https://phys.org/biology-news/biology-other en-us The latest news on biology, natural sciences, environment Researchers from Loughborough University discovered that athletes who lose weight during these events, which often last days and cover hundreds of miles, show significant adaptation of cognitive function to promote foraging ability. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-evolutionary-evidence-ultra-marathon-runners.html Other Wed, 02 Aug 2023 10:45:28 EDT news610191925 There's a debate among insect-cognition researchers, but the two camps have been arguing for so many decades that many onlookers are no longer sure what they are arguing about. SFI Postdoctoral Fellow Kelle Dhein, a philosopher and historian, has published a paper in Studies in History and Philosophy of Science clarifying the debate, with lessons for philosophers, historians, and scientists alike. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-unraveling-debate-insect-cognition.html Plants & Animals Other Wed, 19 Jul 2023 15:10:01 EDT news608997383 From recurring harmful algal blooms—including brown tides—to catastrophic seagrass losses, fish kills and unusual marine mammal deaths—including the threatened Florida manatee—the Indian River Lagoon is environmentally distressed. For decades, water managers, policy makers and environmental activists have implicated fertilizer use as the primary contributing source responsible for about 71 percent of these impairments in the lagoon. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-sewage-fertilizer-fueling-nitrogen-surge.html Ecology Other Tue, 18 Jul 2023 10:31:20 EDT news608895074 According to a new study led by the University of Turku in Finland, internet searches indicate a growing prevalence of various biophobias across the world. Countries with larger urban populations show interest in a broader range of nature-related phobias, supporting the idea that urban living may be linked with fear and disgust towards nature. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-online-prevalence-nature-related-phobias-urban.html Ecology Other Thu, 13 Jul 2023 16:15:03 EDT news608483698 For the first time, researchers have developed a model to estimate how much energy the original colonizers of New Zealand expended to maintain their body temperatures on the cold, harrowing ocean journey from Southeast Asia. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-larger-body-sizes-colonizers-zealand.html Other Thu, 13 Jul 2023 05:41:27 EDT news608445678 Many Americans can trace some lines of their family tree back to the 1600s. However, African Americans descended from enslaved Africans, who began arriving in North America in 1619, lack ancestral information spanning several centuries. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-centuries-identity-lost-slavery.html Biotechnology Other Thu, 06 Jul 2023 11:00:01 EDT news607842703 Flies which feast on blood—such as tsetse and horse flies—inflict painful bites and spread debilitating diseases among people and animals alike. So a lot of work has gone into designing the most efficient traps to control the populations of these flies. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-flies-blue-trapsresearchers-ai.html Other Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 05 Jul 2023 12:07:45 EDT news607777660 You might be old enough to remember the famous "Where's the Beef?" Wendy's commercials. This question may be asked in a different context since U.S. regulators approved the sale of lab-grown chicken meat made from cultivated cells in June 2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-lab-grown-meat-techniques-society-demand.html Biotechnology Other Tue, 27 Jun 2023 11:18:44 EDT news607083517 Have you spotted a swarm of flying insects emerging from a wall? Or noticed a buzzing noise coming from inside the house? https://phys.org/news/2023-06-bees-colonized-walls-house.html Ecology Other Fri, 09 Jun 2023 13:30:01 EDT news605535753 A new study led by researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Middlebury Institute of International Studies' Center for the Blue Economy finds that sea otters attract recreational visitors to Elkhorn Slough, generating more than $3 million in revenues to local communities annually. Published in the Journal of Coastal and Ocean Economics, the study assessed the economic value provided by recreational visitors traveling to Elkhorn Slough, a central California estuary where people can enjoy kayaking, hiking, fishing, and other recreational activities. Researchers revealed that the opportunity to view sea otters is a major reason for people appreciating their visit to the slough, and this correlated with the financial value visitors placed on protecting the area and sea otters. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-wild-sea-otters-generate-millions.html Plants & Animals Other Wed, 07 Jun 2023 16:29:25 EDT news605374156 New research, undertaken by an interdisciplinary team of Stanford Law and Stanford Medicine students, looks at the overlap between biomedical research paper authors and those authors who go on to be named inventors of their research on patents. Among the findings is a gender discrepancy between male and female authors, with male authors receiving patents more frequently. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-gap-male-female-author-inventors-inventor.html Biotechnology Other Wed, 07 Jun 2023 10:32:22 EDT news605352739 U.S. biologists Jeffrey Gordon, Peter Greenberg and Bonnie Bassler won Spain's Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research for 2023 on Wednesday. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-biologists-spanish-asturias-award-scientific.html Other Wed, 07 Jun 2023 09:41:52 EDT news605349710 Visiting zoos in silence can generate a range of novel experiences, helping people to connect to animals in a more intimate way and giving visits more gravitas, according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-silent-zoo-generate-perspectives-animals.html Plants & Animals Other Tue, 30 May 2023 15:32:51 EDT news604679569 Searches for sustainable bioenergy and climate change solutions may be one in the same, according to a West Virginia University researcher. