Biology News | Sci.News

The Australian little penguin (Eudyptula novaehollandia), Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia. Image credit: J.J. Harrison / CC BY-SA 3.0.

New Zealand, Australian Little Penguins are Distinct Species, Scientists Say

Dec 15, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

Australian little penguins are a separate species from those living in New Zealand, a team of ornithologists led by University of Otago scientist Dr Stefanie...

A courting male Cuban burrowing cockroach (Byrsotria fumigata) performing a full wing raise. Image credit: Sophie Mowles / Natalie Jepson.

Study: Female Cockroaches Select Only Fittest Males to Mate With

Dec 10, 2015 by News Staff

A new study led by Dr Sophie Mowles of Anglia Ruskin University shows how energetic courtship displays of male Cuban burrowing cockroaches attract female...

Upper respiratory system, with soft palate labeled near center. Image credit: BruceBlaus / CC BY 3.0.

Swedish Scientists Discover Unique Muscle Fibers in Human Soft Palate

Dec 8, 2015 by News Staff

A team of scientists at Umeå University in Sweden has discovered a special group of muscle fibers in the soft palate of the human mouth. Upper respiratory...

Synophis zaheri. Image credit: Pyron R.A. et al.

Synophis zaheri: New Species of Fishing Snake Found in Ecuador

Dec 8, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of herpetologists, led by Dr R. Alexander Pyron of the George Washington University, has described a new species of fishing snake...

The Attenborough’s black-eyed satyr (Euptychia attenboroughi): male (upper row) and female. Scale bars – 1 cm. Image credit: Andrew Neild / Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

Newly Discovered Butterfly Species Named After Sir David Attenborough

Dec 2, 2015 by Natali Anderson

An international team of entomologists has described two new species of satyrid butterflies from the lowland tropical forests of the upper Amazon basin,...

This image shows a syrphid fly, a common non-bee crop pollinator. Image credit: Tobias Smith.

Insects Other Than Bees are Important Crop Pollinators, Say Scientists

Dec 1, 2015 by Natali Anderson

According to a large multinational team of scientists led by University of New England researcher Dr Romina Rader, non-bee insects – flies, beetles,...

Scientists induced Girardia dorotocephala planarian to grow heads and brains characteristic of Schmidtea mediterranea, Dugesia japonica, and Polycelis feline without altering genomic sequence. Examples of the outcomes can be seen in the right row of the image. Image credit: Tufts University.

Researchers Induce Planarian Flatworms to Grow Heads, Brains of Other Flatworm Species

Nov 25, 2015 by News Staff

A multinational team of scientists led by Tufts University biologists has succeeded in inducing a species of planarian, Girardia dorotocephala, to grow...

Army ants form collective assemblages out of their bodies to perform a variety of functions that benefit the entire colony. Image credit: Chris R. Reid.

Army Ants Build Moving Bridges, Entomologists Say

Nov 24, 2015 by News Staff

A group of entomologists led by Dr Christopher Reid of the University of Sydney has discovered complex bridges constructed by Eciton army ants with their...

Close-up image of the shell of the West Indian fuzzy chiton (Acanthopleura granulata) shows the two kinds of sensory organs that cover the shell surface: the eyes are the dark bumps with shiny centers; the exact function of other sensory organs called aesthetes - small bumps with black centers - is not yet known. Image credit: Ling Li et al.

Chitons See with Ceramic Eyes, New Research Shows

Nov 23, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

Marine biologists have long known that armored mollusks called chitons have hundreds of small eyes dotting the surface of their hard turtlelike shells....

Male specimen of Iandumoema smeagol foraging in its natural habitat. Image credit: Ricardo Pinto-da-Rocha et al.

Iandumoema smeagol: New Eyeless Harvestman Species Found in Brazil

Nov 20, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

A team of Brazilian arachnologists has described a new species of cave-dwelling harvestman in the genus Iandumoema, bringing the total number of species...

An Asian elephant named Mineko blowing at bamboo. Image credit: Kaori Mizuno et al.

Elephants Use Their Trunks as Leaf-Blowers to Acquire Inaccessible Food

Nov 8, 2015 by News Staff

In a paper published in the journal Animal Cognition, Japanese scientists report on two female Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Kamine Zoo, Japan,...

Acmella nana, a new species in the genus Acmella, the world’s tiniest snail. Image credit: VermeuleMany of the new snails were discovered by sieving soil; in some areas, a few litres of soil can yield thousands of micro-snail shells, most, such as these from Peninsular Malaysia, measuring just one or two millimeters. Image credit: Reuben Clements / Rimba.n JJ et al.

World’s Smallest Snail Found: Acmella nana

Nov 3, 2015 by News Staff

A tiny snail shell with a diameter of 0.028 inches (0.7 mm) was found on the Malaysian portion of the island of Borneo by a group of scientists from the...

Francis’ Woolly Horseshoe Bat: New Species of Bat Discovered

Nov 2, 2015 by News Staff

A new species of woolly horseshoe bat has been described from Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The Francis’ woolly horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus francisi). Image...

A selective mating approach within the population that started in 1957 has resulted in an over tenfold difference in the size of the chickens. Image credit: John McCormick / Virginia Tech.

Mitochondrial Evolution Can Happen Much Faster Than Thought, New Study Reveals

Oct 28, 2015 by News Staff

A new study published this week in the journal Biology Letters overturns the popular assumption that the mitochondrial evolution is only visible over long...

The American eel (Anguilla rostrata). Image credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Adult American Eel Spotted for First Time in Sargasso Sea

Oct 27, 2015 by News Staff

After a hundred years of debate, a team of Canadian scientists has proved that American eels (Anguilla rostrata) really do migrate to the Sargasso Sea...

The International Space Station is featured in this image photographed by an STS-132 crew member on space shuttle Atlantis after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred on May 23, 2010, ending a seven-day stay that saw the addition of a new station module, replacement of batteries and resupply of the orbiting outpost. Image credit: NASA.

Actinobacteria, Other Microorganisms Thrive on International Space Station

Oct 27, 2015 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the United States and Sweden used state-of-the-art molecular analysis to explore the microbial environment on the International...

Archaea were first found in extreme environments, such as volcanic hot springs; pictured here is Grand Prismatic Spring of Yellowstone National Park. Image credit: Jim Peaco / National Park Service.

Bathyarchaeota: New Deep-Sea Methane-Consuming Microorganisms Discovered

Oct 26, 2015 by News Staff

An international team of biologists from Australia and the United States has discovered two new species of methane-metabolizing archaea. Archaea were first...

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

Bacteria Communicate Like Neurons in Human Brain, New Study Finds

Oct 23, 2015 by News Staff

Bacteria communicate with one another through similar electrical signaling mechanisms as neurons in the human brain, a new study published in the journal...

Brazilian stingless bees (Scaptotrigona depilis). Image credit: Cristiano Menezes.

Entomologists: Brazilian Stingless Bee Must Cultivate Special Type of Fungus to Survive

Oct 23, 2015 by News Staff

A team of entomologists has discovered that a stingless bee species from Brazil feeds its larvae on a special type of fungus grown in the nest. Brazilian...