Plants & Animals News

August 20, 2016

Europe's Oldest Known Living Inhabitant

Rewriting the Genome of Living Bacteria

Paleontologists Discover Major T. Rex Fossil

Calls to Eggs Help Birds Adapt to Warmer World?

Latest Headlines

updated 11:30am EDT

New Discovery About Sensory System of Deep-Sea Fish

Aug. 19, 2016 — Little is known about most of the fishes that live deep in the oceans, where the pressures are extreme, light is nearly absent, and the water temperatures are especially low. ... read more

Proton Pump Found to Regulate Blood pH in Stingrays

Aug. 19, 2016 — Researchers have discovered the same enzyme used by 'boneworms' to dissolve whale carcasses, and that helps promote photosynthesis in corals, also regulates blood pH in ... read more

Spider Silk: Mother Nature's Bio-Superlens

Aug. 19, 2016 — Hot on the heels of a paper revealing that a team of researchers has used a nanobead-derived superlens to break the perceived resolution barrier, the same team has achieved ... read more

Mathematical Analysis Conducted of a Rare Cavernicolous Crustacean

Aug. 19, 2016 — A scientific collaboration has discovered previously unknown regularities of arthropod limbs based on studies of the remipede Speleonectes tulumensis, a rare crustacean found ... read more

Hawaiian Fruit Flies Had Multiple Ancestors

Aug. 19, 2016 — Hawaiian drosophilids (fruit flies) had plural ancestors that hailed from continents, refuting the “single Hawaiian origin” hypothesis, a team of researchers ... read more

'Missing Evolutionary Link' of a Widely Used Natural Drug Source Found

Aug. 19, 2016 — A well-known family of natural compounds, called “terpenoids,” have a curious evolutionary origin. In particular, one question relevant to future drug discovery has puzzled scientists: exactly ... read more

Smoking Marijuana Provides More Pain Relief for Men Than Women

Aug. 18, 2016 — Men had greater pain relief than women after smoking marijuana, a new study has found. Despite differences in pain relief, men and women did not report differences in how intoxicated they felt or how ... read more

'Ecosystem Canaries' Provide Early Warning Signs of Catastrophic Changes to Ecosystems

Aug. 18, 2016 — 'Ecosystem canaries' can provide early warning signals of large, potentially catastrophic, changes or tipping points in ... read more

Using Nature's Recipe to Create Mother of Pearl

Aug. 18, 2016 — Researchers have created a synthetic nacre remarkably similar to the natural material, which is also known as mother of pearl, though their synthetic version forms in weeks instead of months or ... read more

Why Russian Tuberculosis Is the Most Infectious

Aug. 18, 2016 — Scientists conducted a large-scale analysis of the proteins and genomes of mycobacterium tuberculosis strains that are common in Russia and countries of the former Soviet Union and found features ... read more

Scientists Keep Finding Strange, New Creatures In The Deep Sea

Ducks on Pest Patrol at South African Vineyards

Vienna Zoo Hails Rare Birth of Tiny Giant Panda Twins

An English Zoo Says It Is The First To Breed This Rare Type Of Spider

Researchers Innovate Brain Preservation Technique

Aug. 19, 2016 — By figuring out how to preserve specimens in the remote locations in which they are found -- locations almost completely opposite those of a controlled laboratory or 21st century urban area -- ... read more

In Cells, Some Oxidants Are Needed

Aug. 18, 2016 — Some studies are showing that reactive oxygen species (ROS) molecules sometimes can aid in maintaining health -- findings now boosted by a surprising discovery from the ... read more

How Norovirus Gets Inside Cells: New Clues

Aug. 18, 2016 — Researchers have identified the protein that norovirus uses to invade cells. Norovirus is the most common viral cause of diarrhea worldwide, but scientists still know little about how it infects ... read more

New Flu Strains and Old Antibodies: How Sinful Is 'Original Antigenic Sin'?

