ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

Researchers reveal how hearing evolved Posted: 06 Feb 2015 09:52 AM PST Lungfish and salamanders can hear, despite not having an outer ear or tympanic middle ear. These early terrestrial vertebrates were probably also able to hear 300 million years ago, as shown in a new study.

Another reason to drink wine: It could help you burn fat, study suggests Posted: 06 Feb 2015 08:17 AM PST Drinking red grape juice or wine -- in moderation -- could improve the health of overweight people by helping them burn fat better, a new study indicates. The findings suggest that consuming dark-colored grapes, whether eating them or drinking juice or wine, might help people better manage obesity and related metabolic disorders such as fatty liver.

Reining in the yeast tree of life Posted: 06 Feb 2015 08:16 AM PST Scientists are working to validate novel approaches to constructing a tree of life.

Aerial monitors shed light on reed die-back around Central Europe's largest lake Posted: 06 Feb 2015 04:12 AM PST Researchers have discovered a way to map 'reed die-back' using satellites and aircraft.

Cow immune system inspires potential new therapies Posted: 06 Feb 2015 04:12 AM PST To help people with hormone deficiencies, scientists have developed a potential new therapy based on an unlikely model: immune molecules from cows.

When scientists play with Lego: A new creative version of pinned insect manipulator Posted: 05 Feb 2015 09:31 AM PST Who said scientists are not creative? Biologists have proved such statements wrong with the invention of a creative, functional and most importantly quite cheap pinned insect manipulator made entirely of Lego pieces to help them face the challenges of mass digitization of museum specimens.

Survival of the fittest: Evolution continues despite low mortality and fertility rates in modern world Posted: 05 Feb 2015 09:30 AM PST Charles Darwin's theory on evolution still holds true despite lower mortality and fertility rates in the modern world, according to new research.

Closer look at flawed studies behind policies used to promote 'low-carbon' biofuels Posted: 05 Feb 2015 09:27 AM PST Nearly all of the studies used to promote biofuels as climate-friendly alternatives to petroleum fuels are flawed and need to be redone, according to a researcher who reviewed more than 100 papers published over more than two decades.

New finding may compromise aging studies Posted: 04 Feb 2015 11:46 AM PST Scientists found that a hormone they were using to selectively activate genes in flies for life span studies was actually extending the lives of mated female flies by 68 percent.