Plants & Animals News

November 14, 2016

Keeping Our Balance: A Tale of Two Systems

Squirrels Stricken by Medieval Leprosy Strain

Dinosaurs' Rise Was 'More Gradual'

Skin Bacteria Protects Against Disease?

Latest Headlines

updated 6:10pm EST

Mostly Meat, High Protein Diet Linked to Heart Failure in Older Women

Nov. 14, 2016 — Women over the age of 50 who follow a high-protein diet could be at higher risk for heart failure, especially if much of their protein comes from meat, according to preliminary ... read more

Pest Control: Wicked Weeds May Be Agricultural Angels

Nov. 11, 2016 — Farmers looking to reduce reliance on pesticides, herbicides and other pest management tools may want to heed the advice of Cornell agricultural scientists: Let nature be nature – to a ... read more

Near-Death Experiences Investigating Complex Signals Behind Basic Cell Behavior

Nov. 11, 2016 — Cells are often likened to computers, running an operating system that receives signals, processes their input, and responds, according to ... read more

Mirroring a Drop in Emissions, Mercury in Tuna Also Declines

Nov. 10, 2016 — For years, public health experts have warned against eating certain kinds of fish, including tuna, that tend to accumulate mercury. Still, tuna consumption provides more mercury to U.S. consumers ... read more

Competitive Males Are a Blessing and a Curse, Study Reveals

Nov. 14, 2016 — Showy ornaments used by the male of the species in competition for mates, such as the long tail of a peacock or shaggy mane of a lion, could indicate a species' risk of decline in a changing climate, ... read more

Marijuana Use May Be Linked to Temporarily Weakened Heart Muscle

Nov. 13, 2016 — Active marijuana use may double the risk of stress cardiomyopathy, an uncommon heart muscle malfunction that can mimic heart attack symptoms, according to new ... read more

Enhanced Wheat Curl Mite Control Found in Genes

Nov. 9, 2016 — High winds are a major contributor to the spread of wheat curl mite–transmitted viral diseases in wheat. Cultural control is not very effective because the wind can spread ... read more

Plants Modulate Accumulation of Metabolites at Organ Level

Nov. 11, 2016 — Scientists have developed a computational metabolomic approach to measure metabolic diversity in different plant tissues, a new ... read more

People Who Know About Genetically Modified Food Agree With Science: They're Safe

Nov. 9, 2016 — People who know about genetically modified food agree with science, that they're safe. On the other hand, those who know plenty about global warming ... read more

Double Wonder of Worms: Clean Compost and Animal Feed from Waste

Nov. 9, 2016 — In North America, a whopping 30 to 40 per cent of our residential waste is organic -- biodegradable garbage that could be composted but is often sent to landfills. A new study shows that one method ... read more

Scientist Builds Device That Turns Urine Into Biogas

'World's Saddest Polar Bear' Gets A Break From Chinese Mall

As Delhi Chokes, Farmers Defend Scorched Earth Policy

Chile's Cold South Makes Wine in Warming Climate

Gut Bacteria May Be a Trigger for Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Nov. 13, 2016 — The gut microbiomes of patients with antiphospholipid syndrome show higher levels of phospholipid-producing bacteria, and this findings point to microbes being a trigger for this life-threatening ... read more

Protozoan Parasite Increases Risk of Colitis, Study Reveals

Nov. 11, 2016 — Mice infected with the common gut parasite Tritrichomonas muris are at an increased risk of developing inflammatory colitis, new research shows. These findings expand the type of gut-resident ... read more

Genomic Tools to Combat the Spread of the Invasive Asian Longhorned Beetle

Nov. 11, 2016 — The Asian longhorned beetle, also known as the starry sky beetle, is native to eastern Asia but has successfully invaded North America and Europe where it infests maple, birch, willow, elm, and ... read more

New Findings About the Deformed Wing Virus, a Major Factor in Honey Bee Colony Mortality

Nov. 11, 2016 — In recent years, massive losses of honey bee colonies have occurred during winter in Europe and North America. It could be shown that the Varroa mite and the deformed wing virus are the main factors ... read more

