Biology News

Jan 23, 2024 by News Staff

New research led by University of Goettingen scientists provides evidence that the first multicellular streptophytes likely lived about a billion years ago. Bierenbroodspot et al. sequenced 24 new transcriptomes of Klebsormidiophyceae and combined them with 14 previously published genomic and transcriptomic datasets. Image credit: Bierenbroodspot et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.070. Streptophytes are best known as the clade of plants containing...

Jan 18, 2024 by News Staff

Tardigrades, commonly known as ‘water bears,’ are eight-legged microscopic invertebrates renowned for their ability to withstand extreme stressors....

Jan 2, 2024 by News Staff

Infected wounds pose a major mortality risk in animals. Injuries are common in Matabele ants (Megaponera analis), which raid pugnacious prey. New research...

Dec 27, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Researchers have described a new species of the genus Calotes from southern China and northern Vietnam. Photographs of live specimens and their habitats:...

Dec 27, 2023 by News Staff

Researchers at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History have performed a comprehensive taxonomic review of the soft-furred hedgehog...

Dec 26, 2023 by News Staff

Scientists have identified a new genus and species of true toad from a single specimen found in the high forests of Mount Kenya, an extinct volcano in...

Dec 26, 2023 by Natali Anderson

The species complex comprising the rufous-naped lark (Corypha africana), the Sharpe’s lark (Corypha sharpii), the red-winged lark (Corypha hypermetra),...

Dec 21, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Biologists have discovered a new species of the terrestrially-nesting fanged frog genus Limnonectes living on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. The species has...

Dec 20, 2023 by News Staff

Birds are among the best-studied animal groups, but their prehistoric diversity is poorly known due to low fossilization potential. Hence, while many human-driven...

Dec 19, 2023 by News Staff

Giant bacteria are intriguing, underexplored biological enigmas. Many well-studied giants use abundant internal small-molecule stores and/or light to satisfy...

Dec 19, 2023 by News Staff

While human social memory lasts decades and tracks relationships, less is known about non-human ape long-term memory. In a new paper published in the Proceedings...

Dec 18, 2023 by News Staff

The mouse is the most commonly used vertebrate experimental model in neuroscience research, and the new atlas paves the way for a greater understanding...

Dec 13, 2023 by News Staff

New research from the University of Tasmania also confirms a significant, fundamental morphological difference found in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii)...

Dec 13, 2023 by News Staff

The Whale-SETI team, which includes researchers from the SETI Institute, University of California Davis and the Alaska Whale Foundation, has been studying...

Dec 12, 2023 by News Staff

Fireworks are important elements of celebrations globally, but little is known about their effects on wildlife. In new research, scientists at the University...

Dec 12, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Ornithologists in Colombia have photographed a wild green honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) with distinct half green, or female, and half blue, male, plumage. A...

Dec 11, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of the mole genus Talpa has been identified in eastern Türkiye (Turkey) by a team of reseachers from Ondokuz Mayıs University, Indiana...

Dec 8, 2023 by News Staff

A challenge among University of Queensland researchers Matt Holden, Andrew Rogers and Russell Yong to identify species around their home in Brisbane, Australia,...

Dec 8, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Greater honeyguides (Indicator indicator), a species of African bird, are well known to guide other species to beehives. They have even been known to work...

Dec 6, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Electric eels — three species of freshwater fish in the genus Electrophorus — are known for their ability to produce electric organ discharge...