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Dogs can be a potential risk for future influenza pandemic

Dogs are a potential reservoir for a future influenza pandemic, according to a study published in the journal mBio. The study demonstrated that influenza virus can jump from pigs into canines and that influenza is becoming increasingly diverse in canines.

"The majority of pandemics have been associated with pigs as an intermediate host between avian viruses...

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Bright warning colors on poison dart frogs also act as camouflage

Poison dart frogs are well known for their deadly toxins and bright colours, which have made them a classic example of warning coloration.

The Dyeing Dart Frog, for example, is highly toxic and warns its predators with a bright yellow-and-black pattern.

However, new research led by scientists at the University of Bristol has revealed that the colour...

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Pacific rats trace 2,000 years of human impact on island ecosystems

Chemical analysis of the remains of rats from archaeological sites spanning the last 2000 years on three Polynesian island systems has shown the impact that humans have had on local environments. The analysis by an international team of scientists allowed the researchers to reconstruct the rats' diets -- and through them the changes made by...

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Rare aquatic beetles: Species distribution models guide field surveys

University of Wyoming researchers are shedding light on a rare aquatic beetle native only to central Wyoming.

Lusha Tronstad, lead invertebrate zoologist with the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, a service and research unit housed at UW, says the narrow-footed Hygrotus diving beetle has been petitioned for Endangered Species Act listing three times in the past 11...

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