Duke University Professor Jennifer Groh and co-authors have found that keeping the head still but shifting the eyes to one side or the other sparks vibrations in the eardrums, even in the absence of any sounds. Surprisingly, these vibrations start slightly before the eyes move, indicating that motion in the …
Read More »Deep-Sea Mining Could Destroy Marine Ecosystems, Study Says
Mining on the ocean floor could do irreversible damage to marine ecosystems, according to a new study from the University of Exeter and Greenpeace Research Laboratories. A schematic showing the processes involved in deep-sea mining for the three main types of mineral deposit. Image credit: Design Studio, University of Exeter. …
Read More »Study: Female Domestic Cats Are More Likely to Be Right-Handed
Female domestic cats are much more likely to use their right paw than males, according to a new study published in the journal Animal Behaviour. In the study, male cats showed a left-side bias for natural behaviors, females a right-side bias. Image credit: Jan Mallander. Until now, most studies on …
Read More »Researchers Discover Why New Caledonian Crows Make Hooked Stick Tools
A University of St Andrews-led study shows that New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) acquire hidden food several times faster when using hooked rather than basic (non-hooked) tools, regardless of tool material, prey type and extraction context. The New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) is the only non-human animal known to craft …
Read More »Viruses Are Everywhere, Maybe Even in Space, Biologists Say
Viruses are the most abundant and one of the least understood biological entities on modern Earth. They might also exist in space, but as of yet scientists have done almost no research into this possibility. Portland State University’s Professor Ken Stedman and co-authors hope to inspire integration of virus research …
Read More »Two New Species of Treefrogs Discovered in Amazon Basin
An international team of researchers from Ecuador and Peru has discovered two new frog species living in the tropical rainforests of the Amazon basin — and named one of them after famous American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. Dendropsophus kubricki, adult male, from Río Tapiche, Requena, Peru. Image credit: P.J. Venegas. The …
Read More »Chameleons Glow under Ultraviolet Light
Chameleons are small to mid-size tree-dwelling reptiles that are famous for their ability to change colors. A team of researchers from Germany has now discovered that the crests and tubercles on the heads of many chameleon species emit blue fluorescence when illuminated with ultraviolet (UV) light. A paper reporting this …
Read More »Simple Cell Contains 42 Million Protein Molecules, Biologists Say
There are approximately 42 million protein molecules in a simple cell, according to University of Toronto’s Professor Grant Brown and co-authors. Yeast cells expressing proteins that carry green and red fluorescent tags to make them visible. Image credit: Brendan Ho. Proteins make up our cells and do most of the …
Read More »Common Treeshrew is Evolutionary Rule-Breaker, Researchers Say
The common treeshrew (Tupaia glis) — a small mammal native to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia — defies two widely tested rules that describe patterns of geographical variation within species: the island rule and Bergmann’s rule, according to a research team led by Yale University Professor Eric J. Sargis. The common …
Read More »Bonnethead Sharks Consume and Digest Seagrass
A small coastal shark called the bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo) eats copious amounts of seagrass (Thalassia testudinum) and has adaptations in its digestive system to process vegetation, according to new research. Leigh et al investigated the digestive function of bonnethead sharks in order to determine whether they can digest and …
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