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An European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) with an insect. Image credit: Antonios Tsaknakis / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Insect-Eating Birds Consume 400-500 Million Metric Tons of Prey Annually

Jul 10, 2018 by News Staff

World’s insectivorous birds eat 400 to 500 million metric tons of beetles, flies, ants, moths, aphids, grasshoppers, crickets and other arthropods per...

Clistopyga crassicaudata. Image credit: University of Turku.

New Species of Parasitoid Wasp Has Extremely Large Stinger

Jul 9, 2018 by News Staff

A new wasp species with a fierce weapon — dubbed Clistopyga crassicaudata — has been discovered in the western Amazonia. Clistopyga crassicaudata....

Ballooning spider showing a tiptoe stance on a daisy. Image credit: Michael Hutchinson.

Spiders Use Atmospheric Electricity to Fly Hundreds of Miles

Jul 6, 2018 by News Staff

When one thinks of airborne organisms, spiders do not usually come to mind. However, these wingless creatures have been found 2.5 miles (4 km) up in the...

The mitochondrial genome is regulated by factors encoded in the nucleus. Kim et al now show that a mitochondrial-encoded protein called MOTS-c can dynamically translocate to the nucleus in response to metabolic stress and regulate adaptive nuclear gene expression; the findings suggest that mitonuclear communication is genetically integrated. Image credit: Kim et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.06.008.

Mitochondrial and Nuclear Genomes Cross-Regulate Each Other, Study Finds

Jul 6, 2018 by News Staff

Transfer of vital genetic information within a cell isn’t the one-way telegraph, according to a new study published in the journal Cell Metabolism. The...

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

Researchers Hunting for Environmental DNA in Loch Ness

Jul 2, 2018 by News Staff

An international research team led by University of Otago’s Professor Neil Gemmell is using the latest DNA technologies to compile a census of life in...

Galbraith et al identified 27 novel viruses in bees. Image credit: Joanna Jankowski.

Biologists Find Twenty Seven New Bee Viruses

Jul 2, 2018 by Natali Anderson

A team of scientists has identified 27 new viruses that infect European honeybees (Apis mellifera) and other bee species. Galbraith et al identified 27...

Sevvana et al achieved a structure of mature Zika virus at 3.1Å resolution; the three envelope glycoproteins are colored yellow, blue and red. Image credit: Madhumati Sevvana / Purdue University.

Researchers Create Most Detailed 3D Model of Zika Virus to Date

Jun 28, 2018 by News Staff

A research team led by Purdue University structural biologist Michael Rossmann was the first to discover the structure of Zika virus — emerging mosquito-borne...

Dolichogenidea xenomorph. Image credit: Erinn Fagan-Jeffries.

New Species of Parasitic Wasp Has Alien-Like Lifecycle

Jun 27, 2018 by News Staff

A bizarre new species of wasp, named Dolichogenidea xenomorph, has been discovered in Australia. Dolichogenidea xenomorph. Image credit: Erinn Fagan-Jeffries. Dolichogenidea...

One of the four images of an Australasian cockatoo gifted to Frederick II of Sicily by the Kurdish al-Malik Muhammad al-Kamil, the ‘Sultan of Babylon.’ Codex Ms. Pal. Lat 1071, folio 20r. Image credit: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.

Images of Australasian Cockatoo on 13th-Century Sicilian Manuscript Spark Rethink on Medieval Trade Routes

Jun 27, 2018 by News Staff

Four sketches and a written description of a white cockatoo survive in a mid 13th-century manuscript from Sicily, now held in the Vatican Library, according...

Gibbons at play (c. 1427) by the Xuande Emperor, the fifth emperor of the Ming dynasty of China.

Extinct Gibbon Found in 2,250-Year-Old Tomb of Chinese Noblewoman

Jun 22, 2018 by News Staff

The remains of a previously unknown genus and species of gibbon, Junzi imperialis, have been found in an approximately 2,200-2,300 year-old royal tomb...

The Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa), female. Image credit: Lucinda Gibson & Ken Walker, Museum Victoria / CC BY 3.0.

Study: Nocturnally Migrating Insects Use Earth’s Magnetic Field to Navigate

Jun 22, 2018 by News Staff

Like many migrating birds, numerous species of nocturnal moths undertake long-distance migrations at night. Each spring, billions of Bogong moths (Agrotis...

Ostroverkhova et al examined responses of wild bees to traps designed to selectively stimulate either the blue or the green photoreceptor using sunlight-induced fluorescence in the 420-480 nm or 510-540 nm region. Image credit: Rebekka D.

Bees Prefer Specific Wavelength Range of Blue Fluorescent Light

Jun 21, 2018 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Oregon State University and the University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, has learned that blue fluorescent light in the 430- to 480-nm...

The swamp sparrow (Melospiza georgiana). Image credit: Simon Pierre Barrette / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Swamp Sparrows Have Time-Honored Song Traditions, Study Shows

Jun 20, 2018 by News Staff

By faithfully copying the most popular songs, swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) create time-honored song traditions that can be just as long-lasting...

Giant pandas are found in the mountains of central China in dense bamboo and coniferous forests at altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000 feet (1,500-3,000 m). Image credit: Chester Ho.

Mitochondrial DNA of 22,000-Year-Old Giant Panda Reveals Long-Lost Lineage

Jun 20, 2018 by News Staff

A research team led by scientists at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has analyzed mitochondrial...

The short-faced Niata cow. Image credit: Journal of Heredity, doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a110716.

Research Reveals Secrets of Short-Faced Niata Cow

Jun 19, 2018 by News Staff

New research published in the journal Scientific Reports shows the Niata cow, a now-extinct animal with a short face like a bulldog that fascinated Charles...

The five newfound species of snail-eating snakes, from top left to bottom right: the Bev Ridgely’s snail-eater (Sibon bevridgelyi), male; the Bob Ridgely’s snail-eater (Dipsas bobridgelyi), male; the Klebba’s snail-eater (Dipsas klebbai), male; the Oswaldo Báez’ snail-eater (Dipsas oswaldobaezi), female; and the George Jett’s snail-eater (Dipsas georgejetti), male. Image credit: Arteaga et al, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.766.24523.

Scientists Discover Five New Species of South American Snail-Eating Snakes

Jun 18, 2018 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has discovered five new species of snail-eaters (tribe Dipsadini) living in the forests of Ecuador and Peru. The five...

Colony of Chroococcidiopsis thermalis cells where the different colors represent photosynthesis driven by chlorophyll-a (magenta) and chlorophyll-f (yellow). Image credit: Dennis Nuernberg.

Scientists Discover New Type of Photosynthesis

Jun 15, 2018 by News Staff

The vast majority of life on our planet uses red light (680 to 700 nm) in the process of photosynthesis, but the new type uses near-infrared light (750...

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

Study: Honeybees Understand Concept of Zero

Jun 11, 2018 by News Staff

The honeybee (Apis mellifera) has joined the ranks of dolphins, parrots, and primates, in demonstrating the ability to understand the concept of zero numerosity....

Thioflavin S positive amyloid plaques in the hippocampus (left) and cortex of lab mice inoculated with the artificial human prion, rhuPrion. Image credit: Kim et al, doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04584-z.

Scientists Synthesize First Artificial Human Prion

Jun 11, 2018 by News Staff

A team of scientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has created the first artificial human prion. Thioflavin S positive amyloid...