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-holy-grail-sustainable-bioenergy.html Other Fri, 19 May 2023 12:45:20 EDT news603719113 Survivors of close calls with death often recall extraordinary experiences: seeing light at the end of a tunnel, floating outside their own bodies, encountering deceased loved ones or recapping major life events in an instant. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-life-eyes-death.html Other Mon, 01 May 2023 16:30:26 EDT news602177418 A barrage of messages from social media influencers, along with other online blogs and articles, have claimed that farmed salmon are bad for you because the fish are fed dyes to turn their flesh red. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-colour-farmed-salmon-adding-antioxidant.html Other Thu, 16 Mar 2023 09:58:50 EDT news598179524 When it comes to venturing into and enjoying nature, forests are the people's top choice—at least in Denmark. This is also reflected in the sales prices of properties with private forest. But beyond earnings potential, this first study of its kind, conducted by the University of Copenhagen, puts a price tag on the so-called amenity value of Danish private forests. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-price-tag-amenity-private-forests.html Ecology Other Thu, 02 Mar 2023 16:28:04 EST news596996881 There are reasons to assume that not only humans but also some non-human species of animal have conscious perception. Which species have consciousness and how the subjective experience of various species could differ is being investigated by Professor Albert Newen and Ph.D. student Leonard Dung from the Institute for Philosophy II at Ruhr University Bochum. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-consciousness-animals.html Plants & Animals Other Thu, 02 Mar 2023 16:22:03 EST news596996521 Citrus, caramelized sugar, vinegary, puckering, sour, and solvent. These are just a handful of the 33 terms that researchers in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences found after conducting a sensory descriptive analysis of hard cider. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-tart-sour-sweet-hard-cider.html Other Agriculture Thu, 02 Mar 2023 15:07:03 EST news596992021 With recent reports suggesting there has been an increase in fatal dog attacks in the UK, it's clear the status quo isn't working. Records indicate that in an average year there would be three dog fatalities. But in 2022 there were nine. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-commentary-uk-mandatory-dog-owners.html Other Veterinary medicine Mon, 20 Feb 2023 13:30:04 EST news596122201 (Editor's note: This article contains minor spoilers for the Netflix series "Wednesday.") https://phys.org/news/2023-02-gruesome-fun-netflix-wednesday-realistic.html Plants & Animals Other Tue, 07 Feb 2023 13:20:01 EST news594998242 A new paper in Ornithological Applications reviews multiple ways in which the field of ornithology systemically excludes researchers and research from Latin America and the Caribbean, despite this region harboring the most bird species on Earth. The paper, signed by 124 ornithologists (including professional scientists, naturalists, park rangers, and technicians) from 19 countries, also explains what the field might do to start addressing the problems identified. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-latin-american-caribbean-colonialism-ornithology.html Other Tue, 07 Feb 2023 00:10:05 EST news594910560 Scotch whisky could be in for a revamp from a 200-year-old barley crop. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-year-old-barley-toast-modern-whisky.html Other Thu, 19 Jan 2023 13:25:31 EST news593357123 Campaigners have welcomed a decision to remove the skeleton of an 18th century man with gigantism from public display at a London museum. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-london-museum-irish-giant-display.html Other Wed, 18 Jan 2023 09:46:35 EST news593257590 A short biography of pioneering scientist Mary Anning, written in the final ten years of her life, has been made public for the very first time. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-biography-famous-paleontologist-mary-anning.html Other Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 11 Jan 2023 05:00:01 EST news592635176 Police investigating the murders of four University of Idaho students have said they used DNA to link evidence found at the crime scene to their suspect, 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-dna-profiling-idaho-student.html Other Mon, 09 Jan 2023 16:40:01 EST news592502886 Despite some hesitation about gene-edited foods, taste trumps everything, according to a Washington State University-led survey of U.S. consumers. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-consumers-gene-table-grapes.html Biotechnology Other Mon, 09 Jan 2023 07:48:19 EST news592472895 Before any physical conflict, people assess their opponent's features to determine if the ideal tactical response is to fight, flee or attempt to negotiate. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-sizing-competition-based-sensitivity-pain.html Evolution Other Tue, 03 Jan 2023 16:40:52 EST news591986448 Hibernation is a state adopted by certain mammals as an adaptation to adverse winter conditions. Typical features of hibernation include greatly reduced metabolic activity and lowered body temperature. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-successful-hypothermia-nonhuman-primate-paves.html Other Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 23 Dec 2022 12:20:17 EST news591020413 Just like a smartwatch can tell its wearer how many calories they consume during exercise, data from dolphin wearables can now be used to estimate how much energy dolphins use when they swim. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-trackers-dolphin.html Ecology Other Thu, 22 Dec 2022 15:40:04 EST news590946001