Biology

Mar 7th, 2025 - America's butterflies are disappearing because of insecticides, climate change and habitat loss, with the number of the winged beauties down 22% since 2000, a new study finds. The first countrywide systematic analysis of butterfly abundance found that the number of butterflies in the Lower 48 states has been falling on average 1.3% a year since the turn of the century, with 114 species showing significant declines and only nine increasing, according to a study in Thursday's journal Science. ... [Read More]

Mar 7th, 2025 - From a groundbreaking find to a global disaster. This is how one species and human error endangered amphibians everywhere. The African clawed frog is an evolutionary marvel — an entirely aquatic species with powerful hind legs, flattened bodies, and an ability to regenerate damaged tissue. It's native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it thrives in murky ponds and stagnant pools, and can withstand extreme drought by burrowing into mud and entering a state of suspended animation. But that's not ... [Read More]

Mar 6th, 2025 - An extensive, decades-long analysis tracking endangered caribou populations has revealed that migration patterns are eroding in both distance and duration. Researchers attribute this decline largely to human-caused habitat disturbances rather than shifts in climate.  The work, led by Dr. Clayton Lamb of University of British Columbia (UBC), emphasizes the urgency of safeguarding caribou habitats and their time-honored migratory routes. "Western science and Indigenous knowledge recognize ... [Read More]

Mar 6th, 2025 - MIAMI — Mosquitoes might be the bane of a summer barbecue in Kendall or a stroll on Miami Beach, but researchers in Florida are now also looking at the insects' more obscure targets — and how even a tiny, orange-flapped lizard could play a role in protecting our health. While itchy bumps might make us feel like mosquitoes solely target humans, most of the world's 3,600 mosquito species don't specifically target humans — and the ones known in Florida bite humans, birds, ... [Read More]

Mar 6th, 2025 - The timing of biological events in nature is crucial for survival. Flowers bloom in spring, cicadas mate in summer, and caterpillars hatch to feed on their host plants. However, extreme weather can disrupt this natural schedule – known as phenology – upsetting the delicate balance of ecosystems. Climate change and nature's timing Phenology is closely tied to seasonal patterns, but climate change is interfering with nature's timing and causing shifts in how organisms interact. A ... [Read More]

Mar 6th, 2025 - Trump Cuts May Leave More Elephants and Rhinos Vulnerable to Poachers Frozen funds for protective patrols "is maddening, heartbreaking and very illegal." This story was originally published b y  the Guardian a nd is reproduced here as part of the  Climate Desk   collaboration . Environmentalists have urged the  Trump administration  to reverse its decision to cut off funding for key  conservation  work aimed at saving iconic at-risk species, including ... [Read More]

Mar 6th, 2025 - A recent study offers a clearer picture of which amphibians and habitats face the greatest threat from rising temperatures.  Amphibians are notably fragile in a warming world due to their dependence on external sources to regulate body heat, with more than 40% of species already classified as endangered. As entire populations vanish, the ripple effects throughout ecosystems could be devastating. "We wanted to better understand the risk climate change poses to amphibians, and so put ... [Read More]

Mar 5th, 2025 - Colossal Biosciences has taken a massive step forward in its quest to revive the woolly mammoth by creating a genetically engineered woolly mouse. The new offshoot of the species looks just like any other mouse but has long, thick, and woolly hair—just like the ancient woolly mammoth that once roamed the Earth. Colossal says that its scientists have edited seven genes in mouse embryos so far, allowing for the creation of this new, long-haired mouse. The results have been shared online, ... [Read More]

Mar 4th, 2025 - QUICK FACTS ABOUT SNAKES Where they live: Every continent except Antarctica What they eat: Other animals, ranging from insects and eggs to large mammals How big they are: Can range from 4 inches (10 centimeters) to over 30 feet (9 meters) There are about 4,000 different snake species in the world today. They occupy a wide range of habitats — some dwell underground while others live high in the canopies of trees, and many spend their entire lives on the ground. Some even spend a ... [Read More]

Mar 4th, 2025 - In a first for science, researchers have created mice that share the traits of the extinct woolly mammoth. American biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences, which is behind the breakthrough, used a genome editing technique known as CRISPR to create what they've called the 'Colossal Woolly Mouse'. Rather than miniature mammoths, these are mice whose DNA has been engineered to express mammoth traits. In other words, they look well-adapted for life in a chilly place. The unpublished research, ... [Read More]

Mar 4th, 2025 - A known treasure trove of Early Cretaceous fossils has turned up a never-before-seen species of scorpion that lived around 125 million years ago. The venomous scorpion was larger than many ancient — and modern — scorpion species. Researchers believe it would've been a key species in the food chain, gobbling up spiders, lizards and even small mammals that lived in its ancient ecosystem. It is just the fourth terrestrial scorpion fossil to be found in China and the first Mesozoic-era ... [Read More]

Mar 4th, 2025 - Colossal Biosciences, a US biotech start-up, has announced the birth of what it calls a "woolly mouse" – the world's first animal genetically altered to express key genes from a woolly mammoth. The company says the luxuriously haired rodents are living proof that it's making progress in its mission to resurrect the woolly mammoth from extinction within a matter of years. To make the mice, scientists used the latest genetic technologies to introduce eight simultaneous edits to the genomes ... [Read More]

Mar 4th, 2025 - Researchers at University of Exeter warn many of the hunted species are important crop pollinators Invasive Asian hornets are eating hundreds of different species of insects in Europe , including many which are important pollinators, researchers have warned. The findings, from tests of the guts of more than 1,500 larvae, raise new concerns over the "extra threat" the hornet poses to native insects already under pressure from farming, changes in land use and chemical pollution. The study also ... [Read More]

Mar 4th, 2025 - When sea otters returned to islands along Southern California and British Columbia, researchers saw kelp forests revive. These forests had been wiped out by unchecked sea urchin populations. However, the speed of recovery varied by location, leaving scientists searching for answers. A new study from CU Boulder sheds light on this puzzle. It confirms that sea otters, a keystone species, help kelp forests grow back, but their impact depends on interactions with other marine species. The ... [Read More]

Mar 4th, 2025 - By The biotech company Colossal Biosciences has long aspired to bring back the extinct woolly mammoth, which roamed the Northern Hemisphere thousands of years ago, during the last ice age. But for now, as a step along the way, the company has come up with something decidedly less mammoth: meet the woolly mouse. On Tuesday Colossal announced this lab-born animal, which features shaggy, mammothlike fur and has cold-adapted traits such as the way in which it stores and burns fat. Researchers ... [Read More]

Mar 4th, 2025 - With most targeted changes not mammoth-specific, the focus is on gene editing. On Tuesday, the team behind the plan to bring mammoth-like animals back to the tundra announced the creation of what it is calling wooly mice, which have long fur reminiscent of the woolly mammoth. The long fur was created through the simultaneous editing of as many as seven genes, all with a known connection to hair growth, color, and/or texture. But don't think that this is a sort of mouse-mammoth hybrid. Most of ... [Read More]