Bats

New Astroviruses Identified in Bats

harminka — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:28:37 -0500

New research out of The University of Hong Kong, China and the HKU-Pasteur Research Centre, Hong Kong suggests that bats are reservoirs of a newly identified group of astroviruses, a significant agent of diarrhea in many species including humans.

Bats pick up rustling sounds against highway background noise

harminka — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:24:21 -0500

Listening for faint rustling noises made by tasty beetles on a quiet day is simple for bats hunting with their exquisitely sensitive hearing. So try imagining what it must be like trying to locate rustling treats just metres from a roaring highway.

Molecular evolution is echoed in bat ears

harminka — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:46:16 -0500

Bats' ability to echolocate may have evolved more than once, according to research published this week by Queen Mary, University of London scientists.

Molecular evolution is echoed in bat ears

harminka — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:56:35 -0500

Echolocation may have evolved more than once in bats, according to new research from the University of Bristol published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Why wind turbines can mean death for bats

harminka — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:04:35 -0500

Power-generating wind turbines have long been recognized as a potentially life-threatening hazard for birds. But at most wind facilities, bats actually die in much greater numbers. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology, a Cell Press journal, on August 26th think they know why.

What It's Like to Be a Bat

harminka — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:14:28 -0500

Not many people think about what it's like to be a bat, but for those who do, it's enlightening and potentially groundbreaking for understanding aspects of the human brain and nervous system.

Dying bats in Northeast remain mystery

harminka — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:23:57 -0500

Investigations continue into the cause of a mysterious illness that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of bats since March 2008. At more than 25 caves and mines in the northeastern U.S, bats exhibiting a condition now referred to as “white-nosed syndrome” have been dying.

Why fruit-eating bats eat dirt

harminka — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:15:33 -0500

“Don’t eat the green parts of tomatoes, cut the green off the potatoes.” Any child would know that eating these parts of vegetables is a bad idea. The reason behind this is that they contain secondary plant compounds which may have detrimental effects on the consumer.

Batting for China

seher — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:26:32 -0500

Gareth Jones, Professor of Biological Sciences, works on the ecology and behaviour of bats. He has been visiting China for seven years, during which time he has seen a staggering change occur in Chinese science.

Computers show how bats classify plants according to their echoes

harminka — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 06:19:56 -0500

Researchers have developed a computer algorithm that can imitate the bat’s ability to classify plants using echolocation. The study, published March 21st in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology, represents a collaboration between machine learning scientists and biologists studying bat orientation.

Birds, bats and insects hold secrets for aerospace engineers

harminka — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:35:21 -0600

Natural flyers like birds, bats and insects outperform man-made aircraft in aerobatics and efficiency. University of Michigan engineers are studying these animals as a step toward designing flapping-wing planes with wingspans smaller than a deck of playing cards.

Epidemic of mysterious illness kills thousands of bats in US

seher — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:52:28 -0600

An epidemic of some strange illness spread among bats in northeastern U.S. and caused death of thousands of animals. New York state wildlife officials say that this may be fraught with extinction.