Biology

If you've ever wondered why the rabbits in your garden aren't as big as horses, wonder no more. According to a team of scientists led by Kyoto University, competition with larger, hoofed herbivores puts a cap on bunny size.

If something were the largest in its region, you'd think that it would be well-documented. Such has not been the case with a newly discovered centipede, however, which is now the biggest known species in Japan and Taiwan.

Although adult stegosaurs reached lengths of up to 9 m (30 ft) they still started out as small as a cat, if a recently-found footprint is anything to go by. And what's more, they may have walked differently as babies.

For many years now, scientists have learned about the past by analyzing core samples taken from ice caps or soil. They have now applied that same technique to a millennia-old pile of bat poop, with interesting results.

It's a common view that opposable thumbs are a key feature that distinguishes us from most other species, but a flying reptile that clambered through the trees 160 million years ago isn't one of them according to analysis of a newly discovered species.

In order to stay warm on frigid winter days, small birds may do more than just fluff up their feathers. According to new research, they're actually able to make their blood run hotter, creating a sort of central heating system.

Although the chest-beating of male gorillas is a common behaviour, its purpose still isn't entirely understood. Now, however, scientists believe it may serve as a means of acoustically indicating the size of the apes' bodies.

Bacteria have developed crafty weapons in their ongoing wars, such as tailocins, which act somewhat like “homing missiles” against their enemies. Now, researchers have investigated just how tailocins work, and how we might use them to our advantage.

When we think of camouflage, it’s usually a visual pattern. But how do you hide from a predator that uses sound to find food, like a bat? If you’re a firefly, it turns out you might resort to a cacophony of ultrasound that acts like “musical armor.”

Scientists have created a synthetic single-celled organism that can divide and grow like a regular living cell. This breakthrough could lead to designer cells that can produce useful chemicals on demand or treat disease from inside the body.

A striking new study has found gene expression can dramatically increase in some brain cells hours after a person dies. The researchers suggest scientists studying post-mortem brain tissue must take into account these significant changes in future work.

The whale shark and the manta ray are perhaps two of the ocean's most fascinating large fishes. Well, scientists have now announced the discovery of a prehistoric ancestor of both, that looked like a cross between the two.