[unable to retrieve full-text content]A new discovery has deepened our understanding of the genetic mutations that arise in different tissues, and how these are inherited. Researchers found the rates of genetic mutations in mitochondrial DNA vary across differing tissue types, with the highest rate occurring in reproductive cells....
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Kicking an old can of worms — the origin of the head in annelids
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Researchers have described an exceptionally well-preserved new fossil species of bristle worm called Kootenayscolex barbarensis. Discovered from the 508-million-year-old Marble Canyon fossil site in the Burgess Shale in Kootenay National Park, the new species helps rewrite our understanding of the origin of the head in annelids, a highly diverse group of...
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Wild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from sound of disturbed Asian honey bees
[unable to retrieve full-text content]A new study using playbacks, has for the first time shown that Asian elephants in Sri Lanka are scared of honey bees, much like their African counterparts. The study showed that Asian elephants responded with alarm to the bee simulations. They also retreated significantly further away and vocalized more in response...
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A race against pine: Wood-boring wasp in North America threatened by a Eurasian invader
Invasive species have diverse impacts in different locations, including biodiversity loss, as a result of native species being outcompeted for similar resources. A U.S. research team, led by Dr. Ann Hajek, Cornell University, studied the case of an aggressive Eurasian woodwasp that has recently established in North America and poses a threat to a native...
Female cats are more likely to be right-handed, researchers discover
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Researchers have found that female cats are much more likely to use their right paw than males....
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Hunting dogs as possible vectors for the infectious disease tularaemia
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Tularaemia is an infectious bacterial disease that is life-threatening for rodents, rabbits and hares, but which can also infect humans and dogs. While contact with contaminated blood or meat makes hunters a high-risk group, the frequency of infections among hunting dogs has not been much studied. Researchers have now confirmed a...
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