Biology News

Researchers Image Photosynthesis in Action

The oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II cycles through five states, where four electrons are sequentially extracted from the OEC in four light–driven, charge-separation events. The ellipses show snapshots of the metal cluster observed in the study. Image credit: Mary Zhu.
Jul 10, 2014 by News Staff

Using the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s Linac Coherent Light Source – the world’s most powerful X-ray laser, a multinational group of scientists was able to take detailed snapshots of photosynthesis in action as it splits water into oxygen, protons and electrons. The oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II cycles through five states, where four electrons are sequentially extracted from the OEC in four light–driven,...

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Tandanus tropicanus. Image credit: TropWater, James Cook University.

New Catfish Species Discovered in Australia

Jul 10, 2014 by News Staff

A team of ichthyologists headed by Dr Stuart Welsh from West Virginia University has described a new species of eel-tailed catfish from the Tully River...

Priocharax nanus. Image credit: Ralf Britz.

New Species of Miniature Fish Discovered in Rio Negro

Jul 8, 2014 by News Staff

An international team of ichthyologists led by Dr Ralf Britz of Natural History Museum in London, UK, has described a new fish species from the Rio Negro in...

This image shows a Sooty-capped bush tanager holding a stamen from Axinaea costaricensis in its beak. Note the pollen grains on the bird’s beak, front head, and cheeks. Image credit: Florian Etl.

Axinaea Flowers Blast Pollen at Bird Pollinators, Study

Jul 7, 2014 by News Staff

Plants in the Central and South American genus Axinaea have a unique and highly complex bird pollination system, according to a new study published in...

Macropus rufus by John Gould, 1863.

Red Kangaroos Use Tail as Powerful Fifth Leg

Jul 2, 2014 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Biology Letters shows that red kangaroos use their muscular tail just like a leg. The red kangaroo (Macropus rufus)...

Box rays, also known as Chilean devil rays, are actually among the deepest-diving ocean animals. Image credit: Jack Cook / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Box Rays are Deep Divers, Marine Biologists Say

Jul 2, 2014 by News Staff

Previously thought to be ocean surface dwellers, box rays (Mobula tarapacana) can dive to depths of 2,000 meters, according to a team of scientists from...

Etendeka Round-Eared Sengi: New Mammal Species Discovered in Namibia

Jun 27, 2014 by News Staff

An international group of biologists led by Dr Jack Dumbacher from California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco has described a new species of elephant-shrew...

Yao Ming and Frederick Yeh release an endangered sea turtle back to nature. Image credit: Sea Turtles 911.

Basketball Star Saves Endangered Green Turtles

Jun 26, 2014 by News Staff

The former NBA star Yao Ming has teamed up with non-profit organization Sea Turtles 911 and Hainan Normal University to save Green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Yao...

Falco peregrinus babylonicus. Image credit: John Gould, Birds of Asia, vol. 1, pl. 4.

Scientists Finally Find Elusive Hormone Leptin in Birds

Jun 25, 2014 by News Staff

Researchers have found leptin – a hormone that regulates body fat storage, metabolism and appetite – in the Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus),...

Monarch butterflies cluster in Santa Cruz, California. Image credit: Brocken Inaglory / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Monarch Butterflies Use Light-Dependent Magnetic Compass during Migration

Jun 25, 2014 by News Staff

Eastern North American monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) use a light-dependent, inclination magnetic compass to orient during migration, according...

Paratropis tuxtlensis, adult female protecting her egg sac. Image credit: Valdez-Mondragón A et al.

New Species of Spider with Strange Camouflage Discovered in Mexico

Jun 24, 2014 by News Staff

Entomologists led by Dr Alejandro Valdez-Mondragón have described a new species of spider from a tropical rainforest in Veracruz, Mexico. Paratropis tuxtlensis,...

Sphaeromimus lavasoa (top right), Sphaeromimus andrahomana (bottom right) and color morphs of the previously known species Sphaeromimus musicus (left). Image credit: Wesener T et al.

Seven New Species of Chirping Giant Pill-Millipedes Discovered in Madagascar

Jun 23, 2014 by Enrico de Lazaro

Entomologists from the United States and Germany have described seven new species of giant pill-millipedes belonging to the Malagasy genus Sphaeromimus. Sphaeromimus...

Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri): adults and chicks. Image credit: Michael Van Woert / NOAA NESDIS / ORA.

New Research Disproves Hypothesis that Emperor Penguins are Strictly Philopatric

Jun 22, 2014 by News Staff

A new study led by Dr Peter Fretwell of British Antarctic Survey is the first to use satellite imagery to suggest that emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri)...

Five tropical tanagers, clockwise from upper left: Golden Tanager, Swallow Tanager, Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager, Red-necked Tanager, Beryl-spangled Tanager. Credit: Peter Wendelken / Frank Shufelt / Keith Bowers / Vivek Tiwari / Priscilla Burcher.

Study into Plumage, Song Evolution in Tanagers Dispels Darwin’s Transfer Hypothesis

Jun 21, 2014 by News Staff

A new study of Thraupidae – the largest songbird family, representing nearly 10 per cent of all songbirds – has dispelled the long-held ‘transfer...

Example from Europe. Gravid adult female Dolomedes plantarius captured stickleback, Pungitius laevis, in turf pond in East Anglia, UK. Image credit: Helen Smith, South Lopham, Norfolk, UK.

Spiders Catch and Eat Fish, Says New Study

Jun 19, 2014 by News Staff

A new research conducted by Prof Martin Nyffeler from the University of Basel and Prof Bradley Pusey from the University of Western Australia provides...

This scanning electron microscope image shows a cast of polyp chambers and connections of Protulophila in a worm tube. Image credit: Paul Taylor / Natural History Museum, London.

Marine Animal Thought to be Extinct for 4 Million Years Found Alive

Jun 17, 2014 by Natali Anderson

Protulophila, a microscopic marine animal thought to have been extinct for 4 million years, has been found living in seas around New Zealand. This scanning...

Supersonus piercei, female. Image credit: Natasha Mhatre.

Newly Discovered Bushcrickets Have Highest-Pitch Love Calls

Jun 16, 2014 by News Staff

A group of entomologists headed by Dr Fernando Montealegre-Z from the University of Lincoln, UK, reported the discovery of a new genus and three species...

Elachuridae: Ornithologists Describe New Family of Passerine Birds

Jun 16, 2014 by Sergio Prostak

A group of ornithologists led by Dr Trevor Price of the University of Chicago has described a new family of birds that is represented by just one species,...

Lycodon zoosvictoriae. Image credit: Neang Thy / Fauna & Flora International.

New Wolf Snake Species Discovered in Cambodia

Jun 12, 2014 by Enrico de Lazaro

Herpetologists from Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig in Germany have described a new species of wolf...

The Wakatobi flowerpecker (Dicaeum kuehni), male. Image credit: Kelly SBA et al.

Wakatobi Flowerpecker: New Species of Bird Discovered in Indonesia

Jun 9, 2014 by News Staff

A group of ornithologists from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, has described a new species of flowerpecker from the Wakatobi Islands of Indonesia, off...

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