Biology News

Researchers Discover Animal Life in Subseafloor Crust at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents

Seafloor surface and crustal subseafloor vents at Fava Flow Suburbs, the East Pacific Rise. Image credit: Bright et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52631-9.
Oct 15, 2024 by News Staff

Marine biologists have found adult tubeworms and other vent animals below the seafloor in the East Pacific Rise, a volcanically active, fast-spreading ridge with numerous hydrothermal vent fields. Seafloor surface and crustal subseafloor vents at Fava Flow Suburbs, the East Pacific Rise. Image credit: Bright et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52631-9. The East Pacific Rise is a volcanically active ridge located where two tectonic plates meet on the floor...

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The average American spends 93% of their time in built environments, almost 70% of that is in their place of residence. Human health and well-being are intrinsically tied to the quality of our personal environments and the microbiomes that populate them. Conversely, the built environment microbiome is seeded, formed, and re-shaped by occupant behavior, cleaning, personal hygiene and food choices, as well as geographic location and variability in infrastructure. Huttelmaier et al. focused on the presence of viruses in household biofilms, specifically in showerheads and on toothbrushes.

Study: Your Showerheads and Toothbrushes are Teeming with Diverse Collection of Viruses

Oct 10, 2024 by News Staff

Viruses collected in a Northwestern University-led study are bacteriophages — a type of virus that infects and replicates inside of bacteria. The...

Morphological features of Sheba. Image credit: Guy Eisner / Elaine Solowey / Sallon et al., doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-06721-5.

Long-Lost Myrrh Species Resurrected from 1,000-Year-Old Seed

Oct 8, 2024 by Natali Anderson

A team of biologists in Israel has grown an extinct — or at least extirpated — tree species of the myrrh genus Commiphora from an ancient seed...

Cryo-EM structure of α-latrotoxin in two distinct tetrameric states. Image credit: Klink et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52635-5.

Researchers Decode Structure of Vertebrate-Specific Toxin in Black Widow Spider Venom

Oct 8, 2024 by News Staff

The venom of black widow spiders contains a cocktail of seven specific latrotoxins, but only one — α-latrotoxin — targets vertebrates, including...

While maintaining a population of Mnemiopsis leidyi in a seawater tank, Jokura et al. noticed an atypically large individual with two aboral ends and two apical organs. Image credit: Jokura et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.07.084.

Two Injured Comb Jellies Can Fuse into Single Entity, Scientists Discover

Oct 7, 2024 by News Staff

Two injured individuals of Mnemiopsis leidyi, a species of planktonic animals known as comb jellies or ctenophores, are capable of rapidly fusing into...

The tokay gecko (Gekko gecko). Image credit: Duncan Leitch.

Geckos Have ‘Sixth Sense,’ Biologists Say

Oct 7, 2024 by News Staff

Geckos use the saccule — a part of their inner ear traditionally associated with maintaining balance and body positioning — to detect low-frequency...

Sphyrna alleni, a male collected in Riversdale, Belize. Image credit: Cindy Gonzalez.

New Species of Hammerhead Shark Discovered

Oct 4, 2024 by Natali Anderson

A team of marine biologists led by a Florida International University researcher has described a new species of the shark genus Sphyrna from the Caribbean...

Xibalbanus tulumensis. Image credit: Pinheiro-Junior et al., doi: 10.1186/s12915-024-01955-5.

Toxins Found in Venom of Crustacean from Mayan Underwater Caves Have Pharmacological Potential

Oct 4, 2024 by Sergio Prostak

Xibalbanus tulumensis, a venomous remipede found in anchialine caves on the Yucatán Peninsula, is the only crustacean for which a venom system has been...

A lower-fungus-farming worker of the rare fungus-farming ant species Mycetophylax asper, collected in Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 2014, on its fungus garden. Image credit: Don Parsons.

Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Impact Turned Ants into Fungus Farmers, Study Says

Oct 4, 2024 by News Staff

Fungus-farming ants cultivate multiple species of fungi for food, but the history of fungus-ant co-evolution is poorly known. In a new study published...

Maglieri et al. explored the presence and possible functions of open mouth display during solitary, interspecific (human-dolphin), and intraspecific free play. Image credit: Maglieri et al., doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110966.

Study: Bottlenose Dolphins ‘Smile’ at Each Other during Their Playful Interactions

Oct 3, 2024 by News Staff

Play is a widespread behavior present in distant species that, in its social form, relies on complex communication. Playful communication has been largely...

