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An Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) scratching with a stick on Grimsey Island, Iceland. Image credit: Fayet et al, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1918060117.

Seabirds Spotted Using Tools for the First Time

Jan 15, 2020 by Natali Anderson

An international team of researchers from the University of Oxford and the South Iceland Nature Research Centre has observed two Atlantic puffins (Fratercula...

Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baylyi form intricate flower-like patterns when grown together over a 24-hour period. Image credit: BioCircuits Institute / University of California, San Diego.

Two-Species Bacterial Colonies Form Intricate Flower-Like Patterns

Jan 14, 2020 by News Staff

In a series of experiments, a team of biologists at the University of California, San Diego studied the structure of growing colonies comprised of two...

The Taliabu grasshopper-warbler (Locustella portenta). Image credit: James Eaton / Birdtour Asia.

Researchers Discover Ten New Bird Taxa in Indonesia

Jan 10, 2020 by Natali Anderson

An international team of ornithologists has discovered five new species and five new subspecies of songbirds on little-explored islands off the northeastern...

Phylogeny of negative strand RNA viruses: red dots identify virus orders according to current taxonomy; blue clouds show virus families; selected viral species are identified for orientation. Image credit: Käfer et al, doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008224.

Scientists Discover Hundreds of New RNA Viruses in Insects

Jan 9, 2020 by News Staff

A team of researchers has discovered several hundreds of new negative strand RNA viruses and at least 20 viral genera in insects. Phylogeny of negative...

The red brittle star (Ophiocoma wendtii). Image credit: Kent Miller / CC BY-ND 4.0.

Red Brittle Stars See with Light-Sensitive Skin Cells, Study Shows

Jan 6, 2020 by News Staff

The red brittle star (Ophiocoma wendtii), a relative of starfish that inhabits coral reefs from Bermuda to Brazil, first captured scientific attention...

Brandon et al investigated the fate of the flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane in polystyrene-degrading mealworms and in mealworm-fed shrimp. Image credit: Andrew Martin.

Mealworms Can Safely Biodegrade Toxic Additive-Containing Plastic

Jan 2, 2020 by News Staff

Common mealworms, the larvae of the darkling beetle (Tenebrio molitor), can consume toxic additives in polystyrene with no ill effects; the worms can then...

Lake Magadi. Image credit: Stig Nygaard, Flickr / CC BY 2.0.

First Life Forms on Earth May Have Evolved in Carbonate, Phosphate-Rich Lakes

Dec 31, 2019 by News Staff

The early Earth could have hosted many carbonate-rich lakes, which would have had high enough phosphorus concentrations to get life started, according...

Anopheles gambiae. Image credit: James D. Gathany / CDC.

Malaria-Carrying Mosquitoes Can Sense Insecticides through Their Legs: Study

Dec 27, 2019 by News Staff

A research team led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine scientists has identified a previously undescribed mechanism of insecticide resistance that...

Märtin et al define the molecular identity of striatal projections neurons, focusing on the characterization of the patch and matrix compartments; genetic labeling of mu opioid receptor (Oprm1)-expressing neurons reveals the identity of neuron subtypes, and also establishes spatial markers for the identification of subregions in striatum. Image credit: Märtin et al, doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.11.096.

Scientists Create Molecular Map of Striatum

Dec 24, 2019 by News Staff

Striatum, the inner part of the brain, is considered central to decision-making and the development of various addictions. In mouse models and with methods...

This light microscopy image of the Acadian flycatcher (Empidonax virescens) retina shows the five traditional oil droplet types and the additional orange, conical structures belonging to the newly described photoreceptor. Image credit: Tyrrell et al, doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-51774-w.

Biologists Discover Previously Unknown Cellular Structure in Retina of Insect-Eating Birds

Dec 18, 2019 by Natali Anderson

A team of researchers has found a novel retinal structure in the eyes of New World flycatchers. Named the megamitochondria-small oil droplet complex (MMOD...

New Species of Bobtail Squid Discovered

Dec 17, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

Marine biologists have discovered a new species of the bobtail squid genus Euprymna in the waters of Japan’s Ryukyu archipelago, a region known for its...

Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius). Image credit: Velizar Simeonovski / Field Museum.

DNA-Based ‘Clock’ Predicts Maximum Lifespan in Living and Extinct Vertebrates

Dec 15, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia, has developed a simple new method for estimating...

Radiologically contaminated sites such as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone have created novel environmental stressors with the potential to substantially influence the ecology of organisms and wider ecosystem function. Nevertheless, radiation dose rates at which negative effects occur are uncertain. Burrows et al investigated a potential mechanism for these sub-lethal consequences by testing whether radiation exposure makes bees less metabolically efficient. Image credit: Josef Pichler.

Chernobyl-Level Radiation Exposure Increases Bumblebees’ Appetite for Nectar

Dec 12, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the University of Stirling and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the UK has demonstrated that simulated Chernobyl-levels...

Stressed tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants emit remotely-detectable and informative airborne sounds. Image credit: V. Wald.

Plants Produce Ultrasonic Clicks under Stress

Dec 11, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

A team of biologists at Tel-Aviv University, Israel, has discovered that stressed plants emit sounds — similarly to many animals — using ultrasonic...

Spieden J8, a 72-year-old killer whale (Orcinus orca), breaches the water. Image credit: Kenneth Balcomb, Center for Whale Research.

Study: Killer Whale Grandmothers Improve Chances of Survival for Their Grandoffspring

Dec 10, 2019 by News Staff

Postmenopausal female killer whale (Orcinus orca) have a big beneficial impact on the survival chances of their grandoffspring, a University of York-led...

Stentor roeseli is colorless, trumpet shaped, and visible to the naked eye. Image credit: Protist Image Database.

Single-Celled Microorganism Can Make Complex Decisions, Study Shows

Dec 9, 2019 by News Staff

A free-living ciliate species called Stentor roeseli, which lacks a central nervous system, is capable of decision making, according to a study published...

Root-Gutteridge et al show that the ability to spontaneously recognize both the same phonemes across different speakers, and cues to identity across speech utterances from unfamiliar speakers, is present in domestic dogs and thus not a uniquely human trait. Image credit: Anja Gh.

Dogs Understand Spoken Words Better than We Thought

Dec 9, 2019 by News Staff

Dogs are able to listen to different people saying the same word and recognize it as the same word, ignoring the differences between speakers, and can...

Hospital insects present a potential to contribute to persistence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant pathogenic bacteria in the hospital environment. Image credit: Virvoreanu Laurentiu.

‘Milk Yeast’ Originated from Chance Encounter between Fruit Fly and Milk 5,500 Years Ago

Dec 8, 2019 by The Conversation

Historians often trace the dawn of human civilization back 10,000 years, when Neolithic tribes first settled and began farming in the Fertile Crescent,...

SEM image showing Metallosphaera sedula cells colonizing the surface of the NWA 1172 particles. Image credit: Milojevic et al, doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-54482-7.

Scientists Find Meteorite-Eating Microorganism

Dec 5, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

A species of archaea called Metallosphaera sedula is capable of growth on stony meteorites, utilizing metals trapped within these extraterrestrial objects...