http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The continental United States experienced the warmest spring on record this year, with temperatures far above the average over the past century, government scientists said Thursday. http://phys.org/news258304224.html Space & Earth Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:10:33 EST news258304224 The developed world's insatiable appetite for products like coffee and timber is threatening the survival of one in three vulnerable animal species in poor countries, according to an Australian study. http://phys.org/news258259324.html Biology Thu, 07 Jun 2012 03:42:31 EST news258259324 Besides the obvious differences between plants and animals, subtle ones lie concealed within the cell, even within the nucleus. In both plant and animal cells, the nucleus contains DNA, which condenses into chromosomes during cell division. Chromosomes can be counted at that stage, revealing the chromosome number for each species. Here comes a difference: while the chromosome number spans a relatively short range across animal species (2-296: 46 in man), some plant species have over 1000 chromosomes. The adder's-tongue Ophioglossum reticulatum, a fern ally from the tropics, has 1440 chromosomes in its vegetative cells. http://phys.org/news256899303.html Biology Tue, 22 May 2012 09:55:15 EST news256899303 Northwestern Europe harbors one of the best known biotas, thanks to the long faunistic and floristic traditions practiced there. However, some animal groups are far better known than others. The diversity of true flies there is fascinating, and undescribed species of flies, midges and gnats are not uncommon. Because Northwestern Europe was almost totally glaciated as recently as 10 000 years ago, endemic animal species of that region are generally lacking, or are exceptions. Hence, most NW European insects and other species have colonized the area following the withdrawal of ice. http://phys.org/news256555126.html Biology Fri, 18 May 2012 10:18:57 EST news256555126 Siemens is using a special water-treatment technique to make ship traffic more environmentally friendly. By disinfecting the ballast water in ships, a system named Sicure protects marine environments from damage due to the introduction of alien plant and animal species. In addition, Sicure can also process cooling water. This combination of features is unique worldwide. Siemens has now received full certification for Sicure from the International Maritime Organization (IMO). A new IMO guideline will require that all ocean-going ships be equipped with certified disinfecting equipment for sterilizing their ballast water. This regulation will mean that over 50,000 ships worldwide will have to be retrofitted in the near future. http://phys.org/news255941178.html Technology Fri, 11 May 2012 07:46:31 EST news255941178 An incredible 18,000 new plant and animal species are discovered each year. But this number is dwarfed by the estimated 10 million more species yet to be discovered. It sounds like an impossible task, but it could be achieved in less than 50 years according to scientists. http://phys.org/news254124106.html Biology Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:40:01 EST news254124106 In daily life we remember faces and voices of several known individuals. Similarly, mammals have been shown to remember calls and faces of known individuals after a number of years. Markus Boeckle and Thomas Bugnyar from the Department of Cognitive Biology of the University of Vienna show in their recent article, published in Current Biology, that ravens differentiate individuals based on familiarity. Additionally, they discovered that ravens memorize relationship valence and affiliation. http://phys.org/news254057962.html Biology Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:39:38 EST news254057962 Plant and animal species can lose their ability to adapt as a result of climate change. This is shown by research performed by Marleen Cobben with which she hopes to obtain her doctorate at Wageningen University on April 17, 2012. Cobben used computer calculations to illustrate how the genetic base of plants and animals is seriously deteriorating due to climate change. The smaller genetic base makes species more vulnerable to problems such as diseases. Moreover, the fragmentation of landscapes and the loss of wildlife areas is accelerating this decline. http://phys.org/news253791336.html Biology Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:00:01 EST news253791336 (PhysOrg.com) -- Climate scientists have discovered a new archive of historical sea temperatures. With the help of the skeleton of a sponge that belongs to the Monorhaphis chuni species and that lived in the East China Sea for 11,000 years, an international team around scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry were now able to show that the deep ocean temperature changed several times over the past millennia. As isotopic and elemental analyses showed, the sea water temperature in the vicinity of the sponge increased at least once from less than two degrees Celsius to six to ten degrees Celsius. These temperature changes were not previously known and are due to eruptions of seamounts. http://phys.org/news252832016.html Space & Earth Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:07:10 EST news252832016 (AP) -- An effort to free whales from SeaWorld by claiming they were enslaved made a splash in the news but flopped in court Wednesday. http://phys.org/news247985880.html Biology Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:10:01 EST news247985880 Mate competition by males over females is common in many animal species. During mating season male testosterone levels rise, resulting in an increase in aggressive behavior and masculine features. Male bonobos, however, invest much more into friendly relationships with females. Elevated testosterone and aggression levels would collide with this increased tendency towards forming pair-relationships. http://phys.org/news246544148.html Biology Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:29:48 EST news246544148 Development is squeezing animals into smaller pockets of land, and without sufficient planning and protection, individual animal populations could find themselves increasingly isolated. http://phys.org/news246272824.html Biology Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:40:02 EST news246272824 Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have discovered that planarians, tiny flatworms fabled for their regenerative powers, completely lack centrosomes, cellular structures that organize the network of microtubules that pulls chromosomes apart during cell division. http://phys.org/news244986059.html Biology Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:00:08 EST news244986059 Researchers have made a new discovery into the complex world of spiders