arms facing up, observed by authors in the natural mangrove habitat in Key Largo, Florida, the United States. Scale bar - 5 cm. Image credit: A. Morandini.

Biologists Solve Mystery of ‘Stinging Water’

Feb 14, 2020 by News Staff

Snorkelers in mangrove forest waters inhabited by the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana report discomfort due to a sensation known as ‘stinging...

Depiction of huge bacteriophages (red, left) and normal phages infecting a bacterial cell. The huge phage injects its DNA into the host cell, where Cas proteins -- part of the CRISPR immune system typically found only in bacteria and archaea -- manipulate the host cell’s response to other viruses. The authors have not yet photographed any huge phages, so all are depicted resembling the most common type of phage, T4. Image credit: Jill Banfield Lab / University of California, Berkeley.

Giant Bacteriophages Bridge Gap between Living Microbes and Viral Machines

Feb 13, 2020 by News Staff

Bacteriophages — viruses that infect bacteria — are considered distinct from cellular life owing to their inability to carry out most biological...

In this screenshot from the camera trap, an opossum visits the inflorescence of Scybalium fungiforme and peels back bracts to get to the nectar. Image credit: Felipe Amorim.

Opossums are Main Pollinators for Strange Fungus-Like Plant

Feb 12, 2020 by News Staff

Scybalium fungiforme is a little-known fungus-like plant species of the family Balanophoraceae. It has bunches of tiny pale flowers that are surrounded...

Burrunan dolphins (Tursiops australis). Image credit: Fernando Diaz-Aguirre.

Female Burrunan Dolphins Form Social Clusters: Study

Feb 11, 2020 by News Staff

Like giraffes, lions, hyenas and grey kangaroos, female Burrunan dolphins (Tursiops australis), a species of bottlenose dolphin endemic to southern Australian...

Epifluorescence imagery of a tiny grain within methane hydrate showing internal presence of microbial DNA. Image credit: Snyder et al, doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-58723-y.

Strange Grains in ‘Flammable Ice’ Contain Microbes

Feb 10, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has found bacterial communities within microscopic spheroidal aggregates of dolomite, oil and water found in sheets...

A female glow-worm (Lampyris noctiluca) will shine for hours to attract her mate, yet brightening skies will dim her prospects. Image credit: Jason Steel, www.jason-steel.co.uk.

Fireflies under Threat of Extinction because of Habitat Loss, Pesticides, Artificial Light, Report Says

Feb 7, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of entomologists has conducted a survey of experts from diverse geographic regions to identify the most prominent perceived threats...

Gray seals use their short paw-like forelimbs to make loud clapping sounds underwater. Image credit: Ben Burville / David Hocking.

Wild Gray Seals Filmed Clapping Underwater

Feb 4, 2020 by News Staff

A video recorded underwater by marine biologists shows a gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) clapping in the wild, producing a gunshot-like ‘crack.’ “The...

Ohio State University researchers cut an ice core retrieved from the Guliya ice cap in the Kunlun Mountains in Tibet in 2015. Image credit: Giuliano Bertagna, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, Ohio State University.

15,000-Year-Old Viruses and Bacteria Found in Glacier Ice from Tibet

Jan 31, 2020 by Natali Anderson

A team of U.S. researchers has found ancient viruses and bacteria in ice from two cores drilled on the summit and plateau of the Guliya ice cap in northwestern...