Rodents are mammals of the order Rodentia, characterized primarily by a single pair of ever-growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws, separated from the cheek teeth by a diastema and adapted for gnawing. This order encompasses extensive taxonomic diversity, including families such as Muridae, Cricetidae, Sciuridae, and Caviidae, occupying a wide range of terrestrial and arboreal habitats. Rodents exhibit high reproductive rates, diverse dietary strategies (from herbivory to omnivory), and complex social structures in some lineages. They play key ecological roles as primary consumers, seed predators and dispersers, and prey species, and serve as important model organisms in biomedical and evolutionary research.
In a study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology on January 29, researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences identified a rare natural compound derived from ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 6, 2026
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Researchers in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources have developed a novel line of bovine embryonic stem cells, which have significant potential for a variety of new innovations, from lab-grown meat to ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 4, 2026
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51
Each year, bacterial infections are responsible for roughly 7.7 million deaths worldwide, with this problem further exacerbated by rising antibiotic resistance. Not only are wound infections increasingly difficult to treat, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 3, 2026
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Turning on the light to turn off pain: This is the principle behind a new analgesic method called light-induced analgesia (LIA), discovered by scientists from the CNRS1 in rodents. Noninvasive and drug-free, LIA proves to ...
Biotechnology
Jan 31, 2026
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51
An upside-down jellyfish drifts in a shallow lagoon, rhythmically contracting its translucent bell. By night that beat drops from roughly 36 pulses a minute to nearer 30, and the animal slips into a state that, despite its ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 31, 2026
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Artificial intelligence allows tracing the evolution of genetic control elements in the developing mammalian cerebellum. An international research team led by biologists from Heidelberg University as well as the Vlaams Instituut ...
Evolution
Jan 29, 2026
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49
A team of scientists from EPFL and Alaska Pacific University has developed an AI program that can recognize individual bears in the wild, despite the substantial changes that occur in their appearance over the summer season. ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 29, 2026
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128
Changes to land use can directly heighten the risk of diseases spreading from animals to humans, new University of Stirling–led research has shown. The study, led by Dr. Adam Fell of the University's Faculty of Natural Sciences, ...
Ecology
Jan 28, 2026
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Google unveiled an artificial intelligence tool Wednesday that its scientists said would help unravel the mysteries of the human genome—and could one day lead to new treatments for diseases.
Molecular & Computational biology
Jan 28, 2026
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46
Whether you call him groundhog, woodchuck, whistle-pig or use the full genus and species name, Marmota monax, the nation's premier animal weather forecaster has been making headlines as Punxsutawney Phil for decades.
Plants & Animals
Jan 27, 2026
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