A parasitic haunting: When snakes are eaten from within
Amidst the sawgrass and cypress swamps of Everglades National Park, a 16-foot Burmese python slithers in search of its next meal. But something else is preying on the python from within......»»
Peregrine falcons set off false alarms to make prey easier to catch, study finds
Predators must eat to survive—and to survive, prey must avoid being eaten. One theory, the Wolf-Mangel model, suggests predators could use false attacks to tire prey out or force them to take bigger risks, but this has been hard to show in practice.....»»
Study shows birds disperse eaten insects" eggs
Relationship patterns among flightless stick insects suggest that birds disperse the eggs after eating gravid females. Lab experiments previously suggested the possibility, but a new genetic analysis of natural populations in Japan by Kobe University.....»»
Fossil snake traces: Another world-first find on South Africa"s Cape south coast
Snakes are familiar, distinctive—and often feared—reptiles. And they've been around for a long time: body fossils found in the UK, Portugal and the US stretch all the way back to the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago......»»
Researchers identify tiny, unique sea creature photographed in 2018
An international team of zoologists and parasitic worm specialists has identified an odd sea creature captured by an underwater photographer in 2018 off the coast of Okinawa. In their project, reported in the open-access journal Current Biology, the.....»»
Infecting non-immune cells: Finding defies textbook understanding of leishmaniasis infection
The organisms that cause visceral leishmaniasis, a potentially deadly version of the parasitic disease that most often affects the skin to cause disfiguring disease, appear to have a secret weapon, new research suggests: They can infect non-immune ce.....»»
How climate change could make fungal diseases worse
Disease-causing fungi are likely to thrive in a warmer, stormier world. Enlarge / Histoplasma capsulatum is a species of parasitic, yeast-like dimorphic fungus that can, if inhaled, cause a type of lung infection called histoplas.....»»
The World’s Largest—and Stinkiest—Flower Is in Danger of Extinction
The 42 known species of the parasitic plant Rafflesia, known as the corpse flower, are endangered due to the destruction of forest habitats......»»
Parasitic plant convinces hosts to grow into its own flesh—it"s also an extreme example of genome shrinkage
If you happen to come across plants of the Balanophoraceae family in a corner of a forest, you might easily mistake them for fungi growing around tree roots. Their mushroom-like structures are actually inflorescences, composed of minute flowers......»»
Spotlight on mud snakes: Study unveils evolutionary secrets of enigmatic snake family from Southeastern Asia
A new University of Kansas genomic investigation of a group of unheralded but unique "mud snakes" from Southeast Asia is rewriting the evolutionary history of this family, named the Homalopsidae. The results just were published in the Bulletin of the.....»»
16 strange new parasitoid wasp species discovered in Vietnam
Researchers at Kyushu University and Vietnam's National Museum of Nature have discovered 16 new species of Loboscelidia, a strange-looking and elusive group of parasitoid wasps. The scientists also reported for the first time the unique parasitic beh.....»»
3 Apple TV+ shows you should watch before September ends
Here are three Apple TV+ shows you need to watch, including a sci-fi drama from Ben Stiller and a haunting crime series starring Taron Egerton......»»
5 great mystery movies to watch like A Haunting in Venice
In honor of A Haunting in Venice's release this week, here are five mystery movies like it that you should check out......»»
A Haunting in Venice review: a zany, spooky, and fun time
A Haunting in Venice is Kenneth Branagh's spookiest and best Hercule Poirot murder mystery yet......»»
Is A Haunting in Venice streaming?
Kenneth Branagh is back as Hercule Poirot, but is A Haunting in Venice already available to stream? It won't take a detective to answer that question!.....»»
Researchers reveal the venomous secrets of European snakes
Not only in the tropics do snake bites lead to dangerous envenoming—bites from European venomous snakes can also cause severe physical damage. But their venom also contains active substances that could be used against bacterial pathogens in the fut.....»»
A Haunting in Venice’s ending, explained
Here's everything that's revealed at the end of A Haunting in Venice......»»
How these parasitic worms turn brown shrimp into bright orange “zombies”
Infection activates gene expression for pigmentation, suppresses immune response. Enlarge / Orange amphipods caught the eye (and interest) of Brown University graduate students conducting field research. (credit: David Johnson).....»»
Chytrid fungi revealed to be parasitic species that infects snow algae
The microbial communities found in glacier and snowpack ecosystems are an essential part of cold weather environments. Chytrids, a group of fungi that include well-known frog pathogens, are often found in abundance in these ecosystems, but culturing.....»»
Scientists voyage to Greenland"s melting sanctuary
With rugged red mountains rising on either side, a sailboat carrying scientists deftly snakes between icebergs brimming Greenland's Scoresby Fjord, as they rush to document this understudied region on the frontline of climate change......»»
Ancient metal cauldrons give us clues about what people ate in the Bronze Age
Archaeologists have long been drawing conclusions about how ancient tools were used by the people who crafted them based on written records and context clues. But with dietary practices, they have had to make assumptions about what was eaten and how.....»»