https://phys.org/biology-news/biology-other en-us The latest news on biology, natural sciences, environment Farmers are used to growing crops and producing other goods, but a new study led by Penn State researchers suggests the social media platform TikTok may help them cultivate something new: empathy around the issue of climate change. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-tiktok-farmers-cultivate-empathy-climate.html Other Agriculture Thu, 05 Oct 2023 11:37:04 EDT news615724621 The UK government is facing calls to crack down on the backyard breeders of XL bully dogs, and even to cull the breed, following a string of horrifying attacks. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-uk-urged-tackle-killer-xl.html Other Thu, 05 Oct 2023 08:24:00 EDT news615713036 A study on social media activity during the Black Summer bushfires has revealed how the discussions changed through the phases of the disaster, and how critical social media is in disseminating information during natural disasters. The study was published in Forest Ecology and Management. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-bushfire-tweets-reveal-role-social.html Ecology Other Mon, 02 Oct 2023 13:14:03 EDT news615471241 Every person hosts trillions of microorganisms, like bacteria and viruses, on their skin and in organs including those that make up the digestive tract, like their mouth, that collectively make up their microbiome. Microbiome research can lead to medical breakthroughs to treat diseases like inflammatory bowel syndrome and diabetes. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-qa-indigenous-community-first-approach-ethical.html Cell & Microbiology Other Thu, 28 Sep 2023 16:10:50 EDT news615136245 The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a fast-growing "financial portfolio" within the larger illegal, violent, parallel transnational global economy. As such, it creates state-level security and development risks, especially in source countries. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-endangered-wildlife-aml-law-coverage.html Ecology Other Tue, 26 Sep 2023 09:22:04 EDT news614938921 Tokitae the orca has come home. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-ashes-orca-tokitae-home-death.html Plants & Animals Other Fri, 22 Sep 2023 14:10:05 EDT news614610601 Lolita, the orca who lived in a tank at the Miami Seaquarium from her capture in 1970 in waters off Washington state to her death 53 years later in August, will be honored in a homecoming Saturday. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-lolita-orca-ashes-home-traditional.html Plants & Animals Other Thu, 21 Sep 2023 14:59:02 EDT news614527141 No longer limited to the realm of science fiction, bio-computing is here, so now is the time to start considering how to research and apply this technology responsibly, an international group of experts says. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-brain-dish-moral-rights.html Biotechnology Other Tue, 19 Sep 2023 16:04:48 EDT news614358283 Recent publication of OIST research findings in the journal Integrative Organismal Biology likely marks the first use of Uchinaaguchi, the indigenous Okinawan language, in a scientific research publication. OIST researchers and staff translated an abstract of the paper entitled, "Parallel and Divergent Morphological Adaptations Underlying the Evolution of Jumping Ability in Ants" into this endangered language. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-ants-uchinaaguchi.html Plants & Animals Other Thu, 14 Sep 2023 16:10:07 EDT news613926601 Human activities can drastically alter the nutrient balance in ecosystems, causing long-lasting problems for wildlife. Coastal oligotrophication, the process by which a coastal ecosystem becomes progressively less enriched with nutrients over time, is a problem that is becoming increasingly important. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-surveying-combat-nutrient-depletion-large.html Ecology Other Wed, 13 Sep 2023 16:22:32 EDT news613840948 Burkina Faso, Benin and Niger share a biosphere reserve known as the WAP complex (W-Arly-Pendjari), which spreads across the borders of the three countries. The first part of this 3 million hectare Unesco world heritage site was declared in 1996 and it was extended in 2002. It's intended to protect species that are highly threatened in the region, including elephants and cheetahs, as well as important wetlands. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-jihadist-groups-threaten-key-west.html Ecology Other Wed, 13 Sep 2023 13:40:01 EDT news613830577 An Oregon State University-led collaboration of ecologists and art historians has demonstrated that landscape paintings from more than 150 years ago can advance environmental science. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-art-science-merge-19th-century-landscape.html Ecology Other Tue, 12 Sep 2023 12:23:15 EDT news613740190 The British scientist who led the team that created Dolly the sheep, a breakthrough in cloning, has died at the age of 79, his former university said on Monday. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-scientist-team-dolly-cloned-sheep.html Other Mon, 11 Sep 2023 12:01:54 EDT news613652511 The smell of sawdust and popcorn fills the air. The clowns, acrobats and magicians are all in place. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-german-circus-animals-holograms.html Other Sun, 10 Sep 2023 08:44:29 EDT news613554260 Twice as many people (16%) say they have a closer relationship with their trees than with their neighbors (7%), according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-people-trees-neighbors-survey.html Ecology Other Tue, 29 Aug 2023 13:47:15 EDT news612535633 At a time of nature crisis driven by unparalleled rates of biodiversity loss, a new interconnected system to monitor biodiversity around the world is urgently needed to direct and focus conservation action. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-global-observatory-earth-biodiversity.html Ecology Other Fri, 25 Aug 2023 02:14:13 EDT news612148450 In the age of the selfie taking photos of yourself has become an everyday occurrence. Half of all teenagers regularly post selfies. Driven by social media algorithms, many of us now flock to natural places for the best selfie background. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-trampling-art-life-selfies-nature.html Ecology Other Wed, 23 Aug 2023 14:09:04 EDT news612018542 In 1772, Joseph Banks commissioned the foremost painter of animals in England, George Stubbs, to paint a dingo and a kangaroo. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-unfamiliar-european-australian-animals-alien.html Plants & Animals Other Mon, 21 Aug 2023 13:43:03 EDT news611844182 A schooner set sail Tuesday from the south coast of England to train and inspire a new generation of naturalists by retracing the voyage taken by a young Charles Darwin nearly 200 years ago that led to his theory of evolution. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-ship-england-retrace-charles-darwin.html Other Tue, 15 Aug 2023 16:02:49 EDT news611334163 In October 2022, Elon Musk purchased Twitter (recently renamed X), which had previously served as the leading social media platform for environmental discourse. Since then, reports a team of researchers in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution on August 15, there has been a mass exodus of environmental users on the platform—a phenomenon that could have serious implications for public communication surrounding topics like biodiversity, climate change, and natural disaster recovery. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-environmentalists-abandoned-twitter-musk-takeover.html Other Tue, 15 Aug 2023 11:04:07 EDT news611316243 Spending time in a garden is good for you. It doesn't matter if you're watering plants or simply chilling on a deck chair—there's a whole range of benefits that come with it. These include improved health and well-being, reduced mental fatigue and better sleep quality. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-ways-nature-garden.html Ecology Other Mon, 14 Aug 2023 10:30:01 EDT news611226571 We may not pay invertebrates much thought, but they're the workhorses of all ecosystems. Insects and other invertebrates do essential jobs such as pollinating plants, improving soils and controlling pests. They're also food for many larger animals, which moves nutrients up the food chain. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-australia-extraordinary-alpine-insects-marooned.html Ecology Other Mon, 14 Aug 2023 10:20:01 EDT news611225940 Forensic researchers at UT Knoxville's famous Anthropological Research Facility, popularly known as the "Body Farm," have made headlines for decades in their discoveries of what happens to human bodies after death. Now, a multidisciplinary team—engineers, soil scientists, and biologists—digs in with them for a deeper look at what happens to the soil underneath a decomposing body. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-interdisciplinary-team-decomposition-effects-soil.html Other Fri, 11 Aug 2023 14:32:57 EDT news610983171 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