Biology News

Wax Moth Caterpillars Found to Eat Polyethylene

This image shows a wax worm chewing a hole through plastic; polyethylene debris can be seen attached to the caterpillar. Image credit: Federica Bertocchini / Paolo Bombelli / Chris Howe.
Apr 25, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from Spain and the United Kingdom has found that a caterpillar of the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) — commonly known as a wax worm — has the ability to biodegrade polyethylene. Polyethylene degradation by wax worms. Left: plastic bag after exposure to about 100 wax worms for 12 hours; Right: magnification of the area indicated in the image at left. Image credit: Bombelli et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.060. Polyethylene...

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Prof. Gary Lewin holding a naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber). Image credit: Roland Gockel, MDC.

Study: Oxygen-Deprived Naked Mole-Rats Turn into ‘Plants’

Apr 24, 2017 by News Staff

Deprived of oxygen, African naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) can survive by metabolizing a type of sugar called fructose just as plants do, a new...

Single flying pigeon. Image credit: Takao Sasaki.

Pigeons May Share Human Ability to Build on Work of Others

Apr 21, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology has shown that the elements of the capacity of humans to build on the work...

Once standing on the mat, elephants were instructed to pick up the stick and give it to the experimenter. Image credit: E. Gilchrist.

Elephants Have Surprising Level of Self-Understanding

Apr 18, 2017 by News Staff

According to new research, Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are able to recognize their own bodies as obstacles to success in problem-solving, further...

Kuphus polythalamia infographic. Image credit: University of Utah.

Kuphus polythalamia: Marine Biologists Study Giant Mud-Dwelling Shipworm for First Time

Apr 18, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of marine biologists, led by researchers at Northeastern University and the University of Utah, is the first to investigate a never...

Transmission electron microscopy image of a candidate Klosneuvirus particle detected in the Klosterneuburg waste water treatment plant biomass. The particle exhibits features reminiscent of Mimiviridae including a faceted, multi-layered envelope surrounding a central core. Image credit: Schulz et al.

Klosneuviruses: New Group of Giant Viruses Discovered

Apr 11, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers from Austria and the United States have identified a group of giant viruses — Klosneuviruses — that harbor components of many other...

The Angolan dwarf galago (Galagoides kumbirensis) prefers moist, tall forest, primary, and secondary and semiarid baobab savannah-woodland. Image credit: Elena Bersacola.

Galagoides kumbirensis: New Species of Dwarf Galago Discovered in Angola

Apr 10, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international group of primatologists has discovered a new primate, Galagoides kumbirensis (Angolan dwarf galago), with features not been seen by science...

A western honey bee (Apis mellifera) in Nagakute, Aichi, Japan. Image credit: Emran Kassim / CC BY 2.0.

Honey Bees Have Better Vision Than Previously Thought

Apr 6, 2017 by News Staff

A new study by researchers at the University of Adelaide and Lund University that appears online today in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that...

Cave loach Barbatula sp. Image credit: Jasminca Behrmann-Godel et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.048.

Meet Cave Loach, Europe’s First Cave Fish

Apr 5, 2017 by News Staff

A team of scientists and cave divers has discovered and described the first European cave fish — a loach of the genus Barbatula. Loaches Barbatula...

The scientists have tried to extract ancient DNA from two stingless bees Trigonisca ameliae. This image shows Trigonisca ameliae bee in Colombian copal. Image credit: Dr David Penney / University of Manchester.

Social Bees Have Kept Symbiotic Gut Bacteria for 80M Years, New Study Says

Mar 30, 2017 by News Staff

About 80 million years ago (Cretaceous period), a group of bees began exhibiting social behavior. Today, their descendants — honey bees, stingless...

World’s First Glow-In-The-Dark Frog Found in Argentina

Mar 30, 2017 by Maria Gabriela Lagorio, University of Buenos Aires

Scientists in Argentina have discovered a frog that glows in moonlight and at twilight. Fluorescence in terrestrial environments had previously only been...

Visualization of resident megakaryocytes in the lungs. Image credit: Emma Lefrançais et al, doi: 10.1038/nature21706.

Lungs Play Previously Unknown Role in Blood Production

Mar 27, 2017 by News Staff

Using video microscopy in a living mouse lung, a team of researchers at the Universities of California, San Francisco (UCSF) & Los Angeles (UCLA),...

The Ecuadorian rainfrog (Pristimantis ecuadorensis), adult female. Image credit: J.M. Guayasamin et al, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172615.

New Frog Species Discovered: Ecuadorian Rainfrog

Mar 23, 2017 by News Staff

A species of frog that is completely new to science has been discovered in the cloud forests of Ecuador. The Ecuadorian rainfrog (Pristimantis ecuadorensis),...

Specific calls of playing kea trigger playful emotions in other, non-playing birds, just as laughter does for us. Image credit: Raoul Schwing, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.

‘Laughter’ is Catching in New Zealand’s Kea Parrots

Mar 22, 2017 by News Staff

The kea (Nestor notabilis) — a large species of parrot endemic to the Southern Alps of New Zealand — has become the first non-mammal to show...

A member of the Ngogo community of chimpanzees in Uganda’s Kibale National Park. Image credit: Brian Wood, Yale University.

Study: Uganda’s Ngogo Chimpanzees Have Surprisingly Long Life Expectancies

Mar 21, 2017 by News Staff

A 20-year demographic study of a relatively undisturbed and exceptionally large community of eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Ngogo,...

The Tatama tapaculo (Scytalopus alvarezlopezi) upon capture at Cerro Montezuma, Risaralda department, Colombia, April 2, 2015. Image credit: Julian Heavyside, doi: 10.1642/AUK-16-205.1.

Tatama Tapaculo: New Bird Species Discovered in Colombia

Mar 20, 2017 by Sergio Prostak

A new species of tapaculo — called the Tatama tapaculo (Scytalopus alvarezlopezi) — has been discovered in the cloud forests of Colombia’s...

Study: Spiders Eat 400-800 Million Tons of Insects and Other Prey Annually

Mar 15, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study published in The Science of Nature, the annual prey kill of the global spider community is in the range of 400-800 million metric...

The study by Florian Schiestl and Daniel Gervasi focuses on the role insect pollinators can play in plant evolution, and how speedy that evolution can be. Image credit: Alexas.

Bees Have Profound Influence on Plant Evolution, Researchers Say

Mar 14, 2017 by News Staff

After only nine generations, the same plant species is larger and more fragrant if pollinated by bumblebees rather than flies, according to University...

Young Tasmanian devil. Image credit: Keres H. / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Researchers Find Potential Cure for Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Disease

Mar 13, 2017 by News Staff

A study led by University of Tasmania researchers Cesar Tovar and Gregory Woods has shown that immunotherapy can cure Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii)...

Castle-Miller et al have discovered how animals link the change in seasons to their fertility.

Researchers Discover How Animals Measure Annual Time to Reproduce

Mar 8, 2017 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals the link between breeding season and the hormone melatonin,...

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