Biology News

Study: Microbial Community on International Space Station Resembles Homes on Earth

The International Space Station. Image credit: NASA.
Dec 8, 2017 by Natali Anderson

The microbial community composition on the International Space Station (ISS) is more similar to home surfaces than to the human microbiome samples, according to a new study published in the journal PeerJ. The International Space Station. Image credit: NASA. A team of microbiologists from the University of California, Davis, and elsewhere analyzed swabs taken by astronauts on 15 locations on the ISS. “The ISS sampling involved the collection and...

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Pigeons aren’t so bird-brained after all. Image credit: Harsh Vardhan.

Pigeons Can Discriminate Abstract Concepts of Space and Time, Study Shows

Dec 6, 2017 by News Staff

Pigeons can discriminate the abstract concepts of space and time — and seem to use a different region of the brain than humans and primates to do...

Gorillas appear to be born with an instinct to clean their food. Image credit: Skeeze.

Gorillas Can Learn to Clean Their Food without Observing Others

Dec 5, 2017 by News Staff

Gorillas can spontaneously clean their food before eating it, without first watching another animal to learn from them, an international team of researchers...

Palmer et al found that spatial vision in the scallop is achieved through precise control of the size, shape, and packing density of the tiles of guanine that together make up an image-forming mirror at the back of each of the eyes. This image shows the great scallop (Pecten maximus). Image credit: Ceri Jones, Haven Diving Services.

Scallop Eyes Work Like Little Reflecting Telescopes, Researchers Find

Dec 1, 2017 by News Staff

An international group of biologists from Israel and Sweden has obtained a detailed view of a scallop’s visual system — an arrangement of up to...

According to Albuquerque et al, dogs have a functional understanding of emotional expressions. Image credit: Djul.

Study: Dogs Lick Their Mouths as Response to Angry Faces

Nov 30, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from Brazil and the United Kingdom has analyzed mouth-licking behavior of domestic dogs, and found that this behavior...

A still frame from the Patterson-Gimlin film, a famous motion picture of an unidentified subject filmed on October 20, 1967 by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin on Bluff Creek, a tributary of the Klamath River about 25 road miles north-west of Orleans, California.

Purported Yeti Samples Are Genetically Identical to Asian Bears, DNA Study Says

Nov 30, 2017 by News Staff

The Yeti, a mysterious ‘hominid’-like creature said to inhabit the high mountains of Asia, looms large in the mythology of Nepal and Tibet. Now, a...

The Mariana snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei). Image credit: Mackenzie Gerringer, University of Washington.

Meet Mariana Snailfish, World’s Deepest-Dwelling Fish

Nov 29, 2017 by News Staff

In the frigid darkness of the Mariana Trench swims the world’s deepest-living fish — the Mariana snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei). The Mariana...

Coloration of fresh specimens: Hippocampus haema (left), H. coronatus (center), and H. sindonis (right). Image credit: Han et al, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.712.14955.

Marine Biologists Discover New Species of Seahorse: Hippocampus haema

Nov 27, 2017 by Natali Anderson

A new species of seahorse has been discovered in the northern Pacific Ocean, near Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Coloration of fresh specimens: Hippocampus...

Murray et al show that crested pigeons (Ochyphaps lophotes) signal alarm with specially modified wing feathers. Image credit: Patrick Kavanagh / CC BY 2.0.

Crested Pigeons Use Specially Modified Wing Feathers to Signal Danger, Ornithologists Find

Nov 26, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the Australian National University has solved the mystery of how crested pigeons (Ochyphaps lophotes) create an alarm without...

Sousa et al show that the human brain is not only a larger version of the ancestral primate brain but also one filled with distinct and surprising differences. Image credit: William H. Calvin / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Research Highlights Key Differences between Human and Non-Human Primate Brains

Nov 24, 2017 by News Staff

A detailed comparative analysis of adult human, chimpanzee, and macaque brains shows that all regions of the human brain have molecular signatures very...

Audio signals can be stored in a magnetic tape medium; similarly the microscopic data recorder stores biological signals into a CRISPR tape in bacteria. Image credit: Columbia University Medical Center.

Synthetic Biologists Create Bacterial ‘Tape Recorder’

Nov 24, 2017 by News Staff

A team of synthetic biologists from Columbia University has successfully converted an immune system of the gut bacterium Escherichia coli into a microscopic...

Rafflesia kemumu. Image credit: Susatya et al / Ministry of Environment and Forestry Republic of Indonesia.

New Species of Rafflesia Discovered in Indonesia

Nov 22, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of scientists from the United States and Indonesia has described a new species of flowering plant of the genus Rafflesia from the...

A blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) spouts near a research boat. Image credit: Flip Nickin, Minden Pictures / Oregon State University / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Scientists Find Evidence of ‘Handedness’ in Blue Whales

Nov 22, 2017 by News Staff

A group of marine biologists that used motion-sensing tags to track the movements of blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off the California coast discovered...

Dermal denticles on the tail of the little skate (Leucoraja erinacea). Image credit: Andrew Gillis, University of Cambridge.

Vertebrate Teeth Evolved from Ancient Fish Scales, Researchers Say

Nov 22, 2017 by News Staff

New findings from researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, support the theory that teeth in the animal kingdom evolved from the jagged scales of...

Happy faces are attractive to dogs. Image credit: Sanni Somppi.

Study: Dogs Prefer Happy Human Faces — Thanks to Hormone Oxytocin

Nov 22, 2017 by News Staff

Oxytocin, a powerful hormone produced by all mammals, including canines, is a key factor in the interaction between dogs and humans, according to a new...

Placida cremoniana. Image credit: Izuzuki Diver / CC BY-SA 2.5.

Marine Biologists Discover Three New Species of Sea Slugs

Nov 20, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers led by California State University’s Professor Patrick Krug has discovered three cryptic new species of sea slugs, and named one...

Typophyllum spurioculis. Image credit: Andrew Baker.

New Species of Leaf-Mimicking Insect Discovered in South America

Nov 14, 2017 by News Staff

A team of entomologists from the University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada, and the University of Lincoln’s Joseph Banks Laboratories, UK, has discovered...

Giblin River stromatolites. Image credit: Proemse et al, doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-15507-1.

Scientists Find Ancient Life Form Thriving in Tasmania

Nov 14, 2017 by News Staff

Tasmanian scientists have found living stromatolites (oldest known life form) in the Giblin River catchment of the UNESCO-listed Tasmanian Wilderness World...

Maurolicus muelleri (top) and Maurolicus mucronatus (bottom). Image credit: Fanny de Busserolles, University of Queensland.

Marine Biologists Find New Type of Eye Cell in Deep-Sea Fish

Nov 13, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has found a new photoreceptor type in the eyes of deep-sea pearlsides, which have an unusual visual system adapted...

Sheep recognize familiar and unfamiliar human faces from 2D images. Image credit: Magnus114.

Sheep Have Exceptionally High Face-Recognition Abilities, News Study Reveals

Nov 10, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Royal Society: Open Science, sheep can be trained to recognize familiar and unfamiliar human faces from...

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