News
Dragonflies can see a color humans can't and it could change medicine
1+ hour, 54+ min ago (486+ words) Human vision relies on proteins in the eye called opsins. These proteins allow us to perceive different colors. We have three main types, each tuned to blue, green, or red wavelengths, which together enable full color vision. Dragonflies stand out…...
The world's "oldest octopus" was never an octopus
2+ day, 4+ hour ago (724+ words) A well-known 300-million-year-old fossil once believed to be the oldest octopus ever discovered has been reclassified after new analysis revealed it is something entirely different. The specimen had even earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records, but scientists…...
These bizarre new tarantulas turn mating into a fight for survival
3+ day, 17+ hour ago (438+ words) Researchers have identified four previously unknown tarantula species in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, and they turned out to be far more unusual than expected. "Based on both morphological and molecular data, they are so distinct from…...
This simple design could save oyster reefs worldwide
3+ day, 23+ hour ago (605+ words) New research has revealed how to design artificial habitats that give oyster reefs the best chance to recover. The findings come from a detailed analysis of the natural shapes and structures of oyster reefs. Published in the journal Nature, the…...
Ocean species are disappearing before scientists can even find them
1+ week, 6+ day ago (367+ words) Species around the world are vanishing at an accelerating pace, driven by climate change, habitat destruction, and invasive species. Many lesser-known groups, including marine worms, are especially at risk, with some facing extinction before scientists have even identified them. Mapping…...
Scientists uncovered the nutrients bees were missing " Colonies surged 15-fold
2+ week, 1+ hour ago (555+ words) A team of researchers led by the University of Oxford has developed a breakthrough food supplement that could help reverse the alarming decline of honeybees. Working with Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the University of Greenwich, and the Technical University of…...
Freshwater fish populations plunge 81% as river migrations collapse
2+ week, 4+ hour ago (893+ words) Some of the longest and most essential animal migrations on Earth take place beneath the surface of rivers. A major new report from the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), a United Nations environmental treaty,…...
24 new deep-sea species found including a rare new branch of life
2+ week, 1+ day ago (788+ words) Scientists have identified 24 previously unknown deep-sea amphipod species -- including one entirely new superfamily -- in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the central Pacific Ocean. The findings, published March 24 in an open-access Zoo Keys special issue, represent a major step forward in…...
Beavers are turning rivers into powerful carbon sinks
2+ week, 4+ day ago (575+ words) Beavers may play an unexpected role in tackling climate change by transforming rivers into effective carbon dioxide sinks, according to a new international study led by researchers at the University of Birmingham. The results show that wetlands shaped by beavers…...
Scientists thought ravens followed wolves. They were wrong
3+ week, 4+ hour ago (555+ words) When a wolf pack brings down prey, ravens are often the first to show up. Even before wolves begin feeding, these birds gather nearby, ready to snatch any scraps that become available. Their timing has long seemed almost uncanny, leading…...