Biology

Jan 28th, 2025 - Baby shark Yoko hatched in early January, flummoxing staff and experts at a US aquarium Birds do it, bees do it. Even educated fleas do it, according to Cole Porter's classic song on the universal nature of sex. But a baby swell shark born in a Louisiana aquarium that houses only females has flummoxed marine experts and raised the possibility that the species may not require such earthly pleasures to produce offspring. Yoko, the swell shark pup, hatched on 3 January after an egg was spotted by ... [Read More]

Jan 28th, 2025 - As preparation for my upcoming series of interviews for Newsweek with the protagonists and practitioners of AI, I have been consuming a plethora of sources that examine the nature and origin of human intelligence and the intersection with machine intelligence in the past, present and (posited) future. I have been particularly struck by two books: Genesis , by Eric Schmidt , Craig Munie and Henry Kissinger (yes, that Henry Kissinger) that does an impressive job of outlining the ... [Read More]

Jan 28th, 2025 - Glaciers worldwide are shrinking due to rising temperatures, reshaping landscapes and posing serious challenges for the organisms that inhabit them. Yet in the lofty reaches of the Andes Mountains, a wild relative of the llama is helping new life take root in areas newly exposed by ice retreat.  By depositing substantial piles of dung, vicuñas are speeding up plant colonization on freshly deglaciated terrain, a process that would otherwise take more than a century. This fascinating ... [Read More]

Jan 28th, 2025 - Microbes supporting the production of more metabolic energy could be key to the evolution of large brains. This is based on a study that shows how gut microbes from different animal species shape variations in their biology. In particular, the research offers new take on human evolution , especially in relation to the evolution of our large brains. This is based on animal studies, which showed how mice with large-brain primate microbes eat more, but grow slower and put on less body fat. ... [Read More]

Jan 28th, 2025 - , where migrating humpback whales and mega pods of dolphins swim past for most of the year, Costa Rica's wildlife abounds in every element. Whether you have a year or a week, remember that it will be impossible to see all the animals this country shelters, but our guide will help you get started while supporting ethical tour companies and national parks. . Their lethargy is a consequence of their entirely leaf-based diet, which takes up to two weeks to digest. As plants give very little energy, ... [Read More]

Jan 27th, 2025 - Rediscovered 45-million-year-old skull turns out to be a large, extinct bird species Around 45 million years ago, during the Eocene Epoch, the Geiseltal region of present-day Germany was a vast, humid swamp that teemed with life. Ancient horses, early tapirs, giant tortoises, large land crocodiles, and countless birds flourished in this tropical paradise. Among these creatures roamed Diatryma , a massive, flightless bird that stood 4.6 feet (1.40 meters) tall. With its robust frame ... [Read More]

Jan 27th, 2025 - Spiders, their venom and their silk pose many unsolved questions for science. A new study provides clues to better understand these eight-legged creatures. Bioscientists at Trier University have succeeded in revealing the complete blueprint of three unusual spiders: the yellow sac spider (the only venomous spider in Germany), the feather-legged lace weaver (one of the few spiders without venom glands) and a mesothela (lived before the dinosaurs). The research results, in Molecular Ecology ... [Read More]

Jan 27th, 2025 - For decades, the question of where dinosaurs came from has fascinated scientists and the public alike. Fossils unearthed in Argentina, Brazil, and Zimbabwe have helped us paint a picture of the early days of their ancient world. However, a new study now suggests we might be searching in the wrong places for their earliest ancestors. According to the paper published in Current Biology , the first dinosaurs may have emerged in the hot, dry lowlands of ancient Gondwana—areas that today ... [Read More]

Jan 27th, 2025 - In the worldwide push to reduce carbon emissions, land-based mitigation strategies (LBMS) – such as planting forests and growing biofuels – are an increasingly popular solution.  However, a new study cautions that while these efforts can help tackle climate change , they may also threaten wildlife if not implemented with care. Overall, the study finds that restoring forests has the most positive effect on biodiversity, but warns of unintended consequences from other approaches. ... [Read More]

Jan 27th, 2025 - Life is tough as an alpha male — if you're a baboon. In the savannas of Kenya, where the sun beats down on the golden grasses and acacia trees, male baboons live in a world of constant competition. To rise to the top of the social ladder is to gain access to mates, food, and status. But a new study reveals that this coveted position comes at a steep cost. Alpha male baboons, it turns out, pay a heavy price for their dominance — one that may shorten their lives. For decades, ... [Read More]

Jan 27th, 2025 - Massive whale sharks, the gentle giants of the ocean, are engaging in unexpected behavior. According to a new study, whale sharks use oil platforms as migratory stopover sites during their expansive journeys across the globe. These spotted behemoths don't just randomly cruise the seas – they follow a network of natural and human-made structures that dot their underwater highways. These observations come from a long-term tracking study conducted by Ben D'Antonio and his colleagues at the ... [Read More]

Jan 27th, 2025 - Horseshoe crabs are often referred to as the "living fossils" of our planet—the four known species, including three in Asia and one in North America, remain nearly identical to their ancient relatives from hundreds of millions of years ago. These arthropods are a fundamental building block of coastal marine ecosystems. Their eggs, for example, serve as a major food source for shorebirds, some of which have evolved to time their migrations to coincide with peak horseshoe crab spawning ... [Read More]

Jan 26th, 2025 - Three young scientists set traps to capture and film species of special concern in move that can help conserve the shrew In a 7,000ft-high marshy spot in the cold, rugged eastern Sierra mountains, two groups of mammals scurried around at night. One was going about their normal nocturnal routine of hunting worms. The other was hoping for a glimpse of an elusive creature: the Mount Lyell shrew, the only known California mammal never photographed alive. The three young student scientists faced a ... [Read More]

Jan 26th, 2025 - Murray crayfish once thrived in the southern Murray-Darling Basin. The species was found everywhere from the headwaters of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers in the Australian Alps all the way down to Wellington in South Australia. For thousands of years, First Nations people managed harvesting sustainably. But crayfish stocks crashed after European settlement. This was partly due to commercial and recreational harvest, which began in the late 1860s. At its peak in 1955, 15 tonnes of Murray ... [Read More]

Jan 25th, 2025 - University of Cambridge research suggests living collections have collectively reached peak capacity Botanic gardens around the world are failing to conserve the rarest and most threatened species growing in their living collections because they are running out of space, according to research from the University of Cambridge. Researchers analysed a century's worth of records from 50 botanic gardens and arboreta, collectively growing half-a-million plants, to see how the world's living plant ... [Read More]

Jan 25th, 2025 - Greater mouse-eared bat was declared extinct in the UK but ecologists now believe population recovery is possible For 21 long winters, Britain's loneliest bat hibernated alone in a disused railway tunnel in Sussex. The male greater mouse-eared bat ( Myotis myotis ) was the only known individual of his kind in the country after he was discovered in 2002 – a decade after the rare species was officially declared extinct. But the elderly bat could finally find a mate if only he returns to his ... [Read More]