Showing 20 articles starting at article 1001

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Ecology: Endangered Species, Offbeat: Plants and Animals

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Innovating, i.e. the ability to find solutions to new problems or innovative solutions to known problems, it provides crucial benefits for the adaptation and the survival of human beings as well as for animals. What are the characteristics that make specific species or animals to be innovative? A study has analyzed this cognitive skill in ungulates, a group of mammals such as dromedaries, horses and goats, characterized by walking on the tip of their toes or hooves. The results show that those individuals that are less integrated in the group and those that are more afraid of new objects were the best at solving a challenge posed by the researchers: opening a food container.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are investigating the causes and consequences of the worldwide insect decline as well as considering potential countermeasures.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a biosynthetic 'clock' that keeps cells from reaching normal levels of deterioration related to aging. They engineered a gene oscillator that switches between the two normal paths of aging, slowing cell degeneration and setting a record for life extension.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ever since scientists first read the complete genetic codes of creatures like fruit flies and humans more than two decades ago, the field of genomics has promised major leaps forward in understanding basic questions in biology. Two recent articles break new ground by showing how much valuable information can be found in genomes of a single species, such as endangered orcas, or even in the DNA of an individual. That individual is a sled dog named Balto, who has been immortalized in movies and a statue for helping to bring lifesaving diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Alaska in an epic journey across the Alaskan wilderness in the winter of 1925. With just a snippet of the dog's preserved skin researchers have made great discoveries.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Global space for Asian elephant habitats has been in rapid decline since the 1700s, a new report reveals. More than 3 million square kilometers of the Asian elephant's historic habitat range has been lost in just three centuries and may underlie present-day conflicts between elephants and people.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The ant mounds on the heath, in the forest and in your garden are oases for life. The heat and nutrients from ant mounds make them the perfect home for unique plant and animal species, according to new research.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Studies show that some species may require breeding in captivity within the next 200 years to avoid extinction. This reality places heavy importance on the reintroduction practices used to successfully transfer species from captivity to the wild. A new study looks at some of the most popular conservation techniques and identifies which have the highest likelihood of success for the reintroduction of bird species back into the wild.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed the first transistor made of wood. Their study paves the way for further development of wood-based electronics and control of electronic plants.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fungal spores found in dung have revealed that large animals went extinct in two 'waves' in the Colombian Andes.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists found parallels between the neural circuitry that guides locomotion in sea slugs and in more complex animals like mammals.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows us that age-old interactions between people and their horses can teach us something about building robots designed to improve our lives.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Roboticists have developed a jellyfish-inspired underwater robot with which they hope one day to collect waste from the bottom of the ocean. The almost noise-free prototype can trap objects underneath its body without physical contact, thereby enabling safe interactions in delicate environments such as coral reefs. Jellyfish-Bot could become an important tool for environmental remediation.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Blinking is crucial for the eye. It's how animals clean their eyes, protect them, and even communicate. But how and why did blinking originate? Researchers have studied the mudskipper, an amphibious fish that spends most of its day on land, to better understand why blinking is a fundamental behavior for life on land.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered the oldest evidence of plant self-defense in wood in a 360-million-year-old fossil from south-eastern Ireland. Plants can protect their wood from infection and water loss by forming special structures called 'tyloses'. These prevent bacterial and fungal pathogens from getting into the heartwood of living trees and damaging it. However, it was not previously known how early in the evolution of plants woody species became capable of forming such defenses. Published today in Nature Plants is the oldest evidence of tylosis formation from Late Devonian (360-million-year-old) fossil wood from the Hook Head Peninsula area, Co. Wexford, Ireland.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new Griffith University study has found that humpback whales will use sandy, shallow bay areas to 'roll' around in sandy substrates to remove dead skin cells on their return journeys south to cooler waters. Using data and footage collected from the tags, whales were observed performing full and side rolls in up to 49m water depth on the sea floor that was lined with fine sand or rubble.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For the first time, scientists have recorded brain activity in a free-ranging, wild marine mammal, revealing the sleep habits of elephant seals during the months they spend at sea. The new findings show that while elephant seals may spend 10 hours a day sleeping on the beach during the breeding season, they average just 2 hours of sleep per day when they are at sea on months-long foraging trips. They sleep for about 10 minutes at a time during deep, 30-minute dives, often spiraling downward while fast asleep, and sometimes lying motionless on the seafloor.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have made a remarkable discovery about cellophane bees -- their microbiomes are some of the most fermentative known from the insect world. These bees, which are named for their use of cellophane-like materials to line their subterranean nests, are known for their fascinating behaviors and their important ecological roles as pollinators. Now, researchers have uncovered another aspect of their biology that makes them even more intriguing.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Marijuana (cannabis) is well known for giving people the 'munchies.' Not only does it make people want to eat more, but it also makes them crave the tastiest, most high-calorie foods. Now a new study shows that well-studied nematode worms (C. elegans) react to those chemicals known as cannabinoids in precisely the same way.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new machine-learning system can generate protein designs with certain structural features, and which do not exist in nature. These proteins could be utilized to make materials that have similar mechanical properties to existing materials, like polymers, but which would have a much smaller carbon footprint.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Increased insect consumption by humans may be better for both gut health and planetary health. Chitin (kai'tin) and healthy fats from insects appear to contribute to healthy gut microbiota and are strong sources of protein and nutrients, according to a recent paper.