today's animal news
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Here is today's breaking animal news from Science Daily.May 19, 2012
- Hitting snooze on the molecular clock: Rabies evolves slower in hibernating bats
The rate at which the rabies virus evolves in bats may depend heavily upon the ecological traits of its hosts, according to new research. Rabies viruses in tropical and sub-tropical bat species evolved nearly four times faster than viral variants in bats in temperate regions. - New method detects traces of veterinary drugs in baby food
The quantities are very small, but in milk powder and in meat-based baby food, residues of drugs given to livestock were found. Researchers have now developed a system to analyze these substances quickly and precisely. Antibiotics, such as tilmicosine, or antiparasitic drugs, such as levamisole, are given to livestock in order to avoid illness, but they can remain later in food. - Bioinformatics: We can learn a lot from other species
Researchers have confirmed the long-held belief that studying the genes we share with other animals is useful. The study shows how bioinformatics makes it possible to test the fundamental principles on which life science is built. - When you eat matters, not just what you eat
When it comes to weight gain, when you eat might be at least as important as what you eat. When mice on a high-fat diet are restricted to eating for eight hours per day, they eat just as much as those who can eat around the clock, yet they are protected against obesity and other metabolic ills, the new study shows. - Ancient giant turtle fossil was size of Smart car
Picture a turtle the size of a Smart car, with a shell large enough to double as a kiddie pool. Paleontologists have found just such a specimen -- the fossilized remains of a 60-million-year-old South American giant that lived in what is now Colombia. - Bats: A good immune system ensures success in reproduction
Anyone who is healthy has more enthusiasm for reproduction. The same is true even for bats. Male bats with a good immune system are more successful in being selected by females during mate choice and reproduction than their ailing counterparts. - Listening to chickens could improve poultry production
Listening to squawks and other chicken "vocalizations" using digital signal processing techniques may help farmers better manage growing conditions, contributing to both healthier birds and more productive poultry operations. - Health experts narrow the hunt for Ebola
Response efforts to outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in Africa can benefit from a standardized sampling strategy that focuses on the carcasses of gorillas, chimpanzees and other species known to succumb to the virus, according to wildlife health experts. - Colorful butterflies increase their odds of survival by sharing traits
Bright black-and-red butterflies that flit across the sunlit edges of Amazonian rain forests are natural hedonists, and it does them good, according to new genetic data. - Genome research reveals key behind one butterfly’s ability to mimic another
Scientists have discovered promiscuous sharing of large regions of DNA code among species by sequencing the genome of a South American butterfly. - Hidden lives of elephant seals: Record-setting dive more than a mile deep
The same researchers who pioneered the use of satellite tags to monitor the migrations of elephant seals have compiled one of the largest datasets available for any marine mammal species, revealing their movements and diving behavior at sea in unprecedented detail. - Ancient sea reptile with gammy jaw suggests dinosaurs got arthritis too
Imagine having arthritis in your jaw bones ... if they're over 2 meters long! A new study has found signs of a degenerative condition similar to human arthritis in the jaw of a pliosaur, an ancient sea reptile that lived 150 million years ago. Such a disease has never been described before in fossilized Jurassic reptiles. - Drugs from gila monster lizard saliva reduces cravings for chocolate and ordinary food
A drug made from the saliva of the Gila monster lizard is effective in reducing the craving for food. Researchers have tested the drug on rats, who after treatment ceased their cravings for both food and chocolate. - Big-mouthed babies drove the evolution of giant island snakes
The need to have big-mouthed babies drove the evolution of giant tiger snakes on Australian islands, new research shows. The findings offer a new dimension to the study of island gigantism and dwarfism. - Cross-reactivity between peanuts and other legumes can lead to serious allergic reactions
Food allergies pose a serious and growing problem in the West. Many foods can lead to allergic reactions and this situation is further complicated by so-called cross-reactions, whereby an allergy to one particular food can trigger allergic reactions to another food. There are no treatments available for food allergies, but the establishment of two mouse models can be used to develop and test new forms of treatment, for example vaccines. - Nearly one tenth of hemisphere's mammals unlikely to outrun climate change
A safe haven could be out of reach for 9 percent of the Western Hemisphere's mammals, and as much as 40 percent in certain regions, because the animals just won't move swiftly enough to outpace climate change. In particular, many of the hemisphere's species of primates -- including tamarins, spider monkeys, marmosets and howler monkeys, some of which are already considered threatened or endangered -- will be hard-pressed to outpace climate change. - First ever record of insect pollination from 100 million years ago
Amber from the Cretaceous period found in Spain has revealed the first ever fossil record of insect pollination. Scientists discovered and studied with X-rays at the ESRF a specimen of a tiny insect covered with pollen grains. This is the first record of pollen transport and social behavior in this group of animals. - Locating lice as they hitch-hike with birds for life
Although chewing lice spend their entire lives as parasites on birds, it is difficult to predict patterns of lice distribution, new research reveals. - Scientists find differences in naked mole rat's protein disposers
The naked mole rat's unusually long and healthy life span may be explained by cellular machinery that disposes of damaged proteins. Scientists found that this machinery differs in composition from that of other rodents. - First satellite tag study for manta rays reveals habits and hidden journeys of ocean giants
Using the latest satellite tracking technology, conservationists have completed a ground-breaking study on a mysterious ocean giant: The manta ray.
