Biology

“Neural” discovered in brainless animals

A neuroid sponge cell (orange) stretches out processes towards a digestive cell (green) in order to apparently establish a communication link. (Photo: Jacob...

Meanders help the climate

Meander of the Rio Bermejo in South America. (Image: Kristen Cook / GFZ) Sediments in water bodies and seas help to bind carbon in...

Baleen whales: underrated eco-engineers

A blue whale leaves a business with a fertilizing effect. (Image: Elliott Hazen under NOAA / NMFS permit 16111) Surprisingly large amounts of food...

Social distancing protects honey bees from parasites

Bees show highly complex social behavior. (Image: Dr Michelina Pusceddu, University of Sassari) The more contact individuals have with one another, the easier it...

Do insects get heart palpitations from fear?

Frightened flies "felt on the pulse". (Video excerpt, Credit: Champalimaud Research) As is well known, frightening situations can get our pulse rate skyrocketing -...

With biotopes against the extinction of species

With their biotope "BioDiversum", scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen want to draw attention to the fact that biodiversity...

Wild bearded vultures are gripped by wanderlust

Successful comeback: the majestic bearded vultures are back in the Alps. (Image: Hansruedi Weyrich) "Wally" and "Bavaria" are now developing their typical wanderlust -...

Toothless: evolution through poaching

Usually female elephants have tusks - but the “human selection factor” can change this. (Image: Andrew Linscott / iStock) On the trail of a...

Northern white rhinoceros: Najin is retiring

Rhinoceros Fajin is one of only two northern white rhinos still alive. (Image: Jan Zwilling / www.biorescue.org) They are the last of their kind:...

How social interaction shows up in the brain

A Egyptian bat. (Image: Michael Yartsev) It is vital for social animals to interact with their fellow animals. In doing so, they not...

How climate change is shifting plankton

Marines zooplankton. (Image: tonaquatic / iStock) The warming of the oceans means that the climatic zones in the ocean are shifting. As a...

Birds capture the appearance of plants

Birds evidently avoid not only the conspicuous caterpillars on St.Jameswort (right), but also the yellow-flowered plants themselves (left). (Images: Callum McLellan) "You should avoid...

Evolution in evolutionary research

Charles Darwin is and will remain the symbol for the exploration of the development of life. (Image: dan_wrench / iStock) The venerable Charles Darwin...

Rainforest heals more slowly than expected

Tree litter frog Phrynobatrachus guineensis (Image: Mark-Oliver Rödel / Museum für Naturkunde Berlin) How long does it take for a forest to recover from deforestation...

Earth sculpture: “The fragile paradise”

The German Aerospace Center participated in an exhibition in Oberhausen, in which a giant copy of the earth shows how nature and man shape...

Bees: More parasites from blooming monocultures

Wild bee on a sunflower. (Image: Cohen et al.) Large flowering fields attract bees and provide them with plenty of food for a short...

How fishing affects the global carbon cycle

Fishing in the Arctic. (Image: piola666 / iStock) Up until now, discussions about the effects of industrial fishing have mostly focused on the impact...

“Lost Forest” reveals a secret

An astonishingly remote habitat for mangroves in the interior of the Yucatan Peninsula. (Image: Octavio Aburto-Oropeza) Usually mangroves only grow on the coast of...

Amazingly fast-paced snap suction cups

The distinctive head shape of the seahorses has to do with their hunting strategy. (Image: Gil Koplovitz) Tiny fins drive them leisurely forward -...

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