News by Subject Biology

Genetic recombination is vital to natural selection, yet some species display far more crossover than others. Scientists in Rochester have discovered a gene in fruit flies that is responsible for the evolution of these recombination rates.

Baby birds go missing from their nests all the time. Usually, the disappearances are chalked up to predation, but in extremely rare cases, parents have been observed removing their own chicks from their nests. In a new study from the University of Illinois, the mysterious and fatal behavior is documented in dickcissels for the first time.

From one stem cell to many differentiated body cells: Scientists from the MDC in Berlin, along with collaborating researchers in Munich, have published a comprehensive lineage tree of a whole adult animal in the journal Science. This was made possible by a combination of RNA and computational technologies.

A new study shows that when feather replacement and parental care overlap in time, migratory songbirds make a striking trade-off; they desert their offspring, leaving their mates to provide all remaining parental care.

Researchers reporting in Current Biology on April 19 show that male fruit flies find sex -- and more specifically ejaculation -- to be an inherently rewarding experience. The study is the first to show that the rewarding nature of ejaculation is conserved among animals, from flies and mammals. It also adds to evidence that manipulating sexual experience in flies affects their interest in consuming alcohol, the researchers say.