Biology News

Human Embryos Have ‘Lizard-Like’ Limb Muscles: Study

Dorsal view of the left hand of a 10-week old human embryo. The dorsometacarpales are highlighted: these muscles are present in adults of many other limbed animals, while in humans they normally disappear or become fused with other muscles before birth. Image credit: Diogo et al, doi: 10.1242/dev.180349.
Oct 2, 2019 by News Staff

A new study, published in the journal Development, has confirmed the transient presence of atavistic muscles — present in our ancestors, but normally absent from the adult human — during normal embryonic human development, and reveals the existence of others not previously described in human embryos. Some of these muscles, such as the dorsometacarpales, disappeared from our ancestors more than 250 million years ago, during the transition...

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This scanning electron microscope image shows a tardigrade. Image credit: Diane Nelson, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Study: Tardigrades’ Unique Protein Forms Protective Cloud against Extreme Survival Threats

Oct 1, 2019 by News Staff

Tardigrades, also known as water bears and moss piglets, are small invertebrate animals that are found in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats...

The Hall’s New Guinea crocodile (Crocodylus halli) at St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. Image credit: Murray et al, doi: 10.1643/CG-19-240.

New Freshwater Crocodile Species Found in New Guinea

Oct 1, 2019 by News Staff

Scientists had known that New Guinea was home to a unique species of crocodile since the New Guinea crocodile (Crocodylus novaeguineae) was officially...

Auanema sp. lives in the high-salt, high-pH, arsenic-rich Mono Lake. Image credit: Shih et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.08.024.

New Species of Microscopic Worm Has Three Sexes, Lives in Arsenic-Rich Lake

Sep 30, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of biologists has isolated eight species of nematodes from the arsenic-rich sediments of Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierras of California....

Pet cats show a similar capacity for the formation of secure and insecure attachments towards human caregivers previously demonstrated in children and dogs. Image credit: Pexels.

Pet Cats Really Bond with Their Owners, Says New Study

Sep 24, 2019 by News Staff

Domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) form attachments with their owners that are similar to the bonds formed by children and dogs with their caretakers,...

For DNA to be read, replicated or repaired, DNA molecules must open themselves. This happens when the cells use a catalytic protein to create a hydrophobic environment around the molecule. Image credit: Yen Strandqvist / Chalmers University of Technology.

Scientists Disprove Popular Theory of How DNA Binds Itself

Sep 23, 2019 by News Staff

DNA is constructed of two strands, consisting of sugar molecules and phosphate groups. Between these two strands are nitrogen bases, the compounds which...

Sulfolobus sp.: each cell is outlined in red; the DNA is stained blue. Image credit: Stephen Bell, Indiana University.

Biologists Find Striking Similarities between Human and Archaeal Chromosomes

Sep 20, 2019 by News Staff

The similar clustering of DNA in the chromosomes of humans and Archaea is significant because certain genes activate or deactivate based upon how they’re...

Berger et al found in mice that almost immediately after the brain recognizes danger, it instructs the skeleton to flood the bloodstream with the bone-derived hormone osteocalcin, which is needed to turn on the fight or flight response. Image credit: Berger et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.08.012.

Bony Vertebrates Release Bone-Derived Hormone Osteocalcin in Response to Stress, Study Finds

Sep 17, 2019 by News Staff

A new study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, shows that humans and other bony vertebrates need a hormone called osteocalcin to develop an acute...

Wild Chinese giant salamander. Image credit: Ben Tapley, Zoological Society of London.

Two New Giant Salamander Species Identified

Sep 17, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the United Kingdom, Canada and China has discovered there are not just one but three distinct species of Chinese giant salamanders....

Yamaguchi et al examined the fermentation hypothesis by characterizing volatile organic compounds and bacteria isolated from anal sac secretions of a male Bengal cat. Image credit: Gidon Pico.

Bacterial Communities Produce Compounds for Scent Marking in Cats: Study

Sep 16, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

Smelly organic compounds from male cats are actually made not by the animals, but by bacteria living in their anal sacs, according to new research reported...

Two New Species of Electric Eels Discovered

Sep 13, 2019 by News Staff

The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) has long been assumed to be one species, but an international team of scientists has now discovered there are...

Chestnut-crowned babblers (Pomatostomus ruficeps). Image credit: Niall Stopford.

Building Blocks of Bird Vocalizations Resemble Those of Human Languages, Study Finds

Sep 11, 2019 by News Staff

Human languages are comprised of meaningful words, which themselves are built from different combinations of meaningless sounds, or building blocks. A...

Hoaxed photo of the Loch Ness ‘monster’ from April 21, 1934.

Scientists Find Significant Amount of Eel DNA in Loch Ness

Sep 10, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has announced the results of investigations into the environmental DNA (eDNA) present in Loch Ness, a large freshwater...

Listening gray squirrel. Image credit: Emma C. Lucore / Marie V. Lilly.

Eavesdropping Squirrels: Bird Chatter Acts as Signal for Safety

Sep 6, 2019 by Shelby Traynor

For the small mammals foraging on the forest floor, reading your environment is essential to survival. When a hawk calls, a gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)...

The modified cephalic vascular network provides the blue-banded sea snake (Hydrophis cyanocinctus) with a complementary supply of oxygen to the brain during submersion. Image credit: Alessandro Palci, Flinders University.

Blue-Banded Sea Snake Uses Unusual Network of Large Blood Vessels in Its Head to ‘Breathe’

Sep 6, 2019 by News Staff

The blue-banded sea snake (Hydrophis cyanocinctus) uses a complex system of large blood vessels in its head to draw in extra oxygen when it dives and swims...

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

Study Provides New Insights into Honeybee ‘Waggle Dance’ Communication

Aug 29, 2019 by News Staff

According to a study published in the journal eNeuro (bioRxiv.org preprint), changes in vibration-sensitive neurons may equip forager honeybees for waggle...

The carrion crow (Corvus corone). Image credit: Ian Kirk / CC BY 2.0.

Carrion Crows Can Volitionally Control Their Calls, Researchers Say

Aug 28, 2019 by News Staff

Carrion crows (Corvus corone), a species of songbird in the family of Corvidae, can voluntarily control the release and onset of their calls, suggesting...

A New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides). Image credit: Jolyon Troscianko.

New Caledonian Crows Enjoy Using Tools, Study Finds

Aug 26, 2019 by News Staff

New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) are well-known for their sophisticated tool use. According to a new study, these birds behave optimistically...

Newly-hatched blue mason bee larvae feeding on pollen provisions within a hollow reed. Image credit: Shawn Steffan.

Larval Bees are Omnivores, Shows New Study

Aug 23, 2019 by News Staff

Pollen-borne microbes represent an important protein source for larval bees, according to new research. Newly-hatched blue mason bee larvae feeding on...

Azteca ants. Image credit: Lauren Nichols.

Nurseries of Azteca Ants are Cleaner than Human Ones, Researchers Find

Aug 23, 2019 by News Staff

Azteca alfari, a tropical ant species found in North and South Americas, is better at limiting pathogenic microbes in its nest chambers than humans, according...

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