Mammals are a vertebrate class (Mammalia) characterized by endothermy, hair or fur, and the presence of mammary glands that produce milk to nourish offspring. They possess a neocortex, three middle ear ossicles, and a single-boned lower jaw articulating with the squamosal bone. Most exhibit viviparity with complex placentation (except monotremes, which are oviparous) and show determinate growth with advanced parental care and social behaviors. Mammalian physiology includes high metabolic rates, a four-chambered heart, and differentiated dentition, supporting ecological diversification into terrestrial, aerial, and aquatic niches across nearly all biomes.
The carrying capacity of the Baltic Sea could withstand a seal population twice its current size, but hunting quotas and Baltic herring mean weight greatly affect the future of the seals. A recent study provides a new estimate ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 20, 2026
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For months, a flood of mice has engulfed Western Australia's agricultural regions. For people living through it, this latest mouse plague is all-consuming. Houses, sheds, paddocks and roads are blanketed with mice. And the ...
Ecology
Jun 20, 2026
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63
Scientists have detected the H5 strain of bird flu in Australia for the first time, the country's agriculture minister said Saturday, meaning the highly contagious variant has now spread to every continent.
Veterinary medicine
Jun 20, 2026
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26
Like humans, wildlife is increasingly vulnerable as climate change fuels longer and more intense heat waves, disrupting feeding and breeding and, in extreme cases, proving fatal.
Environment
Jun 19, 2026
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26
When H5N1 bird flu first began infecting U.S. cattle in early 2024, diagnosis was elusive because, in cows, the disease looked completely different. Instead of affecting the lungs, as H5N1 does in other mammalian species, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 19, 2026
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32
In biology, cytokinins were long considered regulators exclusive to the plant kingdom, where they control, among other things, growth and responses to stress. Until now, little research has been conducted into whether these ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 19, 2026
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103
The U.K. could face significant challenges if it follows the European Union's lead and introduces tougher restrictions on imports linked to deforestation, according to new research from The University of Manchester. The study ...
Ecology
Jun 19, 2026
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10
Off Oman's coast lives a small population of just over 80 Arabian Sea humpback whales (ASHWs). They are classified as endangered and are thought to be the only humpback whale population that doesn't undertake seasonal migrations ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 19, 2026
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50
Australian Antarctic Program scientists are contributing to global understanding of the spread of H5 avian influenza (bird flu) with the release of findings from recent voyages to the remote sub-Antarctic Heard Island and ...
Ecology
Jun 18, 2026
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16
Cells have evolved careful checks to ensure DNA is copied only once, but how they switch on replication at the right moment has been the focus of a 30-year research question. New work from the Crick has recorded the missing ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 18, 2026
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