The 2-billion-year-old mafic rock from the Bushveld Igneous Complex revealed that indigenous microbes (stained green) are colonizing veins filled with clay minerals. Image credit: Suzuki et al., doi: 10.1007/s00248-024-02434-8.

Microbiologists Find Living Microbes in 2-Billion-Year-Old Rock

Oct 3, 2024 by News Staff

Researchers from the University of Tokyo and elsewhere have found pockets of living microbes in mineral-filled veins within 2-billion-year-old rock from...

Like dogs, coyotes have a well-developed LAOM that gives both species the ability to make ‘puppy dog eyes.’ Image credit: Cunningham et al., doi: 10.1098/rsos.241046.

Coyotes Can Do ‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ Too, New Study Shows

Oct 2, 2024 by News Staff

Recent studies suggest that a muscle called the levator anguli oculi medialis (LAOM) is unique to dogs (Canis familiaris) and evolved due to domestication....

Lepidotrigla papilio. Image credit: Mike Jones.

Sea Robins Use Their Leg-Like Appendages as Sensory Organs, Marine Biologists Find

Sep 27, 2024 by News Staff

Sea robins are unusual ocean fish that possess specialized leg-like appendages used to ‘walk’ along the sea floor. New research shows that these appendages...

These 3,500-year-old kefir cheese samples are among the few dairy remains preserved more than 3,000 years and were produced by the Bronze Age Xiaohe population -- a population that possesses mixed lifestyles and techniques (e.g., farming, dairy production, hunting, etc.). Also, although early Xiaohe individuals show little genetic interaction with other populations, mitochondrial DNA data suggest maternal connections with East and West Eurasians. By recovering DNA information from ancient fermented dairy remains, Liu et al. investigated the lifestyle linked to the usage of fermented dairy by the Xiaohe population and explore the co-evolution between the fermented bacteria and their hosts. Image credit: Liu et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.08.008.

World’s Oldest Cheese Sheds Light on Origins of Kefir

Sep 25, 2024 by News Staff

Despite the long history of consumption of fermented dairy, little is known about how the fermented microbes were utilized and evolved over human history....

Amaga pseudobama, living specimen collected in Kingston, North Carolina in July 2020; the specimen was photographed in a Petri dish on a white background: (A) dorsal view from back; the head is at top; (B) dorsal view; the head is on the right; (C) ventral view; the pharynx (p) and gonopore (g), are indicated; the head is on the left. Image credit: Matthew A. Bertone.

New Species of Predatory Flatworm Invading Southern United States

Sep 25, 2024 by News Staff

Amaga pseudobama has been found in three locations in North Carolina and in some infested plants from Georgia. Amaga pseudobama, living specimen collected...

Angiotensin II-induced vascular inflammation involves early expansion of EndoMac progenitors in vivo. Image credit: Williamson et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-51637-7.

Researchers Discover New Type of Cell: EndoMac Progenitor

Sep 24, 2024 by News Staff

Dubbed EndoMac progenitors, the newly-discovered type of cell has the potential to enhance the future of tissue repair and generation, according to a team...

Tea catechins are produced following the flavonoid metabolic pathways, regulated by multiple enzymes and transcription factors. Image credit: Li et al., doi: 10.1093/hr/uhae178.

New Study Sheds Light on Catechin Biosynthesis in Tea Plants

Sep 23, 2024 by News Staff

Catechins are the major active compounds present in the tea plant (Camellia sinensis), the main industrial crop cultivated worldwide. Tea catechins are...

Koungoulos et al. discovered for the first time clear links between fossils of the iconic Australian dingo and dogs from East Asia and New Guinea. Image credit: Sharkolot.

Dingoes Have Evolved from East Asian Dog-Like Ancestor: Study

Sep 23, 2024 by News Staff

The dingo is a wild dog endemic to Australia with enigmatic origins. Dingoes are one of two remaining unadmixed populations of an early East Asian dog...

Semi-aquatic anoles live along Neotropical streams and frequently dive for refuge, remaining underwater for up to 16 minutes. Image credit: Lindsey Swierk.

Semi-Aquatic Anole Lizards Use Special Bubble Over Their Nostrils to Breathe Underwater: Study

Sep 17, 2024 by News Staff

Bubble use evolved in many small invertebrates to enable underwater breathing, but, until recently, there has been no evidence that vertebrate animals...

Syntretus perlmani, an adult male approximately 1.5 mm in length. Scale bar - 1 mm. Image credit: Moore et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07919-7.

New Parasitic Wasp Species Discovered in Eastern US

Sep 17, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Syntretus perlmani infects the adult stage of fruit flies in the genus Drosophila, including one of the most deeply studied model organisms in biology,...

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