Category: 5. Biology

Birds-of-paradise are a family of small to medium-sized forest birds found in the New Guinea region. With their elaborate and colorful feathers, these birds are among the most beautiful creatures on Earth. In a new study, ornithologists from…

The metabolism of theanine — a unique non-proteinogenic amino acid — is a necessary biological process during the planting and production of tea (Camellia sinensis) that determines tea quality.

Blue whales and other baleen whales, which filter seawater through their mouths to feed on small marine life, once teemed in Earth’s oceans. In the 20th century, 1.5 million baleen whales were slaughtered in the southern hemisphere,…

An international team of researchers has analyzed the groans, moans, whistles, barks, shrieks and squeaks in humpback whale song recordings collected over eight years in New Caledonia.

The fatty membrane surrounding every living cell is a vibrant environment where countless biological processes take place. This membrane protects the cell from its surroundings and divides it into internal compartments; it is responsible for…

Cave-dwelling, orb-weaving spiders of the subfamily Metainae infected by Gibellula attenboroughii exhibit behavioral changes similar to those reported for zombie ants.

If you can wiggle your ears, you can use the auricular muscles, which helped our distant ancestors listen closely. These muscles helped change the shape of the pinna, or the shell of the ear, funneling sound to the eardrums. Millions of years…

Anyone who has dealt with ants in the kitchen knows that ants are highly social creatures; it’s rare to see one alone. Humans are social creatures too, even if some of us enjoy solitude. Ants and humans are also the only creatures in nature…

Why do asthma, heart attacks and many other health conditions tend to strike in the early hours of the morning? One possible explanation for this mysterious phenomenon has been discovered by researchers from Prof. Gad Asher’s laboratory at the…

Sudden oak death, caused by the pathogen Phythophthora ramorum, is one of the most ecologically devastating forest diseases in North America, responsible for the deaths of millions of oaks and tanoaks along the coast.

Science to the rescue?…