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Ancient Viral DNA Helps Mouse Brains Fight Infection
Mammals that give birth to live young may have evolved to make use of the remnants of viruses in their genomes to ward off pathogens, a study suggests. 
Ancient Viral DNA Helps Mouse Brains Fight Infection
Ancient Viral DNA Helps Mouse Brains Fight Infection

Mammals that give birth to live young may have evolved to make use of the remnants of viruses in their genomes to ward off pathogens, a study suggests. 

Mammals that give birth to live young may have evolved to make use of the remnants of viruses in their genomes to ward off pathogens, a study suggests. 

mammals

Artist’s rendering of an early mammal called a mammaliamorph
Warm-Bloodedness in Mammals May Have Arisen in Late Triassic
Andy Carstens | Jul 21, 2022 | 2 min read
Researchers mapped ear canal shape to body temperature to predict when ancestors of mammals first became endothermic.
southeaster pocket gopher's head emerging from tunnel
Are Pocket Gophers Underground Farmers?
Andy Carstens | Jul 11, 2022 | 4 min read
A study finds that roots grow deeper than typical into southeastern pocket gophers tunnel networks, raising the possibility that the rodents cultivate their food.
Two bonobos facing each other on a tree branch
Q&A: In Battle of the Sexes, Dominance Doesn’t Always Equal Power
Raegan Scharfetter | May 18, 2022 | 6 min read
The Scientist spoke to hyena researcher Eve Davidian for a broad look at power relationships between male and female mammals.
shrew
Researchers Identify 14 New Shrew Species 
Chloe Tenn | Jan 5, 2022 | 2 min read
The discovery, made on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, constitutes an exceptionally high number of new mammals to be described in a single paper.
a spiny mouse sits on a piece of wood holding a small morsel to its mouth
Spiny Mice Appear to Regenerate Damaged Kidneys
Dan Robitzski | Nov 3, 2021 | 5 min read
The mice, already known to regenerate skin, seem to avoid the tissue scarring that leads to organ failure in other animals.
Photographs of animals
Numerosity Around the Animal Kingdom
Catherine Offord | Oct 1, 2021 | 2 min read
Research in recent decades has explored how animals other than humans perceive different numbers of objects
mole rat, environmental DNA, eDNA, airborne DNA, Techniques, Ecology & Environment, biomonitoring, field monitoring, mammals, genetics & genomics
Environmental DNA Can Be Pulled from the Air
Amanda Heidt | Apr 7, 2021 | 4 min read
A proof-of-concept study uses eDNA in the air to detect mammals, expanding the technique beyond aquatic sampling.
nutshell, pollinators, pesticides, agriculture, crop pest, ecology & environment, insect, toxin, chemical, mammal, bird, fish, plants
US Pesticide Use Is Down, but Damage to Pollinators Is Rising
Amanda Heidt | Apr 5, 2021 | 3 min read
The use of pesticides has decreased in the US by more than 40 percent since 1992, but the emergence of more-potent chemicals means that they are far more damaging to many species.
Many Deep-Sea Microbes Invisible to Mammalian Immune System
Abby Olena, PhD | Mar 12, 2021 | 3 min read
In a new study, human and mouse cells recognized only one in five bacterial species collected from more than a mile below the Pacific Ocean’s surface.
Shrew Brains Shrink During Winter
Abby Olena, PhD | Dec 3, 2020 | 4 min read
The animals kill off around one-quarter of the neurons in their somatosensory cortex, perhaps to save energy, and the cells appear to return the following summer.
thomas kunz boston university mammalogy mammalogists bats ecology covid-19 coronavirus pandemic obituary
Bat Ecologist Thomas Kunz Dies
Claire Jarvis | Jun 5, 2020 | 2 min read
The Boston University professor, who died of complications related to COVID-19, spent more than 40 years researching the lives of bats.
Image of the Day: Olfactory Capacities
Amy Schleunes | Apr 15, 2020 | 2 min read
Most small amphibious mammals have a diminished sense of smell, a quality that likely arose because of a tradeoff with thermoregulation capacities that allowed them to conserve heat in aquatic environments.
Image of the Day: Hair Strength
Emily Makowski | Dec 18, 2019 | 2 min read
Thin strands tend to be stronger than thick ones.
New Mammal Fossil May Show How Ear Bones Evolved from Jaw Bones
Emily Makowski | Dec 6, 2019 | 1 min read
An ancient animal’s hammer, anvil, and stirrup bones are at the base of the jaw but completely detached from it.
Image of the Day: Chevrotain Caught on Camera
Emily Makowski | Nov 12, 2019 | 1 min read
The silver-backed chevrotain was undetected for decades, but local reports have led researchers to document the species on camera.
Trove of Fossils Shows Mammal Evolution after Dino Extinction
Emily Makowski | Oct 25, 2019 | 2 min read
The site, Corral Bluffs in Colorado, also reveals how plants evolved and how ecosystems rebounded after the asteroid impact.
Image of the Day: Pika Populations
Emily Makowski | Sep 24, 2019 | 1 min read
Geography plays a role in how the small mammals adapt to environmental changes.
EPA Aims to Drastically Reduce Animal Testing
Emily Makowski | Sep 11, 2019 | 2 min read
The agency plans to stop funding virtually all toxicology studies in mammals by 2035.
ancient DNA puma parasite roundworm oldest maximum age feces coprolite faeces
Oldest Known Parasites Found in Ancient Puma Feces
Chia-Yi Hou | Aug 28, 2019 | 2 min read
Researchers isolate roundworm DNA from animal excrement that is about 17,000 years old.
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