Ancient, Methane-Derived Carbon Discovered in Stoneflies

Nov. 10, 2016 — The first example of freshwater consumers using ancient methane-derived carbon has been revealed by researchers. This discovery represents the most extensive example of a methane-derived carbon ... read more

Predators Can Drive Increase in Virus Populations

Nov. 10, 2016 — The transparent belly of a tiny beast has revealed how algae-infecting chloroviruses bloom in freshwater around the world, says a new ... read more

Narwhal Echolocation Beams May Be the Most Directional of Any Species

Nov. 10, 2016 — Analysis of some of the first recordings of wintering narwhals showed that they may have the most directional sonar of any species. Understanding how these whales use sound could help predict impacts ... read more

Rising Carbon Dioxide Threatens Coral and People Who Use Reefs

Nov. 10, 2016 — As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise, very few coral reef ecosystems will be spared the impacts of ocean acidification or sea surface temperature rise, according to a new analysis. The damage ... read more

Remote Sensing Data Reveals Hundreds More Species at Risk of Extinction

Nov. 10, 2016 — Existing assessments of extinction risk would benefit from modern geospatial technologies, say scientists, who warn that there are hundreds more species who are at risk of extinction than is ... read more

Insect Vector Feeding Recognized by Machine Learning

Nov. 10, 2016 — Scientists have used machine learning algorithms to teach computers to recognize the insect feeding patterns involved in pathogen transmission. The study also uncovers plant traits that might lead to ... read more

Why Are We Ticklish? Rats Are Surprisingly Ticklish When Their Mood Is Right

Nov. 10, 2016 — Of all physical sensations, ticklishness is perhaps the most mysterious. Why do we laugh in response to tickling? Why are certain body parts more ticklish? Why can we not tickle ourselves? Indeed, ... read more

When Fish Come to School, Kids Get Hooked on Science

Nov. 10, 2016 — A program that brings live fish into K-12 classrooms to teach the fundamentals of biology not only helps students learn, but improves their attitudes about science, a study ... read more

DNA-Based Zika Vaccine Showed Protection from Infection, Brain Damage and Death

Nov. 10, 2016 — A new vaccination has generated a robust and protective antigen-specific antibody and T cell immune responses in preclinical animal models, report ... read more

Dinosaur Discovery Casts Light on Final Flurry of Animals' Evolution

Nov. 10, 2016 — A dinosaur fossil that almost went undiscovered is giving scientists valuable clues about a family of creatures that flourished just before the mass ... read more

How a Common Virus Triggers Blood Cancer

Nov. 10, 2016 — Scientists trying to uncover how the common Epstein-Barr virus causes blood cancer in adults and children, have discovered how the virus takes control of two genes involved in cancer development so ... read more

New Behavioral Variant in Wild Chimpanzees: Algae Fishing in Bakoun, Guinea

Nov. 10, 2016 — Chimpanzees routinely fish for algae during the dry season in Bakoun, Guinea, using long and robust sticks as a tool, researchers have ... read more

Support from Family, Friends Significantly Reduces Stress in Wild Chimpanzees

Nov. 10, 2016 — Support from family and friends significantly reduces stress in wild chimpanzees, both during conflicts with rival groups and during everyday affiliation, report ... read more

Genome of Black Blow Fly Mapped

Nov. 10, 2016 — Researchers have sequenced the genome of the black blow fly, an insect commonly found throughout the United States, southern Canada and parts of northern Europe. Black blow flies are active insects ... read more

Climate Change Already Dramatically Disrupting All Elements of Nature

Nov. 10, 2016 — Global changes in temperature due to human-induced climate change have already impacted every aspect of life on Earth from genes to entire ecosystems, with increasingly unpredictable consequences for ... read more

Why Do Seabirds Eat Plastic?

Nov. 10, 2016 — If it smells like food, and looks like food, it must be food, right? Not in the case of ocean-faring birds that are sometimes found with bellies full of plastic. But very little research examines why ... read more

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Gut bacteria may be a trigger for antiphospholipid syndrome

Friday, November 11, 2016

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Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Monday, November 7, 2016

Friday, November 4, 2016

Thursday, November 3, 2016