Life is dependent on minerals. Accordingly, the diets of animals must contain certain minerals in both large amounts, via marcrominerals, and small amounts, via microminerals. In a thorough and wide-ranging review published in the Journal of Dairy Science®, Jesse Goff, DVM, PhD, professor and Anderson Chair in Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University, examined necessary...
Female hunting spiders do not respond to chemical signals given out by potential mates, preferring silk-wrapped food gifts instead
Unlike many other species, male hunting spiders do not use chemical signals such as sex pheromones to attract a mate. Instead, they make their mark by uniquely exploiting a female hunting spider's interest in food. Research led by Cristina Tuni of the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich in Germany now shows that male hunting spiders...
Biologists document the secondary extinction of a disease-carrying mosquito following rat eradication on Palmyra Atoll
The Asian tiger mosquito -- carrier of such diseases as dengue, yellow fever, Rift Valley fever, Chikungunya and Zika -- appears to have vanished from Palmyra.
Not native to the small atoll 1,000 miles south of Hawaii, Aedes albopict likely came to Palmyra during World War II, when the United States took it over as a...
Number of people killed by animals each year in the US remains unchanged
Bites, kicks, and stings from farm animals, bees, wasps, hornets, and dogs continue to represent the most danger to humans, according to a new study in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine
Philadelphia, February 28, 2018 -- A new study released in the latest issue of Wilderness & Environmental Medicine shows that animal encounters remain a considerable cause...
Species make comeback 30 years after rainforest devastation
Rainforest loss is fuelling a tsunami of tropical species extinctions. However, not all is doom and gloom.
A new study, conducted in the Brazilian Amazon, suggests that ecological cataclysms prompted by the fragmentation of the forest can be reverted by the regeneration of secondary forests, offering a beacon of hope for tropical forest biodiversity across the...
DNA study of cow stomachs could aid meat and dairy production
Meat and milk production from cattle could one day be boosted, thanks to analysis of microbes in cows' stomachs.
The study paves the way for research to understand which types of microbe -- such as bacteria -- are best at helping cattle to extract energy from their food, experts say.
It also identifies enzymes that are specialised...