Human and animal interaction identified in the viking age

Since 2001, ancient DNA has been used in paleoparasitological studies to identify eggs found in soil samples from prehistoric periods, because identification cannot be done by morphological study alone. The species of human ...

Meet the parasitic worm that kills giant pandas

Giant pandas aren't dying like they used to. In the early 1980s, starvation accounted for more than nine out of ten deaths. However, over the past three decades a parasitic gut worm has replaced that as the dominant killer.

Parasite eggs from the Celtic period found

Archaeologists from the University of Basel discovered eggs of intestinal parasites in samples from the former Celtic settlement 'Basel-Gasfabrik,' and concluded that its population lived in poor sanitary conditions. Using ...

Bad parenting could give zebra finches the evolutionary edge

Species must reproduce to survive, and animals have found unique ways of achieving this. For some, including us, it seems as though producing a few offspring that require extended care is the best strategy. For others, such ...

Taking the 'sting' out of reproduction

(Phys.org) —Female parasitic wasps have more reproductive success when working together with other females, which can also explain sex biased reproduction, according to new research.

Cuckoos hide from each other using 'cryptic' eggs

Cuckoos aren't the kind of parents you'd want. They never raise their young ones, leaving that job to other birds. They achieve this by laying their eggs in other expectant birds' nests, who treat them as their own and take ...

Fear of the cuckoo mafia

If a restaurant owner fails to pay the protection money demanded of him, he can expect his premises to be trashed. Warnings like these are seldom required, however, as fear of the consequences is enough to make restaurant ...

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