Public Library of Science
Robots learn to share, validating Hamilton's rule (w/ video)
Using simple robots to simulate genetic evolution over hundreds of generations, Swiss scientists provide quantitative proof of kin selection and shed light on one of the most enduring puzzles in biology: Why ...
May 03, 2011 |
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Mixed bacterial communities evolve to share resources, not compete
New research shows how bacteria evolve to increase ecosystem functioning by recycling each other's waste. The study provides some of the first evidence for how interactions between species shape evolution when there is a ...
May 15, 2012 |
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Whale population size, dynamics determined based on ancient DNA
Estimates of whale population size based on genetics versus historical records diverge greatly, making it difficult to fully understand the ecological implications of the large-scale commercial whaling of the 19th and early ...
May 09, 2012 |
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Is a new form of life really so alien?
The idea of discovering a new form of life has not only excited astronomers and astrobiologists for decades, but also the wider public. The notion that we are the only example of a successful life form in the galaxy has, ...
May 08, 2012 |
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Female cowbirds prefer less intense male courtship displays
In most species, females prefer the most intense courtship display males can muster, but a new study finds that female cowbirds actually prefer less intense displays. The full results are published May 2 in the open access ...
May 03, 2012 |
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Finding the roots and early branches of the tree of life
A study published in PLoS Computational Biology maps the development of life-sustaining chemistry to the history of early life. Researchers Rogier Braakman and Eric Smith of the Santa Fe Institute traced the six methods of car ...
Apr 19, 2012 |
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Meat eating led to earlier weaning, helped humans spread across globe
When early humans became carnivores, their higher-quality diet allowed mothers to wean babies earlier and have more children, with potentially profound effects on population dynamics and the course of human evolution, according ...
Apr 18, 2012 |
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Deep sequencing reveals undeclared, potentially toxic ingredients within 15 samples of traditional Chinese medicines
Researchers at Murdoch University have used new DNA sequencing technology to reveal the animal and plant composition of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Some of the TCM samples tested contained potentially ...
Apr 12, 2012 |
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Why letting salmon escape could benefit bears and fishers
New research suggests that allowing more Pacific salmon to spawn in coastal streams will not only benefit the natural environment, including grizzly bears, but could also lead to more salmon in the ocean and ...
Apr 10, 2012 |
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How social contact with sick ants protects their nestmates
In a research article published April 3 in the online, open-access journal PLoS Biology, Prof. Sylvia Cremer and colleagues at the Institute of Science and Technology, Austria show how micro-infections promot ...
Apr 03, 2012 |
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Baboons, infants show similar gesturing behavior, suggesting shared communication systems
Both human infants and baboons have a stronger preference for using their right hand to gesture than for a simple grasping task, supporting the hypothesis that language development, which is lateralized in the left part of ...
Mar 21, 2012 |
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Crocodilians bite with the best
Crocodiles can kill with the strongest bite force measured for any living animal, according to a report published Mar. 14 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.
Mar 14, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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Ants can learn vibrational and magnetic landmarks
(PhysOrg.com) -- Foraging desert ants always find their way back to the nest, even when it is only marked by a magnetic cue, vibration, or carbon dioxide.
Mar 07, 2012 |
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When dying, bacteria share some characteristics with higher organisms
Do bacteria, like higher organisms, have a built-in program that tells them when to die? The process of apoptosis, or cell death, is an important part of normal animal development. In a new study published March 6 in the ...
Mar 06, 2012 |
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Chimp populations show great genetic diversity, with implications for conservation
Chimpanzee populations living in close proximity are substantially more different genetically than humans living on different continents, according to a study published in PLoS Genetics. Research conducted by sci ...
Mar 01, 2012 |
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