Latest Biology News & Discoveries: Cutting-Edge Research in Life Sciences - SciTechDaily

1. “Weird Clams” Reveal a New Invasion Along the U.S. Northeast Coast
   A research team found reproducing populations of Manila clams in Cape Cod and Boston Harbor. A stretch of Atlantic shoreline that had remained free of Manila clams now appears to support reproducing populations of the invasive shellfish. Biologists led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, MIT Sea Grant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and [...]
2. The World’s Highest-Living Mammal Is Rewriting the Limits of Life
   A leaf-eared mouse living more than 6,700 meters (22,000 feet) above sea level in the Andes has shattered assumptions about where mammals can survive. Near the summit of an Andean volcano, where the air contains barely half as much oxygen as it does at sea level, scientists found something that should not have been there: [...]
3. New Fossil Study Challenges the Classic Story of Human Evolution
   Scientists say some of the traits that define modern humans may have evolved only after long-standing biological and cultural barriers were broken. Human evolution is often presented as a clear progression: brains grew larger, faces became smaller, tools improved, and our ancestors gradually became more like us. A new study suggests that this familiar story [...]
4. Rare Iridescent Optical Effect Discovered in a Famous Australian Frog
   An endangered Australian frog has been hiding a remarkable visual trick in plain sight. Researchers at the University of Newcastle discovered that the green and golden bell frog (Ranoidea aurea) has iridescent skin on its inner thighs. As the frog or observer moves, the normally blue area can appear green, creating one of the clearest [...]
5. Urban Rodents Are Evolving To Survive Common Poisons
   Urban rodents may be evolving genetic defenses against widely used control methods. A mouse that eats poison and survives does more than escape a trap. It may pass that survival advantage to the next generation. That possibility is becoming increasingly relevant in cities across the northeastern United States, where pest control professionals have reported that [...]