Bowhead whales still harmed from whaling that ended a century ago
Commercial bowhead whaling ended in the early 20th century, but the industry’s lasting effects on the whales’ genetic diversity are leading to declines again
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Category: Biology
Alpacas are the only mammals known to directly inseminate the uterus
When alpacas mate, males deposit sperm directly into the uterus, a reproductive strategy not confirmed in any other mammals
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Traces of bird flu are showing up in cow milk. Here’s what to know
We asked the experts: Should people be worried? Pasteurization and the H5N1 virus’s route to infection suggests risks to people remains low.
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Wasps use face-recognition brain cells to identify each other
The neurons in wasp brains that help them recognise hive mates are similar to those in the brains of primates, including humans
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Noise pollution can harm birds even before they hatch
Exposing zebra finch eggs and hatchlings to traffic sounds had lifelong health impacts, raising concerns about increased anthropogenic noise.
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Rat cells grew in mice brains, and helped sniff out cookies
When implanted into mouse embryos, stem cells from rats grew into forebrains and structures that handle smells.
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Modern rose hybrids have a worrying lack of genetic diversity
Intensive breeding since the 19th century has created thousands of varieties of rose, but a reduction in genetic diversity could leave them vulnerable to diseases and climate change
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Culling predatory starfish conserves coral on the Great Barrier Reef
Targeted culling of crown-of-thorns starfish has resulted in parts of the Great Barrier Reef maintaining and even increasing coral cover, leading researchers to call for the programme to be dramatically scaled up
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Huge genetic study redraws the tree of life for flowering plants
Using genomic data from more than 9500 species, biologists have mapped the evolutionary relationships between flowering plants
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A vaccine for bees has an unexpected effect
Honeybees vaccinated against a bacterial disease were also protected from a viral disease.
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Huge dinosaur footprints belonged to one of the largest raptors ever
A set of large, distinctive footprints suggest a raptor dinosaur that lived in East Asia 96 million years ago grew to a length of 5 metres
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Exquisite fossils of Cretaceous shark solve mystery of how it hunted
Six full-body fossils of Ptychodus sharks have been formally analysed for the first time, revealing that they were fast swimmers that preyed on shelled creatures
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Glowing octocorals have been around for at least 540 million years
Genetic and fossil analyses shine a light on how long the invertebrates have had bioluminescence — a trait thought to be volatile.
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Plant ‘time bombs’ highlight how sneaky invasive species can be
Sycamore maples and some other plant invaders lurked for centuries before starting to choke out native ecosystems and species.
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Some scientists say insects are conscious – it doesn’t settle anything
A group of around 40 scientists signed a declaration calling for formal acknowledgement of consciousness in a range of animals, including insects and fish – but the evidence is still lacking
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Nocturnal ants use polarised moonlight to find their way home
An Australian bull ant is the first animal known to use the patterns produced by polarised moonlight to navigate its environment
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