Showing 20 articles starting at article 921
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Biology: Zoology, Space: Cosmology
Published Do warmer temperatures make turtles better mothers?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Warmer temperatures are known to make more turtle eggs become female hatchlings, but new research shows that those females also have a higher capacity for egg production, even before their sex is set. This finding may explain why many animals besides turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination and why the system persists, despite seeming like a risky strategy. It may also provide a troubling glimpse of what could lie ahead in a warming world.
Published Extinct warbler's genome sequenced from museum specimens
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Bachman's warbler, a songbird that was last seen in North America nearly 40 years ago, was a distinct species and not a hybrid of its two living sister species, according a new study in which the full genomes of seven museum specimens of the bird were sequenced.
Published Gloss is less effective camouflage in beetles compared to matte, according to latest study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Heliconius butterflies' brains grew as they adopted novel foraging behaviors, scientists have found.
Published 'We're all Asgardians': New clues about the origin of complex life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source According to a new study, eukaryotes -- complex life forms with nuclei in their cells, including all the world's plants, animals, insects and fungi -- trace their roots to a common Asgard archaean ancestor. That means eukaryotes are, in the parlance of evolutionary biologists, a 'well-nested clade' within Asgard archaea, similar to how birds are one of several groups within a larger group called dinosaurs, sharing a common ancestor.
Published Are viruses keeping sea lice at bay in wild salmon?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More than 30 previously unknown RNA viruses in sea lice have been identified. Sea lice are parasitic copepods (small crustaceans) found in many fresh and saltwater habitats, and have been implicated in the decline of wild salmon populations. The research sheds greater light on the types of viruses being carried by sea lice, and how the viruses and host are interacting.
Published Do hummingbirds drink alcohol? More often than you think
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Animals that eat fruit or sip nectar often ingest alcohol because naturally occurring yeasts turning sugar into ethanol. But how do animals feel about that? A new study details an experiment to determine whether hummingbirds are turned off by alcohol in sugar water. At 1% by volume, no. At 2% by volume, they consume much less. The implication is that hummingbirds have adjusted to small amounts of alcohol likely present in flowers and backyard feeders.
Published Einstein and Euler put to the test at the edge of the Universe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The cosmos is a unique laboratory for testing the laws of physics, in particular those of Euler and Einstein. Euler described the movements of celestial objects, while Einstein described the way in which celestial objects distort the Universe. Since the discovery of dark matter and the acceleration of the Universe's expansion, the validity of their equations has been put to the test: are they capable of explaining these mysterious phenomena? A team has developed the first method to find out. It considers a never-before-used measure: time distortion.
Published Never-before-seen way to annihilate a star
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers studying a powerful gamma-ray burst, may have detected a never-before-seen way to destroy a star. Unlike most GRBs, which are caused by exploding massive stars or the chance mergers of neutron stars, astronomers have concluded that this GRB came instead from the collision of stars or stellar remnants in the jam-packed environment surrounding a supermassive black hole at the core of an ancient galaxy.
Published Conservation policies risk damaging global biodiversity, researchers argue
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Rewilding, organic farming and the 'nature friendly farming' measures included in some government conservation policies risk worsening the global biodiversity crisis by reducing how much food is produced in a region, driving up food imports and increasing environmental damage overseas.
Published Monarchs' white spots aid migration
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source If you've ever wondered how the monarch butterfly got its spots, University of Georgia researchers may have just found the answer. The new study suggests that the butterflies with more white spots are more successful at reaching their long-distance wintering destination. Although it's not yet clear how the spots aid the species' migration, it's possible that the spots change airflow patterns around their wings.
Published Worms use electricity to jump
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In nature, smaller animals often attach themselves to larger ones to 'hitch a ride' and save energy migrating large distances. Researchers show how microscopic Caenorhabditis elegans worms can use electric fields to 'jump' across Petri plates or onto insects, allowing them to glide through the air and attach themselves, for example, onto naturally charged bumblebee chauffeurs.
Published Caribbean seagrasses provide services worth $255B annually, including vast carbon storage, study shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Caribbean seagrasses provide about $255 billion in services to society annually, including $88.3 billion in carbon storage, according to a new study. The study has put a dollar value on the many services -- from storm protection to fish habitat to carbon storage -- provided by seagrasses across the Caribbean, which holds up to half the world's seagrass meadows by surface area and contains about one-third of the carbon stored in seagrasses worldwide.
Published Pangolin, the inspiration for a medical robot
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have developed a magnetically controlled soft medical robot with a unique, flexible structure inspired by the body of a pangolin. The robot is freely movable despite built-in hard metal components. Thus, depending on the magnetic field, it can adapt its shape to be able to move and can emit heat when needed, allowing for functionalities such as selective cargo transportation and release as well as mitigation of bleeding.
Published Supersized fruit eater database on climate change frontline
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To conserve precious and fragile biodiversity hotspots, a crucial step is knowing how the fruit eaters are doing. To assist in that, scientists and students have supersized a database to keep track of such animals and birds.
Published Cryo conservation: A cool solution to saving species from extinction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the face of the biodiversity crisis, and alarming data showing a 69% decline in global animal populations since 1970, researchers are banking on a cool solution to help save species from extinction. Much like egg-freezing is used to preserve human fertility options for a later date, the cryo-freezing of genetic samples taken from animals may play an essential role in curbing species extinctions. A new study sheds light on the immense potential of living cell banks, also known as cryobanks, to contribute to global conservation priorities.
Published These long-necked reptiles were decapitated by their predators, fossil evidence confirms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the age of dinosaurs, many marine reptiles had extremely long necks compared to reptiles today. While it was clearly a successful evolutionary strategy, paleontologists have long suspected that their long-necked bodies made them vulnerable to predators. Now, after almost 200 years of continued research, direct fossil evidence confirms this scenario for the first time in the most graphic way imaginable.
Published Study shows ancient Alaskans were freshwater fishers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A scientific team has discovered the earliest-known evidence of freshwater fishing by ancient people in the Americas. The research offers a glimpse at how early humans used a changing landscape and could offer insight for modern people facing similar changes.
Published Change food choices to increase chances of tackling global warming
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Action to protect the planet against the impact of climate change will fall short unless we reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the global food system, which now makes up a third of human-made GHG emissions, a new study reveals.
Published Astronomers discover new link between dark matter and clumpiness of the universe
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers reveal a theoretical breakthrough that may explain both the nature of invisible dark matter and the large-scale structure of the universe known as the cosmic web. The result establishes a new link between these two longstanding problems in astronomy, opening new possibilities for understanding the cosmos. The research suggests that the 'clumpiness problem,' which centres on the unexpectedly even distribution of matter on large scales throughout the cosmos, may be a sign that dark matter is composed of hypothetical, ultra-light particles called axions. The implications of proving the existence of hard-to-detect axions extend beyond understanding dark matter and could address fundamental questions about the nature of the universe itself.
Published Researchers find high risk to amphibians if fungal pathogen invades North America
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research indicates the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) could be devastating to amphibian biodiversity if introduced to North America.