Biology

Scientists Find Anthropogenic Mercury in Earth’s Deepest Oceanic Trenches Two teams of marine biologists have found methylmercury, a potent toxin that bioaccumulates in marine food webs, in sediments and endemic fauna from Mariana, Yap and Kermadec trenches in the Pacific Ocean. A snailfish (bottom left) and small amphipods (center) at …

New Species of Diamond Frog Discovered in Madagascar German herpetologist Mark Scherz has discovered a new species of diamond frog living in northern Madagascar. Rhombophryne ellae. Image credit: Mark Scherz. The diamond frogs belong to Rhombophryne, a genus of microhylid frogs in the subfamily Cophylinae. More than 20 species are …

Researchers Use GPS Collars An international team of scientists has conducted a GPS tracking collar study on red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) in eastern Nepal. This is the first time GPS collars have been used to study these elusive animals in the wild. Paaru, one of the red pandas tracked by the …

New Species of Deep-Water Dogfish Shark Discovered Marine biologists have discovered a new species of the shark genus Squalus in the tropical waters off southern Japan. The Shirai’s spurdog (Squalus shiraii): lateral (A-C) and ventral (D, E) views. Scale bars – 50 mm. Image credit: Viana Carvalho, doi: 10.3897/zse.96.51962. Squalus …

Some Chimpanzees Have Tiny Bone in Their Heart A team of researchers in the UK has discovered that some individuals of the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), particularly those affected by myocardial fibrosis, have a rare small bone called os cordis in their heart. High-resolution microCT image of the chimpanzee’s os …

New Study Sheds Light on Diet of Juvenile Great White Sharks The diet of juvenile white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) is about 32% mid-water fish, 17% bottom-dwelling fish, 5% reef fish, and 15% batoid fish such as stingrays; the remainder is unidentified fish or less abundant prey, according to new research …

Discovered in Peru An international team of ornithologists has described three new species of the bird genus Scytalopus from the Peruvian Andes. New Scytalopus species from the Peruvian Andes: (upper left) adult male and female of the Jalca tapaculo (Scytalopus frankeae); (upper right) male Jalca tapaculo from Junin; (lower left) …

Study: Extended Parental Care Helps Juvenile Siberian Jays and New Caledonian Crows Grow Smarter New research on two corvid species, Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus) and New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides), shows that extended family life is crucial to provide the social learning opportunities where juveniles acquire vital skills; the study …

Heavy Water Has Sweet Taste, New Study Confirms Highly purified heavy water has a distinctly sweeter taste than same-purity normal (light) water, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Czech Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, and the Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biology …

Scientists Create 3D Map of Rat Heart’s Neurons An international team of researchers has created a comprehensive anatomical 3D map and molecular profile of the rat intracardiac nervous system (ICN). Posterior view of the 3D reconstructed male rat heart: (A) whole-heart view showing the context, extent, and distribution of the …