A group of Montana State University microbiologists has discovered a new archaeal lineage living in the extreme geothermal environments in Yellowstone National Park. The discovery, reported in the journal Nature Microbiology, sheds new light on the evolution of the Archaea and the importance of iron in early life.
Although using flashy colors as camouflage may seem counterintuitive, iridescence obstructs the bumblebee’s ability to identify shape, according to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports. This is a bumblebee landing on an iridescent target. Image credit: Karin Kjernsmo. Iridescence is a taxonomically widespread and striking form of animal coloration which uses regular […]
A team of Indiana University researchers has reported the first evidence that non-human animals (rats) can replay a stream of multiple episodic memories. The study was published in the journal Current Biology. Panoz-Brown et al show that rats remember a stream of multiple episodes and the order in which they occur by engaging hippocampal-dependent episodic […]
By faithfully copying the most popular songs, swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) create time-honored song traditions that can be just as long-lasting as human traditions, according to a new study, published in the journal Nature Communications. In fact, song traditions in swamp sparrows often last hundreds of years, with some songs going back further than that. […]
An international team of researchers led by Dr. Jean-Lou Justine of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, has identified at least five species of invasive hammerhead flatworms living in metropolitan France, a few European countries, and overseas French territories in three continents. Justine et al report new findings obtained mainly by citizen science in metropolitan […]
An international team of researchers has discovered five new species of snail-eaters (tribe Dipsadini) living in the forests of Ecuador and Peru. The five newfound species of snail-eating snakes, from top left to bottom right: the Bev Ridgely’s snail-eater (Sibon bevridgelyi), male; the Bob Ridgely’s snail-eater (Dipsas bobridgelyi), male; the Klebba’s snail-eater (Dipsas klebbai), male; […]
A team of scientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has created the first artificial human prion. Thioflavin S positive amyloid plaques in the hippocampus (left) and cortex of lab mice inoculated with the artificial human prion, rhuPrion. Image credit: Kim et al, doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04584-z. Human prions — proteins that have folded incorrectly […]
A new study, undertaken by a team of University of Exeter researchers using captive Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber), has demonstrated the significant impact the animals have had on reducing the flow of tons of soil and nutrients from nearby fields into a local river system. Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber), a mother and her kit. Image […]
Humans are known to have one functioning and three non-functioning chitinase genes — those that make an enzyme that digests the insect exoskeletal chitin. According to a new analysis of mammalian genomes, nearly all placental mammals have one of five different chitinase genes, though not all are functioning and some fragmentary; this suggests that the […]
The honeybee (Apis mellifera) has joined the ranks of dolphins, parrots, and primates, in demonstrating the ability to understand the concept of zero numerosity. The study appears in the journal Science. A honeybee (Apis mellifera). Image credit: Vijaya Narasimha. While intuitive to modern humans, the full understanding of zero is an advanced numerical concept that’s […]