An Aedes albopictus female mosquito feeds on a human blood meal. Photo by James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Image source: Science News A mosquito may not attack you with the same ferocity of a bear, but the mosquito attack is far more likely to occur. Further drawing […]
Two Araguaian botos swimming together. Photo credit: Gabriel Melo Alves dos Santos Seven years ago, Gabriel Melo Alves dos Santos happened upon a remarkable sight: a rare and highly reclusive Amazonian river dolphin, the Araguaian river dolphin, gathering in numbers at a marketplace along the Tocantins River in the Amazonian […]
Image: A Pf bacteriophage invades a mammalian cell. Credit: Dr.Paul L. Bollyky, et al. For the first time ever, a bacteria has been found to weaponize its own virus to attack humans. A common bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces a virus that makes the bacteria itself significantly more pathogenic. The virus […]
Man’s deadliest enemy. Photo: Joel Sartore, National Geographic After the floods, famines and forced migrations that global warming is predicted to bring about, the spread of mosquitoes may seem like adding insult to injury. Mosquitoes, however, remain our deadliest animal adversary, killing an estimated 100 million humans worldwide. But it […]
Sir Freddie. Photo credit: Walker family Potential fathers who truly struggle with their decision to start a family can now delay that decision by decades. Biologists in Sydney, Australia, recently thawed out sheep semen samples taken in 1968 and used it to impregnate Merino ewes. Out of 56 ewes inseminated, […]
Stormtropis musica. Photo credit: Carlos Perafan. The stormtroopers have arrived. Six new species of bald-legged spiders were discovered in Colombia, by Drs Carlos Perafan and Fernando Perez-Miles of the Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay and William Galvis of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Four of the species did not fit […]
An innovative new sperm sorting procedure offers the possibility of improved success rates for in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF is a costly procedure without guaranteed success. Women under 35 have only a 21.5 percent chance of a full-term live birth from a single round of IVF. At an average of […]
Image: The butterfly European Skipper (Thymelicus lineola), photo by Ole Martin. A group from Aarhus University, Denmark discovered that insects leave DNA traces on the plants that they visit. Their discovery opens up a whole new way of identifying insect-plant interactions, tracking pollinators – especially endangered ones, and managing pest […]
Photo credit: Dr. Zhanqi Chen Birds don’t do it, bees don’t do it, even educated fleas don’t do it. When it comes to babies drinking milk, breastfeeding probably comes to mind. If you’re Australian, or well versed in biology, you might also think of marsupials (which, although they produce milk, should you […]