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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published Control of behavioral decisions is similar in insects and mammals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team identifies the mushroom body as a center for behavioral decisions in the insect brain.
Published Nearly half of dog owners are hesitant to vaccinate their pets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study found that more than half of people who own dogs expressed some level of canine vaccine hesitancy -- i.e. skepticism about vaccinating their pets against rabies and other diseases. An estimated 45 percent of US households own a dog; according to the survey results, nearly 40 percent of dog owners believe that canine vaccines are unsafe, more than 20 percent believe these vaccines are ineffective, and 30 percent consider them to be medically unnecessary.
Published Newly discovered fungus helps destroy a harmful food toxin
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Patulin is a harmful mycotoxin produced by fungi typically found in damaged fruits, including apples, pears, and grapes. In a recent breakthrough, researchers identified a new filamentous fungal strain that can degrade patulin by transforming it into less toxic substances. Their findings provide important insights into the degradation mechanisms for patulin found in nature, and can lead to new ways of controlling patulin toxicity in our food supplies.
Published Two out of three volcanoes are little-known. How to predict their eruptions?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What is the risk of a volcano erupting? To answer this question, scientists need information about its underlying internal structure. However, gathering this data can take several years of fieldwork, analyses and monitoring, which explains why only 30% of active volcanoes are currently well documented. A team has developed a method for rapidly obtaining valuable information. It is based on three parameters: the height of the volcano, the thickness of the layer of rock separating the volcano's reservoir from the surface, and the average chemical composition of the magma.
Published Tiny mineral inclusions picture the chemical exchange between Earth's mantle and atmosphere
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using synchrotron techniques, scientists have unveiled important information on The Great Oxidation Event by studying apatite inclusions in zircon crystals from old magmas.
Published Arctic soil methane consumption may be larger than previously thought and increases in a drier climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A recent study finds that Arctic soil methane uptake may be larger than previously thought, and that methane uptake increases under dry conditions and with availability of labile carbon substrates.
Published Coastal fisheries show surprising resilience to marine heat waves
(via sciencedaily.com) New research found that marine heat waves -- prolonged periods of unusually warm ocean temperatures -- haven't had a lasting effect on the fish communities that feed most of the world. The finding is in stark contrast to the devastating effects seen on other marine ecosystems cataloged by scientists after similar periods of warming, including widespread coral bleaching and harmful algal blooms.
Published Direct formation of sulfuric acid in the atmosphere
(via sciencedaily.com) In the atmosphere, gaseous sulfuric acid can form particles that influence the physical properties of clouds. Thus, the formation of sulfuric acid in the gas phase directly affects the radiative forcing and Earth's climate. In addition to the known formation from sulfur dioxide, researchers have now been able to demonstrate through experiments that there is another formation pathway that has been speculated about for decades. Sulfuric acid in the atmosphere can also be formed directly by the oxidation of organic sulfur compounds. This new production pathway can be responsible for up to half of the gaseous sulfuric acid formation over the oceans and is thus of high importance for climate projections -- especially over the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere.
Published Thrush nightingales, territoriality and testosterone
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Study highlights the interplay of song development and territorial behavior in winter quarters.
Published Bat study reveals how the brain is wired for collective behavior
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers used wireless neural recording and imaging devices to 'listen in' on the hippocampal brain activity of groups of Egyptian fruit bats as they flew freely within a large flight room. The researchers were surprised to find that, in this social setting, the bat's 'place' neurons encoded not only the animal's location, but also information about the presence or absence of other bats, and even the identity of bats in their path.
Published Want to fight climate change? Don't poach gorillas (or elephants, hornbills, toucans, etc.)
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new article found that overhunting of gorillas, elephants, and other large fruit-eating seed-dispersers make tropical forests less able to store or sequester carbon.
Published Three-eyed distant relative of insects and crustaceans reveals amazing detail of early animal evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists use cutting edge scanning technology to reconstruct 'fossil monster' that lived half a billion years ago. The creature's soft anatomy was well-preserved, allowing it to be imaged almost completely: It fills a gap in our understanding of the evolution of arthropods such as insects and crustaceans.
Published Curious and cryptic: New leaf insects discovered
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team has described seven previously unknown species of leaf insects, also known as walking leaves. The insects belong to the stick and leaf insect order, which are known for their unusual appearance: they look confusingly similar to parts of plants such as twigs, bark or -- in the case of leaf insects -- leaves. This sophisticated camouflage provides excellent protection from predators as well as presenting a challenge to researchers. Genetic analysis enabled the researchers to discover 'cryptic species', which cannot be distinguished by their external appearance alone. The findings are not only important for the systematic study of leaf insects, but also for the protection of their diversity.
Published Which radio waves disrupt the magnetic sense in migratory birds?
(via sciencedaily.com) Many songbirds use the earth's magnetic field as a guide during their migrations, but radiowaves interfere with this ability. A new study has found an upper bound for the frequency that disrupts the magnetic compass.
Published New study reveals anti-cancer properties in Kencur ginger
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have verified the anticancer effects of Kencur, a tropical plant of the ginger family, mainly grown in Southeast Asia, in cell and animal experiments. They found that Kencur extract and its main active components significantly inhibit cancer cell growth at the cellular and animal levels. Furthermore, the involvement of TFAM in the mechanism of action was confirmed.
Published Soils forming on the branches of trees are an overlooked forest habitat
(via sciencedaily.com) A study on 'canopy soils' on old trees in Costa Rica shows they are important habitats and carbon stores that cannot easily be replaced.
Published Move over pythons: These snakes are the real champion eaters
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Pythons have huge appetites, but which snake would win an eating contest? Surprisingly, it's a harmless little African snake that consumes eggs whole like an amuse-bouche.
Published Stormwater biofiltration increases coho salmon hatchling survival
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A relatively simple, inexpensive method of filtering urban stormwater runoff dramatically boosted survival of newly hatched coho salmon in an experimental study. That's the good news for the threatened species. The bad news: unfiltered stormwater killed almost all of them. The findings are consistent with previous research on adult and juvenile coho that found exposure to untreated roadway runoff that typically winds up in waterways during storms resulted in mortality of 60% or more. For the coho hatchlings in this study, mortality from runoff exposure was even higher at 87%. When the stormwater was run through a biofiltration method -- essentially layers of mulch, compost, sand and gravel -- nearly all the coho hatchlings survived, though many of resulting fish had smaller eyes and body sizes than a control group.
Published Fungi-eating plants and flies team up for reproduction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fungi-eating orchids were found for the first time to offer their flowers to fungi-eating fruit flies in exchange for pollination, which is the first evidence for nursery pollination in orchids. This unique new plant-animal relationship hints at an evolutionary transition towards mutualistic symbiosis.
Published Loss of Antarctic sea ice causes catastrophic breeding failure for emperor penguins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Emperor penguin colonies experienced unprecedented breeding failure in a region of Antarctica where there was total sea ice loss in 2022. The discovery supports predictions that over 90% of emperor penguin colonies will be quasi-extinct by the end of the century, based on current global warming trends.