News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
If you’ve ever lived with a cat, you’ve probably received a painful chomp from your beloved furball’s pointy canines at least once. But 42 million years ago, your kitty’s teeth would have looked very different: Evolution was only just honing the teeth of cat-like animals to a deadly sharp tip for piercing and shredding flesh. … Read more
Centuries before first contact with Europeans, new research suggests a strain of tuberculosis was already circulating from the South American coasts to the mountains. Deadly European diseases, like tuberculosis (TB), whooping cough, and smallpox, were spread around the world with colonization, but recent evidence indicates this wasn’t the first time TB arrived in South America. … Read more
By Christa Lesté-Lasserre Suckling piglets suckling a sow Shutterstock / Thuwanan Krueabudda Mammals that share their milk produce more offspring over the course of the year – and the benefits are even greater than those seen when nursing mothers are supported in other ways, such as being provided abundant food or parenting help. The findings suggest … Read more
A low-lying continent that existed some 40 million years ago and was home to exotic fauna may have “paved the way” for Asian mammals to colonize southern Europe, new research suggests. Wedged between Europe, Africa and Asia, this forgotten continent – which researchers have dubbed “Balkanatolia” – became a gateway between Asia and Europe … Read more
The signs of death are everywhere, if you look. For years, scientists have rung the alarm bell, warning that grave declines in animal biodiversity around the globe herald the onset of what will be Earth’s sixth mass extinction. Despite the looming weight of evidence to suggest this grim phenomenon is unfolding all around us, … Read more
Conservationists are reintroducing threatened mammals to their former ranges with fences to keep out cats and foxes Environment 29 December 2021 By Alice Klein A greater bilby scavenging at night cbstockfoto / Alamy Stock Photo Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate in the world, having lost 34 mammal species in the past 200 years. … Read more
Understanding why plant-eating mammals like antelopes and sheep are far less likely to die of cancer than carnivores may help protect us from cancer too Life 22 December 2021 By Alice Klein The kowari, a carnivorous marsupial, is particularly prone to cancer D. Parer & E. Parer-Cook/ Minden Pictures/Alamy Mammals that live on meat are … Read more
After a decade of documenting and observing Indonesian shrews on the island of Sulawesi, researchers have published their findings and detailed 14 new species – the biggest discovery of new mammals listed in a single paper since 1931. Specifically, we’re talking about 14 new endemic species of the shrew genus Crocidura. Using genetic and … Read more
Orcas – also known as killer whales – used to be unusual visitors to the Arctic Ocean off Alaska, but they are becoming more common there, which might be bad news for local ecosystems Life 2 December 2021 By Chen Ly Orcas in Prince William Sound near Alaska Calvin W. Hall/Design Pics Inc/Alamy Orcas are … Read more
Chemical analyses showed an individual mammoth made an epic journey across Alaska Credit: Beth Zaiken Advertisement Mammoths are among the best-known inhabitants of the last ice age. Fossils usually offer a static snapshot of an animal’s life, but researchers recently used one to track every place a male mammoth traveled from birth to death. By … Read more