Biology

Using 3D images, biologists at Imperial College London, UK, have shown how bacteria have evolved their ‘flagellar’ motors of different powers to optimize their swimming. Flagellar motors of Wolinella succinogenes, Arcobacter butzleri, and Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. ‘B,’ ‘M,’ and ‘P’ labels depict Basal disk, Medial ring, and Proximal rings respectively. Image …

While humans generally prefer individuals who are nice to others, a new study finds bonobos (Pan paniscus) — our closest relatives in the animal kingdom along with chimpanzees — are more attracted to jerks. Duke University scientists Christopher Krupenye and Brian Hare were surprised by their findings because bonobos have …

Though calcium taste doesn’t fit into the five established tastes the tongue’s receptors can identify, humans describe it as slightly bitter and sour. According to a new study published in the journal Neuron, calcium taste also exists in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Lee et al demonstrated that fruit flies are …

A team of scientists at the College of Engineering (CoE) in Pune, India, is developing an efficient method for monitoring and recognizing bird species that will help in evaluating the avian biodiversity of a specific region. A keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) in Costa Rica. Image credit: T. Tschleuder / CC …

A new species of large Pacific octopus has been discovered in the waters of Prince William Sound, Alaska. The frilled giant Pacific octopus. Image credit: David Scheel, doi: 10.4003/006.035.0206. The newly-discovered species belongs to Enteroctopus, a genus whose members are known as ‘giant octopuses.’ All species of this genus live …

An international team of ornithologists has revealed that a rare Amazonian bird called the golden-crowned manakin (Lepidothrix vilasboasi) — first discovered in Brazil in 1957 but not seen again until 2002 — is in fact a hybrid of two parental species: the snow-capped (Lepidothrix nattereri) and opal-crowned (Lepidothrix iris) manakins. …

An international team of marine biologists has described a new species of intertidal spider from tropical Queensland, Australia, and named it after the internationally renowned Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter Bob Marley, whose song ‘High Tide or Low Tide’ inspired the researchers as the spider lives in a ‘high tide …

An international team led by University of York researchers has directly observed microbial activity in Antarctic and Arctic snow — an environment once considered sterile. The results appear in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. Research conducted in laboratories has previously shown that bacteria can stay alive at extremely …

A wide range of flowers produce not just signals that we can see and smell, but also ones that are invisible such as heat. According to new research from the University of Bristol, UK, bumblebees can use these temperature patterns as a cue to recognize flowers and make informed foraging …

Most organisms that die don’t end up as fossils because the process requires very particular conditions. In the more recent past, at least the fossils are large enough to see with the naked eye. When you’re looking for fossils from the dawn of life on Earth, they’re microscopic. Some potential …