New Atlas

Environment Audio available

Whistling wind turbines may save bats' lives

Ben Coxworth May 15, 2019

According to a US Geological Survey estimate, anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of bats are killed by wind turbines annually – in the US alone. New technology may help reduce those numbers, however, by causing the turbine blades to whistle at the animals.

Bats and wind turbines traditionally don't mix well

Science Audio available

Batwinged, feathered dinosaur was a weird, failed experiment in flight

Michael Irving May 8, 2019

Like the Wright Brothers, evolution didn’t get flight exactly right the first time. It takes experimentation to find the best design, and now palaeontologists have found one of nature’s quirky side projects – a strange dinosaur that was covered in feathers but had leathery bat-like wings.

Ambopteryx longibrachium is a strange new species of dinosaur that sported bat-like wings and feathers

Biology Audio available

Possible white-nose vaccine shows promise in bat tests

Ben Coxworth May 2, 2019

Caused by a fungus known as Pseudogymnoascus destructans, white-nose syndrome is currently killing bats across North America at an alarming rate. There may be hope, however, as a potential vaccine has recently been shown to be effective at warding off the disease.

A little brown bat affected with white nose syndrome, which is visible as white fuzz around ...

Science Audio available

Mexican drug cartels hinder "wonder drug” research into vampire bat venom

Rich Haridy January 20, 2019

New research has described a novel peptide found in the venom of vampire bats could pave the way for an entirely new class of blood-pressure “wonder drugs”. However, the study is being stifled by drug cartels taking over the research site in Mexico.

A peptide found in the venom of vampire bats may translate into a new class of ...

Science Audio available

New Ebola-like virus called Mengla discovered in China

Rich Haridy January 9, 2019

A new genus of filovirus has been detected in bats in Southern China. The new virus is evolutionarily similar to the notorious Ebola and Marburg viruses, and while there is no current threat of a human outbreak, the researchers suspect it is capable of interspecies transmission.

The virus was found in Rousettus bats in Měnglà County, Yunnan Province, southern China (Credit: Rajesh ...

Environment Audio available

System uses ultrasound to keep bats away from wind turbines

Ben Coxworth December 14, 2018

Although wind turbines may be a valuable source of eco-friendly energy, they do have at least one drawback – bats are frequently killed by their spinning blades. A promising new system is designed to help keep that from happening, however, by producing an ultrasonic acoustic field.

The Bat Deterrent System, pictured here, will be available in 2019

Good Thinking

Dutch town goes with bat-friendly streetlights

Ben Coxworth June 8, 2018

A year ago, Philips Lighting (now called Signify) announced results of a study which showed that its ClearField red LED lighting didn't disrupt the behaviour of bats – unlike traditional streetlights. Now, the Dutch town of Zuidhoek-Nieuwkoop has become the first place to use the system.

The lights have been installed in a sustainable housing development

Science

Wireless device monitors the brains of bats in flight

Ben Coxworth April 11, 2018

Ordinarily, if you want to see what's going on in a bat's brain, you have to hold the animal immobile and wire it up – not the best setup for studying how it reacts while moving in the real world. Now, however, scientists have devised a method of recording the brain activity of free-flying bats.

The device is small and light enough that a bat can still fly while wearing it

Science

UV light may save bats from deadly fungus

Ben Coxworth January 2, 2018

White-nose syndrome is a disease that infects bats as they hibernate, and it's been reducing their numbers in recent years. There may be new hope, however, as scientists have discovered that the fungus behind the disease is killed by exposure to UV light.

A little brown bat infected with white nose syndrome

Biology

To ID a bat, just check its wings

Ben Coxworth October 25, 2017

When you're studying wildlife, it's important to have a way of differentiating between individual animals. With that in mind, scientists have discovered that bats can be told apart via their unique "wing prints."

A bat wing, with the white collagen-elastin bundles clearly visible