Biology

The rhythm of the Arctic summer
06/19/2013 - 07:36

Our internal circadian clock regulates daily life processes and is synchronized by external cues, the so-called Zeitgebers. The main cue is the light-dark cycle, whose strength is largely reduced in extreme habitats such as in the Arctic during the polar summer. Using a radiotelemetry system a team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology have now found, in four bird species in Alaska, different daily activity patterns ranging from strictly rhythmic to completely arrhythmic.

 

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Researchers Find Genetic Diversity Key to Survival of Honey Bee Colonies
06/17/2013 - 08:30

When it comes to honey bees, more mates is better. A new study from North Carolina State University, the University of Maryland and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that genetic diversity is key to survival in honey bee colonies – a colony is less likely to survive if its queen has had a limited number of mates.

 

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Resilience in trying times - a result of positive actions
06/13/2013 - 07:54

Communities that stick together and do good for others cope better with crises and are happier for it, according to a new study by John Helliwell, from the University of British Columbia in Canada, and colleagues¹. Their work suggests that part of the reason for this greater resilience is the fact that humans are more than simply social beings, they are so-called 'pro-social' beings. In other words, they get happiness not just from doing things with others, but from doing things both with and for others. The paper² is published online in Springer's Journal of Happiness Studies.

 

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Research Shows Male Guppies Reproduce Even After Death
06/12/2013 - 12:46

Performing experiments in a river in Trinidad, a team of evolutionary biologists has found that male guppies continue to reproduce for at least ten months after they die, living on as stored sperm in females, who have much longer lifespans (two years) than males (three-four months).

 

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Young zebra finches are able to learn their fathers’ song via their brothers
06/12/2013 - 08:14

The song of songbirds is usually transmitted from one generation to the next by imitation learning and is thought to be similar to the acquisition of human speech. Although song is often learnt from an adult model, there is some evidence of active vocal learning among siblings.

 

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The dangers of selfing: mutations, loss of diversity
06/11/2013 - 10:09

It's called self-fertilizing or "selfing" and, although it guarantees reproduction, a new study shows plants that practise this strategy face harmful mutations and possibly even extinction.

 

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