Unique structure of fist-like club of mantis shrimp could tranform body armor...
(Phys.org) -- Military body armor and vehicle and aircraft frames could be transformed by incorporating the unique structure of the club-like arm of a crustacean that looks like an armored caterpillar,...
View ArticleCT scan and 3-D print help scientists reconstruct an ancient mollusk (w/ Video)
(Phys.org)—Using a combination of traditional and innovative model-building techniques, scientists in the U.S. and a specialist in Denmark have created a lifelike reconstruction of an ancient mollusk,...
View ArticleNew test adds to scientists' understanding of Earth's history, resources
(Phys.org)—A new study co-authored by a University of Florida researcher provides the first direct chronological test of sequence stratigraphy, a powerful tool for exploring Earth's natural resources.
View ArticleBiologist gets a squid's eye view (w/ video)
(Phys.org) —Pursuing the misunderstood Humboldt squid, Hopkins Marine Station's William Gilly has strapped video cameras and electronic sensors to the animals, exhaustively analyzed their habitats,...
View ArticleVaterite: Crystal within a crystal helps resolve an old puzzle
With the help of a solitary sea squirt, scientists have resolved the longstanding puzzle of the crystal structure of vaterite, an enigmatic geologic mineral and biomineral.
View ArticleMelanin from Jurassic-era mollusk could lead to new tool for cancer diagnosis
(Phys.org) —In a world where things seem to change overnight, melanin seems to stay essentially the same for more than 160 million years, a new study has found. Melanin is the biological pigment that...
View ArticleShellfish show population growth did not send humans out of Africa
(Phys.org) —Artifacts from the Middle Stone Age, which lasted from about 200,000 to 50,000 years ago, provide us with the earliest glimpses of modern human art and culture. Previously, scientists...
View ArticleUnderwater propulsion from a 3-D printer
Nature inspires creativity: in building a silent propulsion system for boats and water sport devices, researchers used the octopus as their role model. The system can be produced at a low cost and in a...
View ArticleUnderwater propulsion from a 3D printer
Octopods, which are also known as octopuses or squid, are considered to be the most intelligent invertebrates. In fact, they have been referred to as the "sages of the sea". They are capable of...
View ArticleStudy: Seashell loss due to tourism increase may have global impact
Global tourism has increased fourfold over the last 30 years, resulting in human-induced seashell loss that may harm natural habitats worldwide, according to a University of Florida scientist.
View ArticleStudy indicates Spanish conquest of Peru may have resulted in changes to...
(Phys.org) —A study by a pair of researchers with the University of Maine suggests that the northern coast of Peru may have been altered due to population shifts as a result of the Spanish conquest in...
View ArticleMorocco's illegal mussel pickers ply non-eco trade
Thousands of Morocco's unemployed slum-dwellers head to the Atlantic coast every morning to scrape a living as illegal mussel pickers. But experts say they threaten the health of the marine ecosystem.
View ArticleResearch team finds mollusk changes gender as it ages
(Phys.org)—Researchers from Britain's National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, working in the Antarctic have discovered that a species of mollusk, Lissarca miliaris, changes from male to female as it...
View ArticleAdvance in chromosomal evolution in sea cradles
A chromosomal study performed in a common Mediterranean chiton (sea cradle) provides information, relevant to systematic relationships of the species; furthermore the comparison of its karyotype with...
View ArticleGenomes of limpet, leech and worm put spotlight on lophotrochozoans
A new report in the journal Nature unveils three of the first genomes from a vast, understudied swath of the animal kingdom that includes as many as one-quarter of Earth's marine species. By publishing...
View ArticleTomorrow's life-saving medications may currently be living at the bottom of...
OHSU researchers, in partnership with scientists from several other institutions, have published two new research papers that signal how the next class of powerful medications may currently reside at...
View ArticleResearchers make oysters safer to eat with improved purification method
(Phys.org) —Oregon State University has improved an old method of making oysters safer to eat so that more bacteria are removed without sacrificing taste and texture.
View ArticlePutting larval cobia to the acid test
Ocean acidification, which occurs as CO2 is absorbed by the world's oceans, is a source of concern for marine scientists worldwide. Studies on coral, mollusks, and other ocean denizens are helping to...
View ArticleMajor pan-European study conducted on ocean acidification
More than 160 researchers across 10 European countries joined together, in what is being hailed as the first international project to focus on ocean acidification and its consequences.
View ArticleScientists sound alarm at Arctic Ocean's rapid acidification
Scientists expressed alarm on Monday over the rapid acidification of the Arctic Ocean caused by carbon dioxide emissions, which could have dire consequences on the region's fragile ecosystem.
View ArticleFlorida fights stucco-eating African snails
An epic battle is raging in South Florida: man against snail. The state is struggling to contain an invasion of the giant African land snail, a species that thrives in hot and wet tropical climates....
View ArticleUntangling the tree of life
These days, phylogeneticists – experts who painstakingly map the complex branches of the tree of life – suffer from an embarrassment of riches. The genomics revolution has given them mountains of DNA...
View ArticleBridge species drive tropical engine of biodiversity
Although scientists have known since the middle of the 19th century that the tropics are teeming with species while the poles harbor relatively few, the origin of the most dramatic and pervasive...
View ArticleTurtles watch for, snack on gelatinous prey while swimming
Loggerhead turtles use visual cues to find gelatinous prey to snack on as they swim in open waters, according to research published June 12 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Tomoko Narazaki and...
View ArticleInvasive snails target of USGS environmental DNA study
(Phys.org) —Researchers at the University of Idaho and the U.S. Geological Survey have developed a way to identify New Zealand mudsnail infestations in their earliest stages – using only the small bits...
View ArticleGeoscientists unearth mineral-making secrets potentially useful for new...
Sugars are widely known as important sources of energy for all organisms. Now, Virginia Tech researchers have discovered that certain types of sugars, known as polysaccharides, may also control the...
View ArticleSlug glue: A future with no sutures?
The materials for stitching up injuries and surgical wounds may have changed over the millennia, but the basic process of suturing tissue remains the same. In the 21st century, however, the method may...
View ArticleEvolution is not a one-way road towards complexity
There are still a lot of unanswered questions about mollusks, e.g. snails, slugs and mussels. The research group of Andreas Wanninger, Head of the Department of Integrative Zoology of the University of...
View ArticleCurrent climate models misrepresent El Nino
An analysis of fossil corals and mollusk shells from the Pacific Ocean reveals there is no link between the strength of seasonal differences and El Niño, a complex but irregular climate pattern with...
View ArticleMollusk graveyards are time machines to oceans' pristine past
A University of Florida study shows that mollusk fossils provide a reliable measure of human-driven changes in marine ecosystems and shifts in ocean biodiversity across time and space.
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