Biology News

Aging Begins in Womb, New Study Suggests

This false-color image shows human chromosomes (green) capped by telomeres (red). Image credit: U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program.
Mar 2, 2016 by News Staff

A new study in rats led by Dr. Beth Allison of the University of Cambridge, UK, suggests that the aging clock begins ticking even before we are born and enter this world. This false-color image shows human chromosomes (green) capped by telomeres (red). Image credit: U.S. Department of Energy Human Genome Program. Dr. Allison and co-authors also found that providing mothers with antioxidants during pregnancy meant that their offspring aged more slowly...

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Rafflesia consueloae. Image credit: Edwino S. Fernando.

Rafflesia consueloae: New Species of Giant Rafflesia Discovered

Feb 27, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A new species of the plant genus Rafflesia – R. consueloae — has been described from the Philippine Island of Luzon by a team of scientists led...

The dodo (Raphus cucullatus) by Frederick William Frohawk, 1905.

Dodo Bird Was Not So Stupid After All

Feb 24, 2016 by Sergio Prostak

According to a new study in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, an extinct bird known as the dodo (Raphus cucullatus) was in fact relatively...

A Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita) in Vienna Zoo, Austria. Image credit: Robert F. Tobler / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Single Birds Are Healthier Than Those in Pairs, Say Ornithologists

Feb 23, 2016 by News Staff

According to a team of ornithologists led by University of Vienna scientist Didone Frigerio, laying eggs and raising chicks can have a negative effect...

The Iberian grass snake (Natrix astreptophora). Image credit: Wolfgang Böhme.

Iberian Grass Snake: Cryptic New Species of Snake Identified

Feb 23, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of scientists from Czech Republic, France and Germany has identified a cryptic new species of grass snake living in the North African...

The sea butterfly (Limacina helicina). Image credit: Russ Hopcroft, Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks / NOAA.

Sea Butterflies Swim Like Flying Insects, Scientists Say

Feb 20, 2016 by News Staff

Zooplanktonic sea butterflies (Limacina helicina) ‘fly’ underwater using the same technique as tiny flying insects, beating their wings in a figure-of-eight...

Electron microscopy of the bat cell line identifies viral particles that appear to be BGHV8: black and red boxes highlight enlarged regions directly below the image above; both areas identify budding and fully budded herpesvirus virions. Image credit: Reed S. Shabman et al.

Scientists Discover Novel Herpes Virus in Bats

Feb 18, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists, led by Dr. Reed Shabman of the J. Craig Venter Institute and Prof. Christopher Basler of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai,...

Wasp Cerceris sp. Image credit: Charles James Sharp, www.sharpphotography.co.uk / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Recreate Wasp Eye View

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...

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...

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