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Categories: Ecology: Animals, Offbeat: Plants and Animals

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Spider silk is spun by silkworms for the first time, offering a green alternative to synthetic fibers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have synthesized spider silk from genetically modified silkworms, producing fibers six times tougher than the Kevlar used in bulletproof vests. The study is the first to successfully produce full-length spider silk proteins using silkworms. The findings demonstrate a technique that could be used to manufacture an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic commercial fibers such as nylon.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature
Published

Behavior is the secret to success for a range expansion      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While many species are undergoing drastic declines in their numbers and geographic ranges, other species seem to be thriving. Researchers investigating the great-tailed grackle, a bird that has been establishing new populations across North America in the past few decades, reveal that behavior might play a key role in their success. They found that the population on the range's edge is more persistent and has more variability in flexibility, and that this species has shifted toward living more in urban, arid environments.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Researchers issue urgent call to save the world's largest flower -Rafflesia -- from extinction      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that most Rafflesia species, which produce the world's largest flowers, face extinction. Lack of protection at local, national, and international levels means that remaining populations are under critical threat.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Animals
Published

Study shows life near the golf course isn't easy for alligators      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Living on a golf course dramatically changes alligator feeding habits.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

16 strange new parasitoid wasp species discovered in Vietnam      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered 16 new species of strange-looking parasitoid wasps from the Loboscelidia group. The study also revealed for the first time the unique parasitic behavior of a captive female from one species, who after parasitizing her host egg, buried the egg in a hole in the soil.

Ecology: Animals
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Range of pesticides, including neonicotinoids, found in pollen of different bee species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research paints a worrying picture for the different species of bees that provide multi-million-euro pollination services in Ireland each yea. The work raises concerns about the potential wide-spread exposure to multiple chemicals from two pesticide categories (fungicides and neonicotinoid insecticides) and indicates that different bee species may be exposed differently to pesticides -- meaning that assessments of pesticide risk to honey bees may not be easily extrapolated to other bees.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

RNA for the first time recovered from an extinct species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows the isolation and sequencing of more than a century-old RNA molecules from a Tasmanian tiger specimen preserved at room temperature in a museum collection. This resulted in the reconstruction of skin and skeletal muscle transcriptomes from an extinct species for the first time. The researchers note that their findings have relevant implications for international efforts to resurrect extinct species, including both the Tasmanian tiger and the woolly mammoth, as well as for studying pandemic RNA viruses.

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Geography
Published

Almost half of koala habitats will be under high bushfire threat by 2070      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The research team generated a series of fire susceptibility maps. These show the proportion of Australia experiencing 'high' or 'very high' fire susceptibility increasing from 14.9% now to 15.66% by 2070 -- while fire susceptibility of areas suitable for the plants that koalas depend on is tipped to jump from 39.56% to 44.61% by 2070.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

That smell: New gut microbe produces smelly toxic gas but protects against pathogens      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Microbiologists have discovered a new intestinal microbe that feeds exclusively on taurine and produces the foul-smelling gas hydrogen sulfide. The researchers have thus provided another building block in the understanding of those microbial processes that have fascinating effects on health. This is also true of Taurinivorans muris: the bacterium shows a protective function against Klebsiella and Salmonella, two important pathogens.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Brain-altering parasite turns ants into zombies at dawn and dusk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It takes over the brains of ants, causing them to cling to blades of grass against their will. The lancet liver fluke has an exceptional lifecycle strategy, in which snails, ants and grazing animals are unwitting actors. Researchers now reveal more about the mind-bending workings of this tiny parasite.

Ecology: Animals
Published

Cars, chlamydia and canines are biggest koala killers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A database tracking hospital admissions and deaths reveals the devastating impact cars, disease and dogs are having on the South East Queensland koala population.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature
Published

Clever lapwings use cover to hide in plain sight      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ground-nesting birds called lapwings use the shape of their nests and surroundings to hide from predators, new research shows.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals
Published

Vocal learning linked to problem solving skills and brain size      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The better a songbird is at working its way around obstacles to retrieve a snack, the more complex its vocal learning ability will be.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Animals Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity
Published

Pollination by more than one bee species improves cherry harvest      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To obtain the biggest cherry harvest, trees should be pollinated by both honey bees and mason bees. This new study shows yet another benefit of biodiversity.

Biology: Developmental Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals
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Lack of maternal care affects development, microbiome and health of wild bees      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Most wild bees are solitary, but one tiny species of carpenter bees fastidiously cares for and raises their offspring, an act that translates into huge benefits to the developing bee's microbiome, development and health, found researchers. Without maternal care the pathogen load of these developing bees ballooned -- 85 per cent of were fungi, while eight per cent were bacteria -- which can impact their microbiome, a critical component of bee health, as well as their development, immune system and gene expression.

Biology: Zoology Chemistry: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Some spiders can transfer mercury contamination to land animals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Sitting calmly in their webs, many spiders wait for prey to come to them. Arachnids along lakes and rivers eat aquatic insects, such as dragonflies. But, when these insects live in mercury-contaminated waterways, they can pass the metal along to the spiders that feed on them. Now, researchers have demonstrated how some shoreline spiders can move mercury contamination from riverbeds up the food chain to land animals.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

More Texas owls are testing positive for rat poisons      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research suggests that owls in Texas have high rates of anticoagulant rodenticides (AR) -- blood thinning rat poisons -- in their systems. 

Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals
Published

Movement sensors can detect disease in wild boar      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Accelerometers reading the behavior of wild boars can pick up when animals are infected with a fatal virus.