Tardigrades, also known as water bears and moss piglets, are small invertebrate animals that are found in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats throughout the Earth. These tiny creatures have the remarkable ability to survive extremes including very low temperatures, high levels of radiation and exposure to chemicals that are harmful …
Read More »New Freshwater Crocodile Species Found in New Guinea
Scientists had known that New Guinea was home to a unique species of crocodile since the New Guinea crocodile (Crocodylus novaeguineae) was officially described in 1928, but since then, they have wondered if the island was actually home to two separate species, one in the north and one in the …
Read More »New Species of Microscopic Worm Has Three Sexes, Lives in Arsenic-Rich Lake
An international team of biologists has isolated eight species of nematodes from the arsenic-rich sediments of Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierras of California. One species, temporarily dubbed Auanema sp., is new to science, culturable, has three different sexes, carries its young inside its body like a kangaroo, and can …
Read More »Pet Cats Really Bond with Their Owners, Says New Study
Domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) form attachments with their owners that are similar to the bonds formed by children and dogs with their caretakers, a new study from Oregon State University shows. Pet cats show a similar capacity for the formation of secure and insecure attachments towards human caregivers previously …
Read More »Scientists Disprove Popular Theory of How DNA Binds Itself
DNA is constructed of two strands, consisting of sugar molecules and phosphate groups. Between these two strands are nitrogen bases, the compounds which make up genes, with hydrogen bonds between them. Until now, it was thought that those hydrogen bonds were what held the two strands together. But a new …
Read More »Biologists Find Striking Similarities between Human and Archaeal Chromosomes
The similar clustering of DNA in the chromosomes of humans and Archaea is significant because certain genes activate or deactivate based upon how they’re folded, according to a paper published in the journal Cell. Sulfolobus sp.: each cell is outlined in red; the DNA is stained blue. Image credit: Stephen …
Read More »Two New Giant Salamander Species Identified
A team of researchers from the United Kingdom, Canada and China has discovered there are not just one but three distinct species of Chinese giant salamanders. One of these species, Andrias sligoi, is possibly the world’s biggest amphibian. Wild Chinese giant salamander. Image credit: Ben Tapley, Zoological Society of London. …
Read More »Bacterial Communities Produce Compounds for Scent Marking in Cats: Study
Smelly organic compounds from male cats are actually made not by the animals, but by bacteria living in their anal sacs, according to new research reported in the journal PLoS ONE. Yamaguchi et al examined the fermentation hypothesis by characterizing volatile organic compounds and bacteria isolated from anal sac secretions …
Read More »Two New Species of Electric Eels Discovered
The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) has long been assumed to be one species, but an international team of scientists has now discovered there are actually three separate ones. Electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) at the New England Aquarium, Boston. Image credit: Steven G. Johnson / CC BY-SA 3.0. The electric eel …
Read More »Building Blocks of Bird Vocalizations Resemble Those of Human Languages, Study Finds
Human languages are comprised of meaningful words, which themselves are built from different combinations of meaningless sounds, or building blocks. A new study shows that a pair of functionally distinct vocalizations (calls) of the chestnut-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps), a highly cooperative bird of the Australian arid zone, is composed of …
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