Monkeypox Originated in Animals. Could It Spill Back Into Them?
The zoonotic disease is now spreading from person to person. But if it finds a home in new wildlife species, it could settle in to become a permanent risk......»»
African Sahara "greening" can alter Northern Hemisphere climate, modeling study finds
Africa's Sahara Desert may be considered a vast expanse of barren sand with limited vegetation, an extreme environment for plants and animals to thrive, but life always finds a way. Indeed, vegetation growth in the desert has waxed and waned over mil.....»»
A comparison of bat and bird wings reveals their evolutionary paths are vastly different
Bats are incredibly diverse animals: They can climb onto other animals to drink their blood, pluck insects from leaves or hover to drink nectar from tropical flowers, all of which require distinctive wing designs......»»
Nigeria"s last elephants: What must be done to save them?
Nigeria has a unique elephant population, made up of both forest-dwelling (Loxodonta cyclotis) and savanna-dwelling (Loxodonta africana) elephant species. But the animals are facing unprecedented threats to their survival. In about 30 years, Nigeria'.....»»
How researchers can maximize biological insights using animal-tracking devices
Biologgers allow us to see with unprecedented precision how animals move and behave in the wild. But that's only part of the picture, according to a UC Santa Cruz ecologist renowned for using biologging data to tell a deeper story about the lives of.....»»
Algae-jellyfish relationship provides insight on immune health
Marine animals like jellyfish, corals and sea anemones often live with algae inside their cells in a symbiotic relationship. The animals give the algae nutrients and a place to live; in return, algae give the animals some of the food they make from s.....»»
Study finds comb jellies can reverse age
A new article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals the unprecedented ability for reverse development in a ctenophore, also called comb jelly. The findings suggest that life cycle plasticity in animals might be more com.....»»
These hornets break down alcohol so fast that they can’t get drunk
"No signs of intoxication or illness, even after chronically consuming huge amounts of alcohol." Many animals, including humans, have developed a taste for alcohol in some form, b.....»»
COVID lessons learned? UN summit mulls plan for healthy planet, and humans
The COVID-19 and Ebola outbreaks brought into stark relief the harms that can come to humans if we interfere too much with nature, placing ourselves in contact with animals carrying unknown pathogens......»»
Invisible anatomy in the fruit fly uterus: New discoveries could have implications for fertility and pest control
You have likely not spent much time thinking about the uterus of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. But then, neither have most scientists, even though Drosophila is one of the most thoroughly studied lab animals. Now a team of biologists at the.....»»
When things get tight: How does the embryo in rapeseed react to mechanical constraints?
In 2021, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for elucidating the biology of mechanosensors. These discoveries revealed how mechanical forces generated by touch influence tissue differentiation and morphogenesis in animals and humans.....»»
Move along moose: Study reveals the "most Canadian" animals
What is the "most Canadian" animal? Spoiler: it's not the beaver, or the moose. Published in the journal The Canadian Field-Naturalist, the study from a team of Simon Fraser University researchers ranks, for the first time ever, species of terrestria.....»»
Scientists explore privilege and consequences of recreation for people and wildlife
Recreation is a luxury, and people aren't the only animals that recreate. Species great and small have a penchant for play, but the ability to recreate depends on resources. Colorado State University Professor Joel Berger and Yellowstone researcher K.....»»
This might be the secret that unlocks real-life human hibernation
One way that animals like bears deal with food scarcity, especially during winter, is to hibernate. This allows them to conserve their energy by slowing … The post This might be the secret that unlocks real-life human hibernation appeared first.....»»
Dolphins sense military sonar at much lower levels than regulators predict, study shows
For the first time ever, a team including several UC Santa Cruz scientists have directly measured the behavioral responses of some of the most common marine mammals to military sonar. And the finding that surprised them most was that these animals we.....»»
"Paleo-robots" provide an experimental approach for understanding how fish started to walk on land
The transition from water to land is one of the most significant events in the history of life on Earth. Now, a team of roboticists, paleontologists and biologists is using robots to study how the ancestors of modern land animals transitioned from sw.....»»
Right whale population grows 4% but extinction remains a threat
One of the rarest species of whale in the world has increased slightly in population, encouraging conservationists to call on the federal government and the shipping and fishing industries to do more to bring the giant animals back from the brink of.....»»
Wild animals can also experience trauma and adversity: Ecologists create an index to track the effects
Psychologists know that childhood trauma, or the experience of harmful or adverse events, can have lasting repercussions on the health and well-being of people well into adulthood. But while the consequences of early adversity have been well research.....»»
Owners" belief in horse emotion is linked to healthier animals, new study shows
Researchers have shown that owners who believe in their horses' emotions and treat them with care, have animals that are significantly healthier and better looked after. In many low and middle-income countries (LMICs), working horses are essential to.....»»
Microbiome studies in humans and zoo animals pave the way for new drug development
Microorganisms do not just colonize the body of mammals during infections. Billions of microbes can be found on and in healthy humans and animals at any given time, communicating with each other via chemical signals and thus influencing their health......»»
Humans have near-equal numbers of male and female babies, unlike many other animals—a new genetic study looks for clues
We know that boys and girls are produced in much the same frequency. But how—and why—is this 1:1 ratio achieved?.....»»