Posted by Tyler Quattlebaum in Creepy Crawlies, Science & Tech on 10 21st, 2008 | No Comments

How gay sex can produce offspring

Gay sex – in beetles, at least – gives males a chance to indirectly fertilise females they may never encounter directly. Homosexual copulations are common in insects, where they pose the same conundrum as in mammals: what evolutionary advantage, if any, might such apparently fruitless activity provide? Over...
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Posted by Tyler Quattlebaum in Culture, Dogs, Mammals, Sport on 10 1st, 2008 | No Comments

Iditarod Dog Athletic Supremacy Explained

Alaskan huskies that participate in the grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race must run 1,100 miles while enduring heavy blizzards, temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit and winds up to 60 miles per hour, all of which earn the hearty canines status as the world's premier ultra-endurance animal...
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Posted by Tyler Quattlebaum in Mammals, Science & Tech on 09 21st, 2008 | 1 Comment

Novel Anti-cancer Mechanism Found In Long-lived Rodents

Biologists at the University of Rochester have found that small-bodied rodents with long lifespans have evolved a previously unknown anti-cancer mechanism that appears to be different from any anticancer mechanisms employed by humans or other large mammals. Understanding this mechanism may help prevent...
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Posted by Tyler Quattlebaum in Birds, Creepy Crawlies, Mammals, Science & Tech, Underwater on 09 20th, 2008 | No Comments

Full Moon Energizes Birds

If the night sky seems less tranquil on nights when the moon is bright, the observation probably isn't imagined since a new study has determined that at least one bird's level of activity dramatically increases with moonlight. The finding adds to a growing body of evidence that lunar phases affect the...
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Posted by Tyler Quattlebaum in Mammals on 09 12th, 2008 | No Comments

Whale leap gives twitchers a surprise

The extremely rare photograph of the 50ft mammal was taken by wildlife enthusiast Ross Newham just two miles off the Isles of Scilly, near Cornwall. Mr Newham, 41, was on a bird watching trip when the whale leapt in front of his boat, providing him with the picture opportunity of a lifetime....
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Posted by Tyler Quattlebaum in Mammals, Science & Tech on 09 5th, 2008 | No Comments

Molecular Evolution Is Echoed In Bat Ears

Echolocation may have evolved more than once in bats, according to new research from the University of Bristol. Professor Gareth Jones of the University of Bristol and Dr Stephen Rossiter of Queen Mary University of London, in collaboration with colleagues from East China Normal University in Shanghai,...
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Posted by Tyler Quattlebaum in Mammals, Science & Tech on 08 28th, 2008 | No Comments

Bats Take Turns ‘Shutting Up’ When Flying in Groups

Bats are known, in part, for making an infernal racket that helps them navigate, but it turns out they may actually flap around in relative silence when traveling in groups. It's only for a microsecond, but the bats may actually take turns shutting up so they can listen to the leader and avoid the...
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Posted by Tyler Quattlebaum in Mammals on 08 27th, 2008 | No Comments

Why Wind Turbines Can Mean Death For Bats

Power-generating wind turbines have long been recognized as a potentially life-threatening hazard for birds. But at most wind facilities, bats actually die in much greater numbers. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology, a Cell Press journal, on August 26th think they know why. Ninety percent...
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Posted by Tyler Quattlebaum in Uncategorized on 08 22nd, 2008 | No Comments

Gorilla refuses to let go of her dead baby

A gorilla at a zoo in the German city of Muenster is refusing to let go of her dead baby's body several days after it died of unknown causes. The gorilla at a German zoo has been carrying around her dead baby since he died last week. Allwetter Zoo spokeswoman Ilona Zuehlke says the 3-month-old...
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Posted by Tyler Quattlebaum in Uncategorized on 08 19th, 2008 | No Comments

Wild dolphins tail-walk on water

A wild dolphin is apparently teaching other members of her group to walk on their tails, a behaviour usually seen only after training in captivity. The tail-walking group lives along the south Australian coast near Adelaide. One of them spent a short time after illness in a dolphinarium 20 years ago...
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