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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Offbeat: Space

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Chemistry: Biochemistry Ecology: Sea Life Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Caller ID of the sea: Tagging whale communication and behavior      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biologists use a novel method of simultaneous acoustic tagging to gain insights into the link between whale communication and behavior

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Wild bird gestures 'after you'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A small-bird species, the Japanese tit (Parus minor), uses wing movements as a gesture to convey the message 'after you,' according to new research. When a mating pair arrives at their nest box with food, they will wait outside on perches. One will then often flutter its wings toward the other, apparently indicating for the latter to enter first. The researchers say that this discovery challenges the previous belief that gestural communication is prominent only in humans and great apes, significantly advancing our understanding of visual communication in birds.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

James Webb Space Telescope captures the end of planet formation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How much time do planets have to form from a swirling disk of gas and dust around a star? A new study gives scientists a better idea of how our own solar system came to be.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Signs of life would be detectable in single ice grain emitted from extraterrestrial moons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Could life be found in frozen sea spray from moons orbiting Saturn or Jupiter? New research finds that life can be detected in a single ice grain containing one bacterial cell or portions of a cell. The results suggest that if life similar to that on Earth exists on these planetary bodies, that this life should be detectable by instruments launching in the fall.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology
Published

Evolutionary history of the formation of forceps and maternal care in earwigs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers examined the developmental processes and reproduction-related behavior of 8 of the 11 families of Dermaptera (earwigs) in detail and compared with those reported in previous studies. The results confirmed that Dermaptera is a polyneopteran order, and the features such as caudal forceps and elaborate maternal care for eggs and young larvae emerged in parallel within the order during evolution.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Rose essential oil: A safe pesticide for organic agriculture      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Following injury, plants release terpenoids to enhance their defenses. Researchers studying terpenoid-enriched essential oils (EOs) have found that rose EO (REO) can stimulate defense genes in tomato leaves. Furthermore, REO attracts herbivores that protect the plant from the moth species, Spodoptera litura, and Tetranychus urticae, a mite pest. This suggests that applying REO could be a sustainable approach to pest management in organic farming.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Secrets of the Van Allen belt revealed in new study      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A challenge to space scientists to better understand our hazardous near-Earth space environment has been set in a new study.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Researchers name prehistoric amphibian ancestor discovered in Smithsonian collection after Kermit the Frog      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have uncovered the fossilized skull of a 270-million-year-old ancient amphibian ancestor in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The team of researchers described the fossil as a new species of proto-amphibian, which they named Kermitops gratus in honor of the iconic Muppet, Kermit the Frog.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Entanglements of humpback whales in fish farms rare -- and naivety could be to blame      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The first study of humpback whale entanglements in B.C. aquaculture facilities found eight over 13 years, with the curiosity of young whales a potential contributing factor.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science
Published

Species diversity promotes ecosystem stability      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What maintains stability within an ecosystem and prevents a single best competitor from displacing other species from a community? Does ecosystem stability depend upon the presence of a wide variety of species, as early ecologists believed, or does diversity do the exact opposite, and lead to instability, as modern theory predicts? A new study suggests an answer to this question that has been a subject of debate among ecologists for half a century.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology
Published

How butterflies choose mates: Gene controls preferences      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tropical Heliconius butterflies are well known for the bright colour patterns on their wings. These striking colour patterns not only scare off predators -- the butterflies are poisonous and are distasteful to birds -- but are also important signals during mate selection. Evolutionary biologists have now exploited the diversity of warning patterns of various Heliconius species to investigate the genetic foundations of these preferences. In the process, the scientists identified a gene that is directly linked to evolutionary changes in a visually guided behavior.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
Published

Forest, stream habitats keep energy exchanges in balance, global team finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Forests and streams are separate but linked ecosystems, existing side by side, with energy and nutrients crossing their porous borders and flowing back and forth between them. For example, leaves fall from trees, enter streams, decay and feed aquatic insects. Those insects emerge from the waters and are eaten by birds and bats. An international team has now found that these ecosystems appear to keep the energy exchanges in balance -- a finding that the scientists called surprising.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Scientists weigh up current status of blue whale populations around the world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The largest living animal, the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) which averages about 27 meters in length, has slowly recovered from whaling only to face the rising challenges of global warming, pollution, disrupted food sources, shipping, and other human threats. In a major new study, biologists have taken a stock of the number, distribution and genetic characteristics of blue whale populations around the world and found the greatest differences among the eastern Pacific, Antarctic subspecies and pygmy subspecies of the eastern Indian and western Pacific.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Killer whales use specialized hunting techniques to catch marine mammals in the open ocean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Killer whales foraging in deep submarine canyons off the coast of California represent a distinct subpopulation that uses specialized hunting techniques to catch marine mammals, researchers report.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
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Scientists find one of the most ancient stars that formed in another galaxy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The first generation of stars transformed the universe. Inside their cores, simple hydrogen and helium fused into a rainbow of elements. When these stars died, they exploded and sent these new elements across the universe. The iron running in your veins and the calcium in your teeth and the sodium powering your thoughts were all born in the heart of a long-dead star.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Quantum tornado provides gateway to understanding black holes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have created a giant quantum vortex to mimic a black hole in superfluid helium that has allowed them to see in greater detail how analogue black holes behave and interact with their surroundings.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astrophysicist's research could provide a hint in the search for dark matter      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Dark matter is one of science's greatest mysteries. Although it is believed to make up about 85 percent of the cosmos, scientists know very little about its fundamental nature. Research provides some of the most stringent constraints on the nature of dark matter yet. It also revealed a small hint of a signal that, if real, could be confirmed in the next decade or so.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Fish fed to farmed salmon should be part of our diet, too, study suggests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists found that farmed salmon production leads to an overall loss of essential dietary nutrients. They say that eating more wild 'feed' species directly could benefit our health while reducing aquaculture demand for finite marine resources.