Yearly Archives: 2018

Competition between males improves resilience against climate change

Animal species with males who compete intensively for mates might be more resilient to the effects of climate change, according to research by Queen Mary University of London.

Moths exposed to increasing temperatures were found to produce more eggs and have better offspring survival when the population had more males competing for mating opportunities (three males...

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Bugged out by climate change

Step aside, charismatic polar bear stranded on a melting iceberg. The springtail may be the new flag bearer of an uncertain Arctic future.

New research from Washington University in St. Louis is tracking how the tiniest Arctic ambassadors are responding to the rapid warming occurring in this region.

Warmer summer and fall seasons and fewer winter freeze-thaw...

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Smooth dance moves confirm new bird-of-paradise species

Newly publicized audiovisuals support full species status for one of the dancing birds-of-paradise in New Guinea. This new species, called the Vogelkop Superb Bird-of-Paradise, is found only in the island's far-western Bird's Head, or Vogelkop, region. In a new paper published in the journal PeerJ, scientists "show and tell" half-a-dozen ways this form is distinct...

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More than 12,000 marine creatures uncovered during West Java deep-sea exploration

Despite a stormy start thanks to Cyclone Marcus, scientists who participated in the South Java Deep Sea Biodiversity Expedition 2018 (SJADES 2018) had collected more than 12,000 creatures during their 14-day voyage to survey the unexplored deep seas off the southern coast of West Java, Indonesia.

The expedition team, consisting 31 researchers and support staff, were...

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Can your dog predict an earthquake? Evidence is shaky, say researchers

For centuries people have claimed that strange behavior by their cats, dogs and even cows can predict an imminent earthquake, but the first rigorous analysis of the phenomenon concludes that there is no strong evidence behind the claim.

The paper published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America instead suggests that most of this...

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Of mice and disease: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria discovered in NYC house mice

A study by scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health finds New York City house mice carry bacteria responsible for mild to life-threatening gastroenteritis in people, and some of these bacteria may be resistant to antibiotics. Findings appear in the journal mBio.

The researchers collected 416...

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