Evolution

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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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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Research Indentifies Bone Tumor in 120,000-Year-Old Neandertal Rib
06/07/2013 - 17:55

The first-known definitive case of a benign bone tumor has been discovered in the rib of a young Neandertal who lived about 120,000 years ago in what is now present-day Croatia. The bone fragment, which comes from the famous archaeological cave site of Krapina, contains by far the earliest bone tumor ever identified in the archaeological record.

 

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Modern dragons endangered - The relentless Exploitation of Asian Giant Lizards revealed
06/03/2013 - 09:38

A new study reveals that SE-Asian monitor lizards representing the worlds’ largest lizards are being harvested (in spite of existing legislation) and traded for their skins and as pets in imperceptible volumes – and much of this trade is illegal. Germany plays a major role in the international trade with live reptiles.

 

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