The western Canadian Arctic's natural underwater soundscape has been shielded from the din of commercial shipping by the sea ice that covers the area, rendering it mostly inaccessible to shipping vessels. But with large amounts of ice shrinking in the Arctic Ocean, a growing number of ships are gaining access to the area. This trend...
Saber-toothed cats with oral injuries ate softer foods
Saber-toothed cats with oral injuries ate softer foods than their uninjured counterparts, who may have provided injured cats with soft scraps.
Indianapolis, IN, USA: Saber-toothed cats, the large felid predators that once roamed Southern California, may have eaten softer foods after suffering oral injuries, according to a new study. Microscopic damage patterns on teeth from fossilized...
Bioluminescent substance discovered in Brazilian cave worm larva
An insect larva found in the caves of Intervales State Park, an Atlantic Rainforest remnant in the municipality of Ribeirão Grande, São Paulo State, Brazil, was initially of no interest to the research group led by biochemist Vadim Viviani, a professor at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in Sorocaba. The researchers are investigating...
How invading jumping genes are thwarted
Since Carnegie Institution's Barbara McClintock received her Nobel Prize on her discovery of jumping genes in 1983, we have learned that almost half of our DNA is made up of jumping genes -- called transposons. Given their ability of jumping around the genome in developing sperm and egg cells, their invasion triggers DNA damage and...
High exposure to radio frequency radiation associated with cancer in male rats
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) concluded there is clear evidence that male rats exposed to high levels of radio frequency radiation (RFR) like that used in 2G and 3G cell phones developed cancerous heart tumors, according to final reports released today. There was also some evidence of tumors in the brain and adrenal gland of...
Bee diversity and richness decline as anthropogenic activity increases, scientists confirm
Changes in land use negatively affect bee species richness and diversity, and cause major shifts in species composition, reports a recent study of native wild bees, conducted at the Sierra de Quila Flora and Fauna Protection Area and its influence zone in Mexico.
Having registered a total of 14,054 individual bees representing 160 species, 52 genera,...