Vets stressed that no reliable scientific evidence currently existed to indicate autism in...
Hungry birds as climate change drives food 'mismatch'
Warmer springs create a "mismatch" where hungry chicks hatch too late to feast on abundant caterpillars, new research shows.
With continued spring warming expected due to climate change, scientists say hatching of forest birds will be "increasingly mismatched" with peaks in caterpillar numbers.
The researchers, from the RSPB and the universities of Exeter and Edinburgh, used data...
'Environmental DNA' used to identify killer whales in Puget Sound
When endangered killer whales swim through the sheltered waters of Puget Sound, they leave behind traces of "environmental DNA" that researchers can detect as much as two hours later, a new study has found.
The findings, published today in the journal Frontiers, are surprising and significant. They not only provide a new non-invasive way to study...
Five new blanket-hermit crab species described 130 years later from the Pacific
At the turn of the twentieth century, two independent marine scientists -- JR Henderson in 1888, and A Alcock in 1899, described two unusual blanket-hermit crabs from the Indo-West Pacific.
Unlike other hermit crabs, these extraordinary crustaceans do not search for empty shells to settle in for protection. Instead, they have developed a symbiotic relationship with...
Why freeloader baby-eating ants are welcomed to the colony
It might seem surprising that a colony of ants would tolerate the type of guests that gobble both their grub and their babies.
But new research shows there's likely a useful tradeoff to calmly accepting these parasite ants into the fold: They have weaponry that's effective against their host ants and a more menacing intruder ant....
Trichomonosis discovered amongst myna birds in Pakistan
A strain of the disease responsible for killing off nearly two thirds of the UK's greenfinches has been discovered in myna bird populations in Pakistan.
Mynas are native to the Indian subcontinent and are one of the world's most invasive species. Although the disease is not generally fatal to them, experts from the University of East...