Showing 20 articles starting at article 901

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Ecology: Animals, Offbeat: Plants and Animals

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Geneticists have unearthed a major event in the ancient history of sturgeons and paddlefish that has significant implications for the way we understand evolution. They have pinpointed a previously hidden 'whole genome duplication' (WGD) in the common ancestor of these species, which seemingly opened the door to genetic variations that may have conferred an advantage around the time of a major mass extinction some 200 million years ago.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Even without nerves, plants can sense when something touches them and when it lets go, a study has found. In a set of experiments, individual plant cells responded to the touch of a very fine glass rod by sending slow waves of calcium signals to other plant cells, and when that pressure was released, they sent much more rapid waves. While scientists have known that plants can respond to touch, this study shows that plant cells send different signals when touch is initiated and ended.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists found the virus strains that arrived in 2021 soon acquired genes from viruses in wild birds in North America. The resulting reassortant viruses have spread across the continent and caused more severe disease.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Genetic analysis shows dingo populations have significantly less dog ancestry than previously thought.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers have confirmed that 107-million-year-old pterosaur bones discovered more than 30 years ago are the oldest of their kind ever found in Australia, providing a rare glimpse into the life of these powerful, flying reptiles that lived among the dinosaurs.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The first protein-based nano-computing agent that functions as a circuit has been created. The milestone puts them one step closer to developing next-generation cell-based therapies to treat diseases like diabetes and cancer.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study of the freshwater greenfin darter fish suggests river erosion can be a driver of biodiversity in tectonically inactive regions.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some of nature's most diverse pollinators often go unnoticed, even by scientists: long-snouted beetles called weevils. A new study provides a deep dive into the more than 600 species of weevils, including ones whose entire life cycles are interwoven with a specific plant that they help pollinate.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study suggests iron-rich ancient sediments may have helped cause some of the largest volcanic events in the planet's history.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Animals using the most of efficient methods of searching for resources may well pay with their lives, scientists have discovered.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Species known as marine habitat-forming species -- gorgonians, corals, algae, seaweeds, marine phanerogams, etc.-- are organisms that help generate and structure the underwater landscapes. These are natural refuges for other species, and provide biomass and complexity to the seabeds. But these key species in marine ecosystems are currently threatened by climate change and other perturbations derived from human activity. Now, a study warns that even in the marine protected areas (MPAs) the genetic diversity of structural species is not protected, although it is essential for the response and adaptation of populations to changes that alter the natural environment.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Armadillos have long been considered to be the only living mammals that produce protective bony plates. But a new study unexpectedly shows that African spiny mice produce the same structures beneath the skin of their tails, which until now had gone largely undetected.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have engineered bacteria to synthesize an amino acid that contains a rare functional group that others have shown to have implications in the regulation of our immune system. The researchers also taught a single bacterial strain to create the amino acid and place it at specific sites within target proteins. These findings provide a foundation for developing unique vaccines and immunotherapies in the future.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A robotic bee that can fly fully in all directions has been developed. With four wings made out of carbon fiber and mylar as well as four light-weight actuators to control each wing, the Bee++ prototype is the first to fly stably in all directions. That includes the tricky twisting motion known as yaw, with the Bee++ fully achieving the six degrees of free movement that a typical flying insect displays.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has identified the bee's knees of bumble bee dietary options in Ohio and the Upper Midwest. By viewing almost 23,000 bumble bee-flower interactions over two years, researchers found that these bees don't always settle for the most abundant flowers in their foraging area -- suggesting they have more discerning dietary preferences than one might expect.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A tiger-sized saber-toothed creature called Inostrancevia has previously only been found in Russia. But scientists have discovered its fossils in South Africa, suggesting that it migrated 7,000 miles across the supercontinent Pangaea during the world's worst mass extinction 252 million years ago. Heading to South Africa allowed it to fill a gap in a faraway ecosystem that had lost its top predators.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers reveal the molecular and cellular underpinnings behind the parasitic fungus, Entomophthora muscae's (E. muscae), ability to manipulate the behavior of fruit flies.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Conservationists have argued that the presence of wolves and other apex predators, so named because they have no known predators aside from people, can help keep smaller predator species in check. New research shows that in Washington state, the presence of two apex predators -- wolves and cougars -- does indeed help keep populations of two smaller predators in check. But by and large the apex predators were not killing and eating the smaller predators, known as mesopredators. Instead, they drove the two mesopredator species -- bobcats and coyotes -- into areas with higher levels of human activity. And people were finishing the job.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, a sea-dwelling lizard from the age of the dinosaurs, with strange, ridged teeth unlike those of any known reptile. Along with other recent finds from Africa, it suggests that mosasaurs and other marine reptiles were evolving rapidly up until 66 million years ago, when they were wiped out by an asteroid along with the dinosaurs and around 90% of all species on Earth.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scales, spines, feathers and hair are examples of vertebrate skin appendages, which constitute a remarkably diverse group of micro-organs. Despite their natural multitude of forms, these appendages share early developmental processes at the embryonic stage. Researchers have discovered how to permanently transform the scales that normally cover the feet of chickens into feathers, by specifically modifying the expression of certain genes.