FLORA FAUNA

5,060 articles

Scientists identify earliest protein necessary for cell division
Jan 30, 2017 (UPI)
The centriole, a tiny paddle wheel-like structure at the nucleus of animal cells, is central to the mechanics of cell division. And new research suggests a prot...
How insects decide to grow up
Jan 27, 2017 (SPX)
Like humans, insects go through puberty. The process is known as metamorphosis. Examples include caterpillars turning into butterflies and maggots turning into ...
From tiny phytoplankton to massive tuna
Jan 24, 2017 (SPX)
Phytoplankton are the foundation of ocean life, providing the energy that supports nearly all marine species. Levels of phytoplankton in an ocean area may seem ...
TSRI scientists create first stable semisynthetic organism
Jan 24, 2017 (SPX)
Life's genetic code has only ever contained four natural bases. These bases pair up to form two "base pairs" - the rungs of the DNA ladder - and they have simpl...
Snap, digest, respire
Jan 24, 2017 (SPX)
The Venus flytrap captures insects for more than just nutritional purposes: A research team lead by Prof. Dr. Heinz Rennenberg and Lukas Fasbender from the Inst...
Insects and umami receptors
Jan 24, 2017 (SPX)
Insects, like mammals including humans, sort chemicals by taste into a few categories and use this information to decide whether to ingest or reject food. Unive...
In African 'fairy circles,' a template for nature's many patterns
Jan 24, 2017 (SPX)
Be it the Mima mounds of Washington state or the famous "fairy circles" of Namibia in southwestern Africa, people are captivated by the regular patterns of plan...
The skin cure fad threatening Myanmar's elephants
Jan 21, 2017 (AFP)
Under the shadow of Myanmar's famed "Golden Rock" punters haggle for the latest traditional medicine cure -- slices of skin from the country's fast disappearing...
Humans, not climate, killed off Australia's big beasts
Jan 20, 2017 (AFP)
Humans exterminated an array of weird and wonderful Australian creatures within only 4,000 years of arriving on the continent, according to a study published Fr...
Interpol opens new front in war against wildlife crimes
Jan 20, 2017 (AFP)
International police body Interpol announced a new project Friday that will identify and dismantle origanised crime networks between Africa and Asia that have d...
How ants navigate homeward - forward, backward, or sideward
Jan 20, 2017 (SPX)
An international team including researchers at the university of Edinburgh and Antoine Wystrach of the Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CNRS/Universite Toul...
Limpets repair their damaged shells with biological materials
Jan 19, 2017 (UPI)
Limpets can make their damaged shells good as new using biological materials derived from within. When David Taylor, a professor of materials engineering at Tri...
Moving up the food chain can beat being on top
Jan 18, 2017 (SPX)
When it comes to predators, the biggest mouths may not take the biggest bite. According to a new study from bioscientists at Rice University, some predators hav...
Myanmar's 'smiling' Irrawaddy dolphins on brink of extinction
Jan 17, 2017 (AFP)
Tears fill Maung Lay's eyes as he describes losing the dolphin he knew since his childhood, the latest casualty of a battle against pollution and electrofishing...
Central Asia ready to be repopulated with tigers, new study says
Jan 17, 2017 (UPI)
New research suggests the time is near to reintroduce tigers to Central Asia. The stately predators haven't roamed the region since the mid-1960s when they were...
How to be winner in the game of evolution
Jan 17, 2017 (SPX)
A new study by University of Arizona biologists helps explain why different groups of animals differ dramatically in their number of species, and how this is re...
Hundreds protest against elephant trade in Tanzania
Jan 14, 2017 (AFP)
Around 500 people, half from the Chinese community, protested in Dar es Salaam on Saturday to call for the protection of elephants against poachers. The so-call...
Deciphering the beetle exoskeleton with nanomechanics
Jan 13, 2017 (SPX)
What can a beetle tell us about good design principles? Quite a lot, actually. Many insects and crustaceans possess hard, armor-like exoskeletons that, in theor...
Researchers quantify viper strike with high-speed video
Jan 13, 2017 (UPI)
A research team led by scientists at the University of California, Riverside quantified a rattlesnake's strike using high-speed video. In a study published in t...
US lists a bee as endangered for the first time
Jan 12, 2017 (AFP)
The United States placed a bee on the endangered species list for the first time, after the rusty patched bumblebee's population declined sharply due to pestici...
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