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In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a research group led by Prof. Du Weiguo from the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed that the transcription factor pSTAT3 initiates the female pathway in temperature-dependent sex determination.

Islands drive language change and generate language diversity in similar ways to how they drive species diversity, according to research from The Australian National University (ANU) that analyzed languages from over 13,000 inhabited islands. The research is published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Neighbors can be annoying. They may be loud or intrude on your space. But is it worth fighting with them? Parrotfish choose not to.

While there is no denying 'survival of the fittest' still reigns supreme in the animal kingdom, a new study shows being smartest—or at least smarter—is pretty important, too.

Termites have a bad reputation. Most think of them as pests, a status that isn't helped by their recent reclassification into the cockroach family.

Bats are considered a natural pesticide, widely relied on by farmers as an alternative to chemical pesticides to protect their crops from insects. But since 2006, many bat populations have collapsed in counties in North America due to an invasive fungus found in the caves bats use during the day and throughout winter that causes what is known as White-Nose Syndrome.

Northern elephant seals were repeatedly captured on camera in the deep Pacific Ocean using sonar from an Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) observatory as a dinner bell to forage for their next fish feast, according to a new study led by University of Victoria researchers.

A novel pesticide thought to be a potential successor to banned neonicotinoids caused 100% mortality in mason bees in a recent test. The novel pesticide, flupyradifurone, is thought to pose less risk to pollinators and, consequently, has been licensed globally for use on bee-visited crops.

As darkness falls, the nocturnal half of the animal kingdom starts its day. Nocturnal species are perfectly adapted to navigate and survive the dark of night that has existed for countless millions of years.

With carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere increasing in recent decades, there is a growing urgency to find strategies for capturing and holding carbon.

Earthworms, insects and mites are all at risk from soil pollution, and scientists are worried that we know very little about the damage it's causing.

Dozens of viruses have been detected mixing in animals at fur farms in China, some of which are new and have the potential to spill over into humans, researchers said Wednesday.

A diverse and abundant flower planting that provides flowers in bloom all season may be more important to bees and other pollinators than whatever is surrounding the flower garden, according to a study published September 4, 2024 in PLoS ONE by Devon Eldridge from the University of Tennessee, US, and colleagues.

Biologists originally classified the lesser and greater prairie chickens of the Great Plains as two different species. Difficult to distinguish by their physical appearance alone, some scientists have wondered for decades if these grouse consist of only one species.

Some of the butterflies most in danger of fluttering out of existence fare better when their habitats are actively managed by humans, a recent study found.

As North America heats up due to climate change, animals are responding in three primary ways: moving north, heading to higher elevations and making phenological changes—adjusting annual cycles such as when they breed.

A team of virologists with the U.K.'s Animal and Plant Health Agency, working with colleagues from the British Antarctic Survey, the KEMH Pathology and Food, Water & Environmental Laboratory, and the Department of Agriculture, both in the Falkland Islands, has found that the global spread of the H5N1 avian influenza virus has made its way to multiple bird species in Antarctica.

Photosynthesis can take place in nature even at extremely low light levels. This is the result of an international study that investigated the development of Arctic microalgae at the end of the polar night. The measurements were carried out as part of the MOSAiC expedition at 88° northern latitude and revealed that even this far north, microalgae can build up biomass through photosynthesis as...

A recent study in one of the most pristine spawning grounds for a Minnesota fish has found a half-century gap between successful broods, and that number's climbing.

A recent study has provided the most comprehensive estimate to date of infertility rates in a threatened wild animal species. Using 10 years of data, researchers from the University of Sheffield, the Zoological Society of London, and the University of Auckland, New Zealand, have uncovered critical insights into the reproductive challenges faced by the endangered hihi, a rare songbird native to New Zealand.

Ferruginous Hawks (Buteo regalis) that spend their winters in California seem to be going up in number, yet their preferred grassland habitat has been declining for over 20 years. Most other grassland bird species are, sadly, doing the expected: plummeting in tandem with the open areas that used to define much more of western North America.

The naming of a new species of pāua further highlights the importance of biodiversity research in Aotearoa. Described in a study led by the University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the species, Haliotis pirimoana, is only found at Manawatāwhi Three Kings Islands, off the northern North Island.

Who killed the pregnant porbeagle? In a marine science version of the game Cluedo, researchers from the US have now accused a larger shark, with its deciduous triangular teeth, in the open sea southwest of Bermuda. This scientific whodunnit is published in Frontiers in Marine Science.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is responsible worldwide for the spread of infectious diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. To combat the widely transmitted diseases affecting millions, detailed mosquito distribution maps with data on the spatial and temporal spread of populations are of major importance.