Male beetles neglect their genomes when competing for females
Male beetles face a trade-off between competing with other males for mating opportunities and repairing damage to their sperm DNA, according to a study published April 4 in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Mareike Koppik from Uppsala Universit.....»»
Baby gorilla cuddled by mother at London Zoo remains nameless
The newest endangered baby gorilla at the London Zoo is more than six weeks old but doesn't yet have a name. Zookeepers aren't even sure if it's a male or female because they haven't been able to get close enough to examine it......»»
Citizen scientists contribute vital information about 35 seahorse species
Thanks to diligent observers, seahorses, those enigmatic and charismatic fish, are not only being discovered in new habitats and expanded geographic ranges, they are also being found at new ocean depths. While their capacity for male pregnancy has lo.....»»
New fossil rove beetle is a first in Africa
In the heart of Botswana, a discovery at the Orapa Diamond Mine has unveiled a fossil that sheds light on the evolutionary history of beetles......»»
Genome study shows humans pass more viruses to animals than we catch from them
Humans pass on more viruses to domestic and wild animals than we catch from them, according to a major new analysis of viral genomes by UCL researchers......»»
Decoding the shared genetic toolkit for male sex determination
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen have broken new ground by demonstrating that an HMG-box gene in brown algae is crucial for determining male sex. This breakthrough significantly expands our understanding of sex-determin.....»»
Seven billion newly hatched chicks are killed every year—but a ban is not the solution, says study
With Easter just around the corner, we are surrounded by a ubiquity of eggs and adorable yellow chicks that symbolize life and resurrection. In stark contrast is the fact that around seven billion male layer chicks, are shredded or gassed alive by th.....»»
"Tiny, beautiful, and completely unknown animals": Citizen scientists discover new beetles from the Borneo forest
The undiscovered small beetles in the tropical rainforest are probably endless. But that did not discourage citizen scientists on expeditions to the Ulu Temburong forest in Borneo to keep adding them to scientific records, one at a time. Together wit.....»»
Decoding the Easter Bunny: Eastern Finnish brown hare represents standard for species" genome
The Hare Research Group at the Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, has published a chromosomally assembled reference genome for the European brown hare. Reference genomes represent a type of a standard.....»»
Hiring booms at SpaceX and Blue Origin making it hard for NASA to attract talent
SpaceX and Blue Origin LLC are competing to launch satellites and take humans to the moon. They are also paying big salaries to hire so many young and tireless engineers that old-line aerospace employers like Boeing Co. and NASA are finding it harder.....»»
Dung dynasty: The plant boosting powers of beetle recyclers
Dung beetles, those unsung heroes of the insect world renowned for their prowess in breaking down cattle dung, have now been found to have a positive impact on plant growth......»»
Sequencing the blue whale and Etruscan shrew genomes
The blue whale genome was published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, and the Etruscan shrew genome was published in the journal Scientific Data......»»
Research suggests that menopause explains why some female whales live so long
Females of some whale species have evolved to live drastically longer lives so they can care for their families, new research shows......»»
Surviving fishing gear entanglement isn"t enough for endangered right whales. Females still don"t breed afterward
It sounds like a crime show episode at sea: In late January 2024, federal regulators learned that a dead female North Atlantic right whale had been sighted near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The whale was towed to shore, where more than 20 U.S. a.....»»
Most male mammals are not bigger than females: New analysis of more than 400 species
New research is cutting male mammals down to size......»»
Smog and sick kids: Thai pupils endure air pollution
Hundreds of Thai children strain to sing the national anthem, reedy voices and fragile lungs competing against eight lanes of belching traffic next to their school's open atrium in central Bangkok......»»
Tsetse fly fertility damaged after just one heat wave, study finds
The fertility of both female and male tsetse flies is affected by a single burst of hot weather, researchers at the University of Bristol and Stellenbosch University in South Africa have found......»»
Male roundworms are picky when choosing a mate, new research finds
A piece of rotting fruit is likely covered in hundreds if not thousands of microscopic roundworms, including C. elegans—a popular experimental model system for studying neurogenetics. With a lifespan of only a few weeks, C. elegans must reproduce q.....»»
How does a bacterium know it"s time to split apart?
Bacterial cells do not wake up one morning and decide to become parents. But there is a point in their cell cycle—after growing sufficiently and replicating their genomes—when they split in two, creating new cells that then repeat the process. Wh.....»»
Integrating non-additive GWAS with historical dissemination to illuminate nut traits and blooming time in almonds
Modern breeding focuses on genetic analyses and germplasm management and dominates in altering crop genomes, but often neglects non-additive genetic effects that are essential for understanding traits. Almond [Prunus dulcis Miller (D.A. Webb)] has si.....»»
Researchers reveal how a virus hijacks insect sperm: May help control disease vectors and pests
A widespread bacteria called Wolbachia and a virus that it carries can cause sterility in male insects by hijacking their sperm, preventing them from fertilizing eggs of females that do not have the same combination of bacteria and virus......»»