The former coalfield of Geiseltal in eastern Germany has yielded large numbers of exceptionally preserved fossil animals, giving palaeontologists a unique window into the evolution of mammals 47 million years ago. At that time—the middle Eocene—the Earth was much...
A new study in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution suggests that birds have two alternative strategies for coping with the difficulties of humanity's increasingly chaotic cities—either by having large brains or through more frequent breeding.
Surviving in cities is so difficult that...
Unlocking the full potential of cannabis for agriculture and human health will require a co-ordinated scientific effort to assemble and map the cannabis genome, says a just-published international study led by University of Saskatchewan researchers.
In a major statistical analysis...
When cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar was shot dead in 1993, the four hippos he brought to his private zoo in Colombia were left behind in a pond on his ranch. Since then, their numbers have grown to an estimated...
Many frogs look like a water balloon with legs, but don't be fooled. Beneath slick skin, some species sport spines, spikes and other skeletal secrets.
While most frogs share a simple skull shape with a smooth surface, others have evolved...
Revealing yet another super-power in the skillful squid, scientists have discovered that squid massively edit their own genetic instructions not only within the nucleus of their neurons, but also within the axon—the long, slender neural projections that transmit electrical...
The next time you eat sashimi, nigiri or other forms of raw fish, consider doing a quick check for worms.
A new study led by the University of Washington finds dramatic increases in the abundance of a worm that can...
Not one, but TWO new species of the rarely seen six-gilled sawsharks have been found in the West Indian Ocean by an international team of marine scientists.
The newly discovered Pliotrema kajae and Pliotrema annae - affectionately known as Kaja's and Anna's six-gill sawsharks—were...
A bird study led by the Australian National University (ANU) provides new understanding of the ways birds and mammals respond to a rapidly warming world.
The researchers say the findings offer insights into the pressures wild populations must manage in order to...
Experts have stressed an urgent need to find alternatives to wormers and anti-ectoparasitic products used widely on cattle, following the findings of a study just published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
Researchers from the University of Sussex looked at a body...
Chronic exposure to microplastic fibers causes aneurysms, erosion of surface layers and other serious damage to fish gills, and increases egg production in female fish, a sign that chemicals in the fibers may be acting as endocrine disruptors, a...
