Protective Protein Guarding DNA Makes Tardigrades Indestructible: An Offbeat Genetic Constitution

Tardigrades are water dwelling, eight legged microscopic organisms, also known as the water bears, are one of the most resilient organism (extremophile) known to survive in the most inhospitable conditions on earth and even in the space. They are found to thrive in extremely low temperature (as just above the absolute zero), in high temperatures (i.e above the boiling point of water), high pressure and can even withstand high radiation.

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Male Widow Spiders Inseminate Young Females And Avoid Being Cannibalized: Spidery Sex Life

Sexual cannibalism is very common in some species like the male coin spiders. Black widow and Redback female spiders are famous for slaying their partners soon after mating. The male widow spiders that are considerably smaller in size, are often seen voluntarily offering themselves to be eaten, with a hope that the female will give birth to his offspring. Sometimes, the males reaching out females are mistaken for prey and are killed even before copulation occurs.

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Polarized Vision does not Beat Camouflage: Marine Visual Detection Model

Animal camouflage is a very common technique. And when it comes to an open sea, things ought to look slightly difficult. However, for fishes like herring, mackerel, and sardines this is not the case. These fishes have a smart camouflage technique, the shimmering silver scales, that can even beat the super sight.

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Digging Adaptations Facilitated Shell in Turtles: Study on Eunotosaurusafricanus

Turtle shell, conventionally, is considered an outer covering for protection and lodging for the animal. Till date, turtle is the only living vertebrate with such a sturdy broad ribbed proto shell. However, recent study of fossil turtles, which happen to be around 260- million-year-old, has revealed that the hard and rigid protective structure of the animal is not adapted for protection rather for digging underground. Dr. Lyson, the scientist behind this discovery said that during the early (evolutionary) phase, birds’ feathers too were not employed for flying. Nevertheless, birds starting…

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Advanced sense of odor helps ants identify individual ants: Nestmate versus Non-nestmate

Scientists studying ants have always wondered how ants living in huge colonies, identify other ants belong to same colony or is an intruder or enemy ant. Researchers from The University of California, Riverside have found an answer to this question. They have found that ants communicate via diverse hydrocarbon chemicals present on the their outer shells (or cuticles). 

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Bees prefer Pesticides ridden Nectar: Insect Pollinators

Pesticides are used across the world to kill pests that cause damage to the food that would be consumed by humans. This implies that the effect of pesticides should repel insects but in some cases, it is not so. Researchers at Newcastle University and Trinity College Dublin have discovered that certain species of bees are fascinated towards nectars that contain pesticides in them. Neonicotinoid-laced food chosen by bees Prior studies have proposed that bees would have to face negative consequences in terms of health in case the specie is exposed…

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