Makemake

Metamorphosis, that profound transformation enabling certain animals to shift between habitats such as from an aquatic to a terrestrial environment, is generally viewed in terms of its benefits. A team of researchers from the University of Liège has now demonstrated that it also entails a direct and immediate cost for the individuals undergoing it, a cost that varies by sex and could influence long-term evolutionary trade-offs. The study is published in the journal BMC Biology.

The four-foot-tall Emperor penguin of Antarctica may be the most iconic member of this unique family of birds, but 17 other species of penguins populate the Southern Hemisphere, many of them confined to isolated islands that make them hard to study.

On New Year's Day, millions of people in Japan visit Shinto shrines to pray for good fortune. In summer, many return to their hometowns to honor ancestors in Buddhist rituals. Families often maintain household altars, and seasonal festivals remain a central part of community life. Though this may look like a religious practice, many of them may identify themselves as nonreligious.

Male bumblebees are more active and flexible in behavior than female bees, new University of Chester–led research has found, after creating tasks to analyze how the insects explore, recognize colors and learn to earn rewards. The study by researchers from the University of Chester in collaboration with Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK Ltd (Deeside), Newcastle University and the University of Sheffield has highlighted how the different roles of female workers and male drones shape their behavior […]

In a new study published in the journal Science, researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, ZSL (Zoological Society of London) and their international collaborators including Boise State University present the first global assessment of risk to the angiosperm (flowering plants) tree of life, warning that more than a fifth of all angiosperm evolutionary history is at risk of extinction.