Biology News

Tasmanian Devils Rapidly Evolve to Overcome Facial Tumor Disease

Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). Image credit: J.J. Harrison / CC BY-SA 3.0.
Aug 31, 2016 by News Staff

An international group of researchers has discovered that two regions in the genomes of Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) are changing in response to the spread of a recently emerged infectious disease. Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). Image credit: J.J. Harrison / CC BY-SA 3.0. The Tasmanian devil is found throughout the island state of Tasmania, Australia, although fossil evidence suggests that it once occupied much of the Australian...

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This image depicts the presence of different viral RNA segments of GCXV within infected cells. Image credit: Michael Lindquist.

Guaico Culex Virus: Researchers Find Multicomponent Animal Virus

Aug 26, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

For the first time, researchers have identified a multicomponent RNA virus – one containing different segments of genetic material in separate particles,...

Adonis, a 1,075-year-old Bosnian pine. Image credit: Oliver Konter.

1,075-Year-Old Bosnian Pine Among Europe’s Oldest Known Living Trees

Aug 22, 2016 by Natali Anderson

According to a team of botanists and dendrochronologists from the University of Arizona, Stockholm University and the University of Mainz, a pine growing...

The Cameroon scaly-tail (Zenkerella insignis) by Joseph Smit, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1898.

Zenkerella insignis: Scientists Analyze DNA of Enigmatic African Rodent

Aug 17, 2016 by Natali Anderson

For the first time, scientists have sequenced and analyzed the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of the Cameroon scaly-tail (Zenkerella insignis), one of Africa’s...

Geophis lorancai, adult male. Image credit: Miguel Ángel de la Torre Loranca.

Geophis lorancai: New Species of Earth Snake Found in Mexico

Aug 13, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of scientists has described a new strikingly-colored species in the snake genus Geophis from the mountains of the Sierra Zongolica in west-central...

Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus). Image credit: Julius Nielsen.

Greenland Sharks are Longest-Lived Vertebrates on Earth, Marine Biologists Say

Aug 12, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) live at least as long as 400 years, according to a team of marine biologists led by Dr. Julius Nielsen from...

Sunflowers. Image credit: Betty Jo Tindle / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Sunflowers Use Internal Circadian Clock to Follow Sun

Aug 8, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by Prof. Stacey Harmer of the University of California, Davis, has discovered how sunflowers use their circadian clock, acting...

Pheidole viserion. Image credit: Masako Ogasawara.

Four New Species of Ants Discovered – Two Named after Game of Thrones’ Dragons

Jul 29, 2016 by News Staff

A group of Japanese entomologists has described and named four new species of the ant genus Pheidole from the tropical rainforests of Papua New Guinea...

Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).

Indianapolis Zoo’s Orangutan Mimics Human Speech

Jul 28, 2016 by News Staff

Rocky, an eleven-year-old male orangutan living at Indianapolis Zoo, offers clues to how human speech evolved, according to new research led by Durham...

Berardius sp.nov. Image credit: Uko Gorter.

Evidence Indicates Presence of Undescribed Beaked Whale Species in North Pacific

Jul 27, 2016 by Natali Anderson

An international team of marine biologists has found genetic evidence of a previously unknown species of beaked whale (Berardius sp.nov.) that ranges from...

DNA molecule. Image credit: Christoph Bock, Max Planck Institute for Informatics / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Genetic Code is More Diverse than We Think

Jul 26, 2016 by News Staff

New research is casting doubt on a widely held belief about how cells use DNA to make proteins. DNA molecule. Image credit: Christoph Bock, Max Planck...

An aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis). Image credit: David Haring.

Study with Aye-Ayes, Slow Loris Sheds Light on Origins of Alcohol Consumption

Jul 20, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

In the first controlled study of its kind, a team of scientists at Dartmouth College has found that two species of non-human primates – the slow loris...

Talamancan palm-pitvipers (Bothriechis nubestris) are found in trees where their green and black pattern provides excellent camouflage. Image credit: University of Central Florida.

Talamancan Palm-Pitviper: Cryptic New Species of Venomous Snake Identified in Costa Rica

Jul 19, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of researchers led by University of Central Florida biologist Chris Parkinson has announced the discovery of a new species of venomous...

Cows. Image credit: Peggy Marco.

Study: Happy Cows Make Better Milk

Jul 15, 2016 by News Staff

Daily infusions with serotonin, a naturally-occurring chemical associated with feelings of happiness, were shown to increase calcium levels in both the...

Scanning electron micrograph of filamentous Ebola virus particles (blue) budding from a chronically infected cell (yellow-green). Image credit: NIAID.

Viruses are Dominant Driver of Human Evolution, Researchers Say

Jul 14, 2016 by News Staff

In a new study published in the journal eLife, scientists apply big-data analysis to reveal the full extent of viruses’ impact on the evolution of humans...

Sunflowers. Image credit: Betty Jo Tindle / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Why Don’t Plants Get Sunburn?

Jul 13, 2016 by Nigel Paul, Lancaster University

Sunflowers. Image credit: Betty Jo Tindle / CC BY-SA 3.0. The one fact about plants that most people probably remember from school is that they use sunlight...

Mantis shrimp -- predatory, ocean-dwelling crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda -- use eye rotations to improve their vision. Image credit: Michael Bok / University of Lund.

Mantis Shrimp Use Eye Rotations to Enhance Their Polarization Vision, Say Biologists

Jul 13, 2016 by Natali Anderson

The eye-rolling behavior of mantis shrimp helps them see the world, says a team of biologists led by Nicholas Roberts of the University of Bristol, UK. Mantis...

Archaeological evidence suggests that Brazilian bearded capuchin monkeys have been using stone tools to crack open cashew nuts for at least 600 years. Image credit: University of Oxford.

Brazilian Capuchins Have Used Stone Tools for at least 600 Years

Jul 12, 2016 by News Staff

Wild Brazilian bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) use stones to pound open defended food, including cashew nuts. And this activity dates back...

Deep-sea one-jawed eel (Monognathus) is shown with a venomous fang on the roof of the mouth. Image credit: W. Leo Smith.

Study Finds Venom Has Evolved 18 Times in Marine and Freshwater Fishes

Jul 6, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Venom is so useful to fish that it evolved at least 18 times, according to a new study led by Dr. William Leo Smith of the University of Kansas Biodiversity...

Culex pipiens f. molestus, the mosquito species unique to the London Underground. Image credit: Walkabout12 / CC BY-SA.

Humans Now Drive Evolution on Earth, both Creating and Destroying Species

Jul 5, 2016 by Mark Maslin, University College London

Culex pipiens f. molestus, the mosquito species unique to the London Underground. Image credit: Walkabout12 / CC BY-SA. When scientists examine the impact...

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