Biology News

Scientists Recreate Wasp Eye View

Wasp Cerceris sp. Image credit: Charles James Sharp, www.sharpphotography.co.uk / CC BY-SA 3.0.
Feb 12, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A team of biologists and robotic researchers from Australia and Germany has solved a mystery of how wasps make sure that they find their way home. The team, led by Prof. Jochen Zeil of the Australian National University, analyzed learning flights in ground-nesting wasps (Cerceris australis) using synchronized high-speed cameras. The scientists found wasps gather views of their environment during the flights each day with their focus always on their...

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Domestic horses (Equus caballus). Image credit: Mikel Ortega / Richard Bartz / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Researchers: Horses Can Read Human Emotions

Feb 10, 2016 by News Staff

According to a group of researchers at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK, domestic horses (Equus caballus) are able to distinguish between positive...

Two wolves. Image credit: Monty Sloan.

Canids Have 21 Distinct Howling Dialects, Say Scientists

Feb 10, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Various species and subspecies of canids (wolves, coyotes, etc.) have distinguishing repertoires of howling, according to a team of scientists who analyzed...

Cyanobacteria. Image credit: Josef Reischig / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Cyanobacteria ‘See’ Like Microscopic Eyeballs, New Study Finds

Feb 9, 2016 by Natali Anderson

According to a study published in the journal eLife, cyanobacteria cells act as spherical microlenses, allowing the cell to see a light source and move...

Aphonopelma johnnycashi: female (left) and male. Image credit: Hamilton C.A. et al.

Aphonopelma johnnycashi: Newfound Tarantula Species Named after Johnny Cash

Feb 5, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of researchers, directed by Dr. Chris Hamilton of the Auburn University Museum of Natural History, has discovered a previously unknown species of...

Ravens hid their food only well when dominant conspecifics were visible and audible at the same time. Image credit: Jana Müller / Universität Wien.

Study: Ravens Can Theorize about Minds of Others

Feb 4, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Nature, ravens (Corvus corax) share human ability to think abstractly about other minds, adapting their...

Kinyongia msuyae. Image credit: Tim Davenport / WCS.

Kinyongia msuyae: New Species of Chameleon Found in Tanzania

Feb 4, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A team of scientists led by Dr. Michele Menegon of the Museo delle Scienze in Trento, Italy, has described a previously undocumented species of chameleon...

Gel model of a fetal brain after being immersed in liquid solvent, the resulting compression led to the formation of folds similar in size and shape to real brains. Image credit: Tuomas Tallinen et al.

Scientists Replicate Folding Human Brain in 3D

Feb 2, 2016 by News Staff

A variety of hypotheses on how the brain folds have been proposed but none have been directly used to make testable predictions. Now, a group of scientists...

The Sulawesi snouter (Hyorhinomys stuempkei). Image credit: Jake Esselstyn / Louisiana State University.

Top 20 New Species Discovered in 2015 – Part 2

Jan 28, 2016 by Sergio Prostak

A shape-shifting frog from Ecuador, a giant virus from Siberia, and a bioluminescent shark are among the twenty most bizarre species discovered in the...

White-cheeked macaques (Macaca leucogenys), juveniles of different age. Image credit: Cheng Li et al.

Top 20 New Species Discovered in 2015

Jan 28, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A shape-shifting frog from Ecuador, a giant virus from Siberia, a bioluminescent shark, a ruby seadragon, and the world’s smallest snail are among the...

Secretary bird Madeleine attacks his prey. Image credit: Jason Shallcross.

Study: Secretary Birds Stamp on Their Prey with Force 5 Times Their Weight

Jan 26, 2016 by Natali Anderson

According to a new study published this week in the journal Current Biology, Secretary birds can kick with 195 Newtons, which is equivalent to about 5...

Photographs of (a) plains, (b) mountain, and (c) Grevy’s zebra, and (d) African wild ass in the Tierpark Zoo, Berlin. Image credit: Tim Caro.

Why Do Zebras Have Stripes? Not for Camo, Scientists Say

Jan 25, 2016 by News Staff

In a study published online in the journal PLoS ONE, scientists found that zebra stripes cannot be involved in allowing the animals to blend in with the...

The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). Image credit: Citron / CC-BY-SA-3.0.

Biologists: Carnivorous Venus Flytraps Can Count

Jan 25, 2016 by News Staff

Carnivorous plants, such as the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), depend on an animal diet when grown in nutrient-poor soils. They sense the arrival of...

Liolaemus uniformis: male (top) and female. Image credit: Troncoso-Palacios J. et al.

Scientists Discover New Species of Iguana

Jan 23, 2016 by News Staff

Scientists have discovered a new species of iguana in the mountains of central Chile, called Liolaemus uniformis. Liolaemus uniformis: male (top) and female....

An adult male of Frankixalus jerdonii is emerging out of a tree hole. Image credit: S.D. Biju.

Scientists Describe New Genus of Tree Hole Breeding Frogs

Jan 22, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A new genus of tree hole breeding frogs has been described and named by a group of scientists led by University of Delhi researcher S. D. Biju. An adult...

The Himalayan forest thrush (Zoothera salimalii). Image credit: Craig Belsford.

Himalayan Forest Thrush: Scientists Discover New Species of Bird

Jan 20, 2016 by News Staff

A group of scientists led by Dr. Per Alström of Uppsala University has described a new species of bird from the northeastern India and adjacent parts...

This picture of elusive bush dogs was taken by a camera trap in the wet tropical forest of Pirre, Panama. Image credit: GEMAS Panamá / Fundación Natura / Fondo Darién / Fundación Yaguará Panamá / Southern Illinois University.

Camera Traps ‘Capture’ Elusive Bush Dogs in Panama

Jan 20, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Motion-sensitive cameras placed at several sites in Panama have captured images of the bush dog (Speothos venaticus), one of the most enigmatic of the...

Proportional diversity of arthropod orders across all rooms in the study. Image credit: Bertone M.A. et al., doi: 10.7717/peerj.1582.

U.S. Homes Harbor More Than 500 Different Species of Insects and Their Relatives

Jan 20, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Americans share their houses with any of more than 500 different morphospecies of arthropods (insects and their relatives) – at least on a short-term...

Encyclia inopinata. Image credit: Carlos L. Leopardi-Verde.

Encyclia inopinata: New Species of Orchid Discovered in Mexico

Jan 19, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Dr. Carlos Leopardi-Verde of the Universidad de Colima and his colleagues from Mexico and the United States have described a new orchid species from the...

Researchers conducting fieldwork in the Kimberley. Image credit: University of Melbourne.

Scientists Find 20 New Species of Freshwater Fish in Australia

Jan 13, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A team of scientists led by University of Melbourne researcher Dr Matthew Le Feuvre has described twenty new species of freshwater fish from the rivers...

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