that reflects what some might perceive as similar behavior in human society. As male wolf spiders go searching for a mate, it appears they eavesdrop, match and even try to outdo the mating dances of their successful rivals, a behavior seen mainly in vertebrate animals. http://phys.org/news244898133.html Biology Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:15:45 EST news244898133 Many of the animal species at risk of extinction in the United States have not made it onto the country's official Endangered Species Act (ESA) list, according to new research from the University of Adelaide. http://phys.org/news242917391.html Biology Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:03:19 EST news242917391 Findings from the most comprehensive assessment to date on climate change, snow and glacier melt in Asia's mountainous Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region -- site of Mount Everest and many of the world's tallest peaks -- highlight the region's extreme vulnerability to climate change, as rising temperatures disturb the balance of snow, ice and water, threatening millions of mountain people and 1.3 billion people living downstream in Asia's major river basins. http://phys.org/news242227431.html Space & Earth Sun, 04 Dec 2011 13:24:18 EST news242227431 Scientists studying populations of gray wolves in the USA's Yellowstone National Park have developed a way to predict how changes in the environment will impact on the animals' number, body size and genetics, amongst other biological traits. http://phys.org/news241970341.html Biology Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:00:05 EST news241970341 A common pest in the mainland United States known for its tropical smell now has a tropical habitat to go along with it. http://phys.org/news239378062.html Biology Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:54:32 EST news239378062 (PhysOrg.com) -- For decades, ecologists have toiled to nail down general principles explaining why some habitats have so many more plant and animal species than others. Much of this debate is focused on the idea that the number of species is determined by the productivity of the habitat. Some would argue: Shouldn't a patch of prairie contain a different number of species than an arid steppe or an alpine tundra? http://phys.org/news237198436.html Biology Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:50:01 EST news237198436 For decades, ecologists have toiled to nail down principles explaining why some habitats have many more plant and animal species than others. http://phys.org/news235935377.html Biology Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:36:35 EST news235935377 Research published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society: B identifies success factors for tropical fish looking to establish new populations in the face of climate change. http://phys.org/news235211669.html Biology Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:35:33 EST news235211669 Scientists have discovered that male black widow spiders, famous for ending up as their mates' post-coital supper, are not as clueless as you might think. In a series of careful experiments, a team of researchers from Arizona State University West in Glendale has teased out evidence that black widow males do their best to avoid getting eaten by choosing mates who have recently fed. http://phys.org/news232017563.html Biology Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:20:18 EST news232017563 The enormous decline of large, apex predators and "consumers" ranging from wolves to lions, sharks and sea otters may represent the most powerful impacts humans have ever had on Earth's ecosystems, a group of 24 researchers concluded today in a new report in the journal Science. http://phys.org/news229872585.html Biology Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:31:41 EST news229872585 The Andes of southern South America form a hostile mountain range with glaciers, salty deserts and meagre high elevation steppes. Birds from more moderate climate zones cross this mountain range only rarely. Nevertheless, many species live on both sides of the Andes, as in the case of the Burrowing Parrot Cyanoliseus patagonus. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, together with colleagues from the University of Freiburg and the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Ethology, Viena, found that the ancestral population of the Burrowing Parrot occupied what is today Chile, and from there only a single crossing of the Andes was successful. http://phys.org/news229750850.html Biology Wed, 13 Jul 2011 04:41:54 EST news229750850 Current and proposed border fences pose significant threats to wildlife populations, with those animals living in border regions along the Texas Gulf and California coasts showing some of the greatest vulnerability, a new study from The University of Texas at Austin shows. http://phys.org/news229685735.html Biology Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:35:47 EST news229685735 One in 10 species could face extinction by the year 2100 if current climate change impacts continue. This is the result of University of Exeter research, examining studies on the effects of recent climate change on plant and animal species and comparing this with predictions of future declines. http://phys.org/news229614857.html Biology Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:00:36 EST news229614857 "The Animal Connection," a new book by Pat Shipman, a Penn State paleoanthropologist, presents the groundbreaking new idea that humans' connection to other animal species may be the driving force behind the last 2.6 million years of human evolution. Reviewers have hailed the book, calling it "a work of extraordinarily broad scholarship" and saying that "animal lovers and readers who are interested in human psychology will not be able to put this fascinating book down." http://phys.org/news229098574.html Other Sciences Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:29:48 EST news229098574 (PhysOrg.com) -- Leks, they're called, gatherings of males of certain animal species for competitive mating displays. But not every lek's members are competitors, scientists have learned. Some--birds called wire-tailed manakins, residents of tropical forests in the Americas--are cooperators as well as competitors. http://phys.org/news227937632.html Biology Wed, 22 Jun 2011 05:01:25 EST news227937632 A new species of large land crab was discovered on Cocos Island in Costa Rica, a local newspaper reported on Monday. http://phys.org/news227847195.html Biology Tue, 21 Jun 2011 03:53:32 EST news227847195 An ecology survey of Sydney's inner city Monday found it is home to a variety of wildlife, including peregrine falcons and the dangerous red-bellied black snake. http://phys.org/news225342466.html Biology Mon, 23 May 2011 04:40:01 EST news225342466