Biology

Hard drives and NAND flash memory can store a lot more data than they could just a few years ago, but they’ve still got nothing on DNA. The genetic material in nearly every cell of your body has a vastly higher storage capacity than a hard drive, and it could …

A research team led by Scripps Research Institute scientist Dr. Supriya Srinivasan has identified a brain hormone that appears to trigger fat burning in the gut. Model depicting the FLP-7/NPR-22 neuroendocrine axis that underlies the 5-HTergic control of body fat loss. In the nervous system, an integrated 5-HT and octopaminergic …

A bizarre new species of the fish-scale gecko genus Geckolepis has been found living in the ‘tsingy’ karst formations of northern Madagascar. Geckolepis megalepis in life. Image credit: Frank Glaw. The Geckolepis fish-scale geckos are small- to medium sized arboreal and nocturnal lizards endemic to Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. …

Seven new species of the genus Nyctibatrachus (Night frogs) have been discovered in the Western Ghats global biodiversity hotspot in India. Seven new species of night frogs from the Western Ghats, India. Image credit: SD Biju. The genus Nyctibatrachus (family Nyctibatrachidae) is endemic to the Western Ghats and represents an …

A study led by Carnegie Mellon University researchers provides the first biological evidence to explain how marriage impacts health. According to Brian Chin et al, married people have lower cortisol levels and steeper slopes than the unmarried ones. Image credit: Olessya. Carnegie Mellon University Professor Sheldon Cohen and co-authors found …

A new study published in the journal PLoS ONE has revealed that wild African elephants (Loxodonta africana) sleep an average of two hours a day and regularly go nearly two days without sleep. African elephants. Image credit: Ro Dobby. African elephants are iconic mammals of the continent and the largest …

A new dwarf lemur species has been discovered in the dry and transitional forests of northern Madagascar, according to a paper published in the latest issue of the journal Primate Conservation. The Sheth’s dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus shethi) at Ankarana Special Reserve, Madagascar. Image credit: Richard Randriamampionona. Dwarf lemurs (genus Cheirogaleus) …

Using camera traps, primatologists from the Lukuru Foundation Tshuapa-Lomani-Lualaba (TL2) Project are the first to capture video footage of a previously unknown population of the critically endangered Dryas monkey (Cercopithecus dryas). Close-up of critically endangered Dryas monkeys (Cercopithecus dryas) now inhabiting the Lomami National Park in the Democratic Republic of …

According to a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, a frog’s saliva is thick and sticky during prey capture, then turns thin and watery as prey is removed inside the mouth. A northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) catches a cricket. Image credit: Candler Hobbs. A …

Researchers from the United States, China and France have created what they say is the world’s first stable semi-synthetic microorganism. The research appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. At an extremely high magnification of 44,818x, this colorized scanning electron microscopic (SEM) image reveals some of the …