Aug. 18, 2016 — Immune memory ensures a quick, specific response to previously encountered pathogens. However, for rapidly evolving pathogens like influenza virus, there is concern that recalled ('old') ... read more

Insecticide Treatment of Cattle to Kill Sand Flies and Combat Leishmaniasis

Aug. 18, 2016 — With an estimated 500,000 human infections and 50,000 deaths annually, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is the second most prevalent parasitic killer, behind malaria. Leishmania parasites are transmitted ... read more

Mussel Flexing: Bivalve Save Drought-Stricken Marshes, Research Finds

Aug. 18, 2016 — As coastal ecosystems feel the heat of climate change worldwide, new research shows the humble mussel and marsh grass form an intimate interaction known as mutualism that benefits both partner ... read more

How Cancer Cells Protect Chromosomes from Decay

Aug. 18, 2016 — Scientists have used CRISPR gene editing technology and live cell, single molecule microscopy to watch in real-time, for the first time, the essential interaction between telomerase and ... read more

Common Cold Viruses Originated in Camels, Just Like MERS

Aug. 18, 2016 — There are four globally endemic human coronaviruses which, together with the better known rhinoviruses, are responsible for causing common colds. Usually, infections with these viruses are harmless ... read more

Canine Babesiosis Outbreak in UK Under Control, but Needs Monitoring

Aug. 18, 2016 — Scientists are using the health records of dogs to monitor the status of a potentially fatal tick-borne disease that appears to have been imported into the ... read more

Most Island Vertebrate Extinctions Could Be Averted, Concludes New Study

Aug. 18, 2016 — Eight of every ten species extinctions has occurred on islands, and invasive mammals are the leading reason for those losses. Currently, 40 percent of species at risk of global extinction are island ... read more

Natural Compound from a Deep-Water Marine Sponge Found to Reduce Pancreatic Tumor Size

Aug. 18, 2016 — A deep-water marine sponge collected off of Fort Lauderdale’s coast contains leiodermatolide, a natural product that has the ability to inhibit the growth of cancer cells as well as block cancer ... read more

Why Females Care More, Theoretically Speaking

Aug. 18, 2016 — Across the animal kingdom there is a strong trend for females to be more caring parents. Why? Researchers have now expanded upon previous theories to better explain why mothers and fathers differ in ... read more

Genetic Influence in Juvenile Songbird Babblings

Aug. 18, 2016 — Researchers have discovered familial differences in the earliest vocal babblings of juvenile songbirds, suggesting a possible genetic basis for the ... read more

The Battle Against Aedes Aegypti, the Mosquito That Spreads Zika

Aug. 17, 2016 — The UC Mosquito Research Laboratory in Parlier is the epicenter of California research on the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a tiny, black and white mosquito that can spread the Zika ... read more

Sulfoxaflor Found to Be Less Harmful to Insect Predators Than Broad-Spectrum Insecticides

Aug. 17, 2016 — The selective insecticide sulfoxaflor is just as effective at controlling soybean aphids (Aphis glycines) as broad-spectrum insecticides, without causing significant harm to some beneficial predators ... read more

Lab Team Spins Ginger Into Nanoparticles to Heal Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Aug. 17, 2016 — Researchers have developed 'edible ginger-derived nanoparticles' that they believe may be good medicine for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the two main forms of inflammatory ... read more

Flowering Meadows Benefit Humankind

Aug. 17, 2016 — The more it swarms, crawls, flies the better it is, say scientists. A diverse ecosystem populated by many species from all levels provides higher ecosystem services. Even rather unpopular insects and ... read more

Recent Connection Between North and South America Reaffirmed

Aug. 17, 2016 — Long ago, one great ocean flowed between North and South America. When the Isthmus of Panama joined the continents, it also separated the Atlantic from the Pacific Ocean. If this took place much ... read more

Unveiled: Earth's Viral Diversity

Aug. 17, 2016 — Plumbing Earth's microbial diversity requires learning more about the poorly-studied relationships between microbes and the viruses that infect them, impacting their abilities to regulate global ... read more

New Techniques Boost Understanding of How Fish Fins Became Fingers

Aug. 17, 2016 — The cells that make fin rays in fish play a central role in forming the fingers and toes of four-legged creatures, one of the great transformations required for the descendants of fish to become ... read more

Friday, August 19, 2016

Researchers innovate brain preservation technique

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Monday, August 15, 2016

Friday, August 12, 2016

Thursday, August 11, 2016