SciGlow | All Science News In One Place
SciGlow is a newsletter of science stories from the major research labs. Headlines link to in-depth articles and editorials. SciGlow keeps scientists and others up-to-date on current research.
Arapaima gigas is a big fish in a bigger river full of piranhas, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy meal. The freshwater giant has evolved armor-like scales that can deform, but do not tear or crack, when a piranha – which has one of the animal kingdom’s most powerful bites – attacks. Researchers from UC San … Read more
Imagine an organism that has no biological constraints and can thus maximize all aspects of its fitness simultaneously. Any deviation from this perfect form will result in an “imperfect” and less fit organism under certain environments. The perfect organism, “Darwin’s Demon”, would eventually outcompete any actual, “imperfect” organism that is constrained during evolution. The ubiquity … Read more
GPS tracking data reveals that the foraging activity of the European nightjar more than doubles during moon-lit nights, and the birds then migrate simultaneously about 10 days after the full moon, according to a study published October 15 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Gabriel Norevik and Anders Hedenström of Lund University in Sweden, and colleagues. … Read more
A harpsichord concert has the power of transporting you to a dream dimension. During a conference dinner in Brazil in 2014, right before playing, the harpsichordist lectured us on “the music of the spheres.” This ancient Greek theory proposes a relationship between planet orbits and musical harmony. Art and philosophy, in harmony, made my mind … Read more
Reproduction and migration are the two most demanding tasks in a bird’s life, and the vast majority of species separate them into different times of the year. Only two bird species have been shown to undertake what scientists call “itinerant breeding”: nesting in one area, migrating to another region, and nesting again there within the … Read more
Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) are asking the public to help investigate a phenomenon that’s killing Australia’s iconic snow gums. Dr Matthew Brookhouse says very little is known about ‘snow gum dieback’, despite it being widespread throughout the Australian Alps. “Snow gums are an iconic part of the Australian Alps – they’re the … Read more
Warmer temperatures linked to climate change are having a big impact on the breeding habits of one of Australia’s most recognisable bird species, according to researchers at The Australian National University (ANU). The study looked at the breeding season of superb fairy-wrens living in the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra. The research was led … Read more
Animals are able to attach simple ratings to complex objects in their environment to guide behavior. For example, humans can easily tell whether they like a wine or not, which will influence their future choices in the wine store. Similarly, animals can tell whether a complex odor is good or bad in order to decide … Read more
In animals, infections are fought by the immune system. Studies on an unusual virus infecting wild koalas, by a team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Queensland, reveal a new form of “genome immunity.” The study appears October 10 in the journal Cell. Retroviruses, including pathogens like HIV, incorporate … Read more
Biologists at Johns Hopkins University have uncovered an important clue in the longtime mystery of how long strands of DNA fold up to squeeze into microscopic cells, with each pair of chromosomes aligned to ensure perfect development. By studying flies, the researchers solved the riddle of how chromosomes meet: coming together like buttons on a … Read more