Tag: Bats
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Study reshapes understanding of bats and dangerous viruses
New findings challenge longstanding assumptions about bats and viruses A groundbreaking study published in Nature Communications Biology, led by researchers at the University of Oklahoma, offers new perspective on the complex relationship between bats and dangerous viruses. While bats have long been suspected as reservoirs for a range of pathogens, the new research urges caution…
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Bats and dangerous viruses: new insights from a Nature study
Overview: Rethinking bats and dangerous viruses A recent study published in Nature Communications Biology challenges some widely held beliefs about the relationship between bats and dangerous viruses. Led by researchers at the University of Oklahoma, the work emphasizes that bats should not be seen as a monolithic source of zoonotic threats. Instead, the study highlights…
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Bats and Dangerous Viruses: New Insights from Nature
Introduction: Rethinking Bat-Virus Relationships A recent study published in Nature Communications Biology offers a fresh perspective on how bats interact with dangerous viruses. Led by researchers at the University of Oklahoma, the work challenges some long-held assumptions about bats as universal reservoirs for high-risk pathogens. Instead, the study emphasizes context, behavior, and ecology as key…
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Bat boxes may become deadly roosts in heat, study warns
Overview: bat boxes under heat stress Artificial roosts for bats, commonly known as bat boxes, are a favored conservation tool in urban areas where hollow trees are scarce. They offer shelter for several species and help keep native bats connected to human-dominated landscapes. However, new research published in the Journal of Experimental Biology raises a…
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Bat Boxes and Heat Risk: Safe Roosts for Bats in a Warming World
Introduction: Bat boxes as a conservation tool—and a potential hazard Artificial roosts for bats, commonly known as bat boxes, are widely used to support native bat populations where natural habitats have been degraded or removed. In urban areas, these boxes offer shelter when hollow trees are scarce. A new study in the Journal of Experimental…
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Europe’s Largest Bats Hunt And Eat Migrating Birds On Wing, High In Sky
Groundbreaking Insight into a Remarkable Hunting Strategy For years, researchers have known that some bats can prey on sizable, nimble birds. Now a comprehensive study using high-resolution biologging has confirmed that Europe’s largest bat, the greater noctule (Nyctalus lasiopterus), routinely captures and consumes nocturnally migrating passerine birds in flight high above the ground. This discovery…
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Europe’s Largest Bats Hunt Birds In Flight At Night
Breakthrough Evidence: Bats Diving After Migrating Birds For decades, researchers have known that some bat species can hunt larger prey away from water and near the ground. A new study, however, provides compelling, direct evidence that Europe’s largest bat, the greater noctule (Nyctalus lasiopterus), hunts and eats nocturnally migrating birds in midair, high above the…
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Europe’s Largest Bats Hunt Migrating Birds in Flight: Aerial Predation at 400 Meters
Introduction: A surprising apex of the nocturnal skies While bats are widely celebrated for eating insects, a striking exception exists high above Europe’s forests. The greater noctule bat (Nyctalus lasiopterus), Europe’s largest bat, hunts nocturnally migrating birds in flight. A recent study employing high-resolution biologging tags confirms that these bats climb above 400 meters to…
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AI-Driven Breakthrough Unveils How Evolution Repeats Itself Across Species
AI Sheds Light on Convergent Evolution In a remarkable stride for evolutionary biology, Chinese researchers have demonstrated how artificial intelligence can illuminate one of nature’s most intriguing puzzles: convergent evolution. A team led by Zou Zhengting from the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has shown that different species can independently develop…
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By reusing old genes, bats became the only mammals able to fly
How bats became the only flying mammals Bats stand apart as the only mammals capable of true powered flight. Their secret isn’t a radical new genome, but a smart reapplication of old genetic tools. Scientists have long wondered how a five-fingered limb could morph into a wing with a delicate skin sheet. A recent study…