News by Subject Biology

Climate change is exacerbating human-wildlife conflicts by straining ecosystems and altering behaviors, both of which can deepen the contacts -- and potential competition -- between people and animals. In an article published July 30 in the journal Science, Briana Abrahms, a University of Washington assistant professor of biology, calls for expanding research into the many ways that climate change will impact the complex interplay between human activities and wildlife populations.

Although cats have lived alongside humans for millennia, it remains a dogs' world. This bias has historically bled into science as well. It's time for cats to get their day, argues veterinary medicine expert Leslie Lyons (@LyonsLab) in a Forum published July 28 in the journal Trends in Genetics. Cats, she says, have the potential to be a valuable model organism for geneticists, as the feline genome is ordered similarly to humans.

A new analysis by scientists shows that Shark Week, now in its 33rd year on the Discovery Channel, is deeply flawed in ways that undermine its goals, potentially harming both sharks and shark scientists. To document just how pervasive these issues are, a team of researchers performed a content and discourse analysis of more than 200 Shark Week episodes.

Scientists have developed a 'nanobody' - a small fragment of a llama antibody - that is capable of chasing out human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) as it hides away from the immune system. This then enables immune cells to seek out and destroy this potentially deadly virus.

In the wild, inheriting advantageous physical traits may be the difference between a long life and a short one. But for the spotted hyena, another kind of inheritance, one that has nothing to do with genetics, turns out to be extremely important for health and longevity -- social networks inherited from their mothers.