Vampire bats feed exclusively on blood, a mode of feeding unique amongst mammals. It has therefore been long suspected that vampire bats have highly specific evolutionary adaptations, which would be documented in their genome, and most likely also have an unusual microbiome, the community of micro-organisms assembled in their digestive tract which may help with...
The starry sky shows nocturnal animals the way
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Nocturnal animals can use the stars and the Milky Way to find their way during the darkest hours....
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Illegal global trade of pangolins
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Animal traffickers are taking advantage of remote ivory trade routes to smuggle pangolins – one of the world's most endangered animals – out of Central Africa, a new study has found....
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Evolutionary origin of termite gut microbiome revealed
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Researchers have shown that the bacterial communities in termite guts came about through both inheritance and transfer between colonies....
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New treatment strategies for chronic kidney disease from the animal kingdom
The field of biomimetics offers an innovative approach to solving human problems by imitating strategies found in nature. Medical research could also benefit from biomimetics, as a group of international experts from various fields, including a wildlife veterinarian and wildlife ecologists from Vetmeduni Vienna, point out using the example of chronic kidney disease. In future...
High levels of microplastics found in Northwest Atlantic fish
A new study sheds light on the magnitude of microplastic pollution in our oceans. The study, published today in open-access journal Frontiers in Marine Science, found microplastics in the stomachs of nearly three out of every four mesopelagic fish caught in the Northwest Atlantic -- one of the highest levels globally. These findings are worrying,...