Biology News

Songbirds Can Sense Tornado-Producing Storms, Ornithologists Say

Tornado. Image credit: Macbroadcast / CC BY-SA 2.0.
Dec 19, 2014 by News Staff

While tracking a population of golden-winged warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) in Tennessee in April 2014, a team of ornithologists led by Dr Henry Streby of the University of California, Berkeley discovered that the birds fled their breeding grounds days ahead of the arrival of severe, tornado-producing storms. Tornado. Image credit: Macbroadcast / CC BY-SA 2.0. “The most curious finding is that the birds left long before the storm arrived (more...

read more...
Newly discovered species of sea lily. Image credit: Charles Messing.

Scientist Discovers New Species of Sea Lily, Auctioning Off Naming Rights on eBay

Dec 18, 2014 by News Staff

Prof Charles Messing from the Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center is auctioning off the naming rights on eBay to a new species of...

Hycleus marcipoli, male, in dorsal view. Image credit: Pan Z et al.

Newly Discovered Blister Beetle Named after Famed Explorer Marco Polo

Dec 17, 2014 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international group of entomologists led by Dr Marco Bologna from the University Roma Tre, Italy, has described a new species in the beetle genus Hycleus. Hycleus...

Alviniconcha strummeri, a new species of deep-sea snail named after Joe Strummer of The Clash. Image credit: Shannon B. Johnson et al.

Five New Species of Spiky Sea Snails Discovered, One Named after Joe Strummer

Dec 16, 2014 by News Staff

A group of marine biologists headed by Dr Robert Vrijenhoek from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has described five new species of deep water...

A close-up view of a male Osedax priapus. Scale bar - 0.3 mm. Image credit: Greg Rouse.

Osedax priapus: New Species of Bone-Eating Worm Discovered

Dec 13, 2014 by News Staff

A team of marine biologists led by Dr Robert Vrijenhoek from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has discovered a new species of bone-devouring...

The Blue dasher, female, photographed in Skaneateles, NY. Image credit: R.A. Nonenmacher / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Entomologists Amazed by How Dragonflies Dance

Dec 11, 2014 by News Staff

Dragonflies move like ballet dancers when they hunt, according to new research by entomologists from the University of Arizona, Howard Hughes Medical Institute,...

The volcano hummingbird (Selasphorus flammula), a tiny bird that is a resident breeder in the highlands from Costa Rica to Panama. Image credit: Dick Daniels, www.carolinabirds.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Background Motion Confuses Hummingbirds

Dec 10, 2014 by News Staff

According to a new study carried out by ornithologists at the University of British Columbia, Canada, hummingbirds are surprisingly sensitive to movements...

Electric eel (Electrophorus electricus). Image credit: Kenneth Catania / Vanderbilt University.

Electric Eels Use Taser-like System to Shock, Remotely Control Their Prey

Dec 5, 2014 by News Staff

A new study carried out by Dr Kenneth Catania from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, reveals that an electric fish known the electric eel (Electrophorus...

The Lesser short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus brachyotis). Image credit: Anton Croos / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Old World Fruit Bats Use Unique Form of Echolocation, Researchers Find

Dec 4, 2014 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from Israel and Thailand has found that Old World fruit bats, which have always been classified as non-echolocating,...

Arabian Sea Humpback whale photographed in Dhofar, Southern Oman. Image credit: T. Collins / D. MacDonald.

Arabian Sea Humpback Whale Population Genetically Distinct, Isolated for 70,000 Years

Dec 4, 2014 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE, a small, non-migratory population of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Arabian...

Normal anatomy of the human eye and orbit, anterior view. Image credit: Patrick J. Lynch / CC BY 2.5.

Humans Can See Infrared Light, Scientists Say

Dec 3, 2014 by News Staff

Human eyes can detect light at wavelengths in the visual spectrum; other wavelengths, such as infrared and ultraviolet, are supposed to be invisible, but...

The newly-discovered bird, the Cryptic treehunter, was formerly confused with the Alagoas foliage-gleaner (photographed November, 2007 in Frei Caneca, Brazil). Image credit: © Ciro Albano, NE Brazil Birding / via Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia.

New Bird Species Discovered in Brazil: Cryptic Treehunter

Nov 30, 2014 by Natali Anderson

Brazilian ornithologists Dr Juan Mazar Barnett and Dr Dante Buzzetti of the Center for Ornithological Studies in São Paulo have discovered a new species...

The Sulawesi streaked flycatcher (Muscicapa sodhii). Image credit: © Martin Lindop.

Sulawesi Streaked Flycatcher: New Species of Bird Discovered in Indonesia

Nov 25, 2014 by News Staff

An international group of ornithologists from the United States and Indonesia led by Dr Berton Harris of Princeton University has described a new species...

Black seadevil (probably Melanocetus johnsonii), about 9 cm long. Image credit: © Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

Marine Biologists Capture Footage of Rare Black Seadevil Anglerfish

Nov 24, 2014 by News Staff

Scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute using their remotely operated vehicle Doc Ricketts have filmed a rare and bizarre-looking...

Partners who kiss each other at least nine times a day share similar communities of oral bacteria, the team says. Image credit: Skyggefotografen / CC BY 2.0.

Ten-Second Kiss Shares 80 Million Bacteria, Dutch Scientists Say

Nov 19, 2014 by News Staff

About 80 million bacteria are transferred during a single 10-second kiss, says a group of researchers from the Netherlands. Partners who kiss each other...

Paroedura hordiesi, adult male. Image credit: Glaw F et al.

Beautiful New Gecko Species Discovered in Madagascar

Nov 17, 2014 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from Germany and France has described a new species of gecko that lives in a karstic limestone massif called Montagne...

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) from the Atlas des plantes de France, 1891.

Sugar Beet Hemoglobin Could be Used as Blood Substitute – Study

Nov 13, 2014 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to a new study published in the journal Plant and Cell Physiology, hemoglobin found in a variety of beetroot called the sugar beet (Beta vulgaris...

Insects originated at the same time as the earliest terrestrial plants - about 479 million years ago, according to a new study. Image credit: © Julius Csotonyi.

Researchers Map Family Tree of Insects

Nov 8, 2014 by News Staff

Using a molecular dataset consisting of 144 carefully chosen species of insects, researchers from the 1KITE (1,000 Insect Transcriptome Evolution) project...

Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) exiting Bracken Bat Cave in southern Comal County, Texas. Image credit: Ann Froschauer / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Mexican Free-Tailed Bats Compete for Food by Jamming Sonar – Study

Nov 7, 2014 by News Staff

Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) compete for prey by jamming each other’s sonar, says a new study carried out by Wake Forest University...

Leptogorgia sp. nov. Image credit: NOAA.

Scientists Discover New Species of Deep-Sea Coral in Waters off California

Nov 6, 2014 by News Staff

Marine researchers from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have discovered a new species of deep-sea soft coral that lives...

© 2011-2026. Sci.News. All Rights Reserved. | Back to top