/newsroom/taxonomy/term/7124/all en /newsroom/channels/news/power-face-time-insights-zebra-finch-courtship-358512 <p>A new study on songbirds sheds light on the power of social interaction to facilitate learning, insights that potentially apply to human development.</p> <p>±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą researchers discovered that zebra finches deprived of early social experiences could still form strong bonds with a partner later in life. Once placed into cohabitation with a male, females that had never heard a mating song before could quickly develop a preference for his melody.</p> Tue, 20 Aug 2024 16:44:26 +0000 keila.depape@mcgill.ca 314586 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/how-climate-change-affecting-where-species-live-357786 <p>As the climate warms, many species are on the move, raising new challenges for policy-makers around the world. Shifts in the ranges of mosquitoes and disease-bearing ticks and bats are introducing illnesses such as malaria and Lyme disease into regions where health-care systems are unprepared. Movements of commercially important fish from one jurisdiction to another are shifting job opportunities and causing trade disputes.</p> Tue, 25 Jun 2024 14:19:37 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 310618 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/uncertainty-measuring-biodiversity-change-could-hinder-progress-towards-global-targets-nature-355491 <p>More than ever before, there is a growing interest in dedicating resources to stop the loss of biodiversity, as recently exemplified by the <a href="//Users/../../../../../../../Users/andy/Downloads/The%2520GBF%2520focuses%2520on%2520understanding%2520why%2520biodiversity%2520is%2520declining%2520and%2520what%2520actions%2520are%2520needed%2520to%2520reverse%2520this%2520trend.%2520However,%2520implementing%2520the%2520plan%2520is%2520challenging%2520because%2520information%2520about%2520biodiversity%2520changes%2520is%2520not%2520evenly%2520available%2520everywhere,%2520meaning%2520that%25</body></html>"></a></p> Fri, 16 Feb 2024 19:41:59 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 307802 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/stuck-traffic-researchers-identify-cellular-traffic-jams-rare-disease-354128 <p>Researchers from ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą, led by Professor Alanna Watt of the Department of Biology, have identified previously unknown changes in brain cells affected by a neurological disease. Their <a href="http://elifesciences.org/articles/90510">research</a>, published in <i>eLife,</i> could pave the way to future treatments for the disease.</p> Wed, 10 Jan 2024 15:56:10 +0000 claire.loewen@mcgill.ca 307577 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/how-does-one-species-become-many-353924 <p>Evolutionary biologists have long suspected that the diversification of a single species into multiple descendent species – that is, an “adaptive radiation” – is the result of each species adapting to a different environment. Yet formal tests of this hypothesis have been elusive owing to the difficulty of firmly establishing the relationship between species traits and evolutionary “fitness” for a group of related species that recently diverged from a common ancestral species.</p> Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:16:32 +0000 claire.loewen@mcgill.ca 307568 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/expert-weather-extremes-influence-rise-and-fall-insect-populations-351592 <p>Insect populations are widely influenced by weather anomalies, with decreasing numbers observed during unfavorable conditions and a spike in normal periods, according to a new study. The study published in <i>Nature</i> tries to resolve a debated topic: Are insect populations declining? Several studies have reported a decline in insect populations and diversity while others have questioned this. (<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06402-z">Nature</a>)</p> <p>Here is an expert from ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą who can provide comment on this issue:</p> Tue, 03 Oct 2023 16:25:15 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 307375 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/exercise-may-be-key-developing-treatments-rare-movement-disorder-341989 <p>Spinal cerebellar ataxia 6 (SCA6) is an inherited neurological condition which has a debilitating impact on motor coordination. Affecting around 1 in 100,000 people, the rarity of SCA6 has seen it attract only limited attention from medical researchers. To date, there is no known cure and only limited treatment options exist.</p> <p>Now, a team of ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą researchers specializing in SCA6 and other forms of ataxia, have published findings that not only offer hope for SCA6 sufferers but may also open the way to developing treatments for other movement disorders.</p> Fri, 16 Sep 2022 16:36:28 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 288363 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/tiny-bodies-bats-allow-perfect-balance-between-flight-costs-and-heat-dissipation-340393 <p>Many mammal species living in cold climates tend to have large bodies and short limbs to reduce heat loss – a general pattern known as Bergmann’s rule. However, bats are the exception to the rule, displaying small body sizes in both hot and cold regions. A ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą-led team of researchers is shedding light on this long-standing debate over bats’ body sizes and focus on why bats are seemingly non-conforming to ecogeographical patterns found in other mammals. Their findings offer a new method for investigating complex macroecology across bat species.</p> Thu, 21 Jul 2022 16:33:35 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 288261 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/uncovering-underlying-patterns-contemporary-evolution-336562 <p>Wild populations must continuously adapt to environmental changes or risk extinction. For more than fifty years, scientists have described instances of “rapid evolution” in specific populations as their traits (phenotypes) change in response to varying stressors. For example, Spanish clover has developed a tolerance for copper from the mine tailings in which it grows, and the horn size of Alberta bighorn sheep has decreased due to trophy hunting.</p> Tue, 18 Jan 2022 14:38:05 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 284331 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/dopamine-plays-key-role-songbird-mating-335032 <p>In humans, the dopamine system has been tied to rewards and pleasurable sensations. As well as to memory and learning. A recent study from ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01107-6?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982221011076%3Fshowall%3Dtrue"><i>Current Biology</i></a>, suggests that dopamine may also play a key role in shaping what songs female songbirds enjoy, which may ultimately affect mating as females choose (and then remember) their mates based on the songs they prefer.</p> Fri, 19 Nov 2021 19:32:16 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 283644 at /newsroom /newsroom/brian-leung Fri, 06 Aug 2021 18:10:34 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 271897 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/cell-structure-previously-associated-disease-actually-improves-brain-function-331842 <p>Researchers at ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą have shown that a brain cell structure previously thought to be pathological in fact enhances cells’ ability to transmit information and correlates with better learning on certain tasks.</p> <p>In a study published in <i>Nature Communications</i>, the team investigated swellings that occur in the axons of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum. In results that contradict established expectations, they found that axons with swellings did a better job of conducting electrical signals than those without.</p> Thu, 08 Jul 2021 18:43:29 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 269920 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/stressed-out-corals-thriving-thanks-mangroves-331113 <p>Tropical coral reefs are the most biodiverse underwater ecosystem, providing a home to more than a quarter of all marine species. No strangers to environmental stressors and the on-going impacts of climate change, the survival of corals has increasingly been under threat in recent years. A collective of researchers, including from ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą, have analyzed how environmental factors influence the growth and health of corals and found that more species of corals are living in the mangrove forests than in nearby shallow reefs.</p> Tue, 18 May 2021 15:39:57 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 266086 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/when-bloom-why-do-some-plants-produce-small-and-unattractive-flowers-328240 <p>Picture a flower: what do you see? A bright and showy splash of contrasting colours? Well, not all plants produce flowers that are only like that. Some plant species actually produce two types: “normal” ones that look great, and “runts” that are small, never open and, rather than attract pollinating insects, instead pollinate themselves.</p> Wed, 03 Feb 2021 15:13:28 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 256588 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/new-algorithm-reveals-birdsong-features-may-be-key-courtship-330572 <p>Researchers from ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą and the University of California, San Francisco have developed a new algorithm capable of identifying features of male zebra finch songs that may underlie the distinction between a short phrase sung during courtship, and the same phrase sung in a non-courtship context.</p> Thu, 22 Apr 2021 13:44:10 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 260932 at /newsroom