Mastodawn

Okay, I put off watching the latest ZeFrank video because it seemed to be about honeybees, which are boring (sorry bee people), but it's actually an amazing journey through geometry, evo-devo, the other, cooler Hymenoptera such as wasps, solitary bees, and ants, the evolution of eusociality, "stigmergy" (a new one for me), and more!

https://youtu.be/_hw26yREe9w

#bugstodon #entomology #insects #bees #wasps #ants #EvolutionaryBiology #EvoBio #EvoDevo #Hymenoptera #Anthophila #Formicidae

True Facts: The Mystery Of How Bees Build

YouTube

Scientific Frontline 1d ago

Researchers have utilized multimodal imaging to comprehensively map the anatomy of the sea squirt Halocynthia papillosa, uncovering previously unknown biological features such as tunic autofluorescence and an atypical central nervous system.
#MarineBiology #EvolutionaryBiology #Neurobiology #Zoology
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/05/nb05272601.html

3D Imaging Unveils Sea Squirt Anatomy

Multimodal 3D imaging reveals unique neurobiology and autofluorescence in the sea squirt Halocynthia papillosa, a key evolutionary model organism.

Scientific Frontline 2d ago

The fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) exhibits a previously undetected trait, emitting a bright turquoise-blue biofluorescent glow when exposed to ultraviolet light.
#EvolutionaryBiology #ChemicalEcology #Herpetology #Zoology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/05/ebio05272601.html

Fire Salamander Biofluorescence Found

Discover the newly found biofluorescence in fire salamanders. Learn how UV light reveals hidden traits and complex amphibian communication mechanisms.

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earthling 3d ago

17/
Further reading:

1. The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens—and Ourselves by Arik Kershenbaum, 2020

Applying the universal laws of evolutionary biology to the cosmos, this book brilliantly argues that because natural selection dictates form and function, alien life-forms will inevitably move, breathe, and communicate in ways strikingly similar to Earth's animals.

#books
#astrobiology
#extraterrestials
#aliens
#FirstContact
#EvolutionaryBiology

Scientific Frontline 5d ago

Allostasis is the sophisticated, anticipatory biological process wherein the brain dynamically alters internal physiological parameters to meet predicted environmental demands, while allostatic load is the cumulative cellular and systemic wear-and-tear resulting from the chronic overactivation of this predictive regulatory system.
#WhatIs #Neuroendocrinology #EvolutionaryBiology #Physiology #Psychoneuroimmunology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/05/wi05242601.html

What Is: Allostasis and Allostatic Load

Discover how the brain's predictive regulation (allostasis) and chronic stress wear-and-tear (allostatic load) drive modern systemic diseases.

The Inquisitive Biologist 6d ago

This week's #NewBooks at the library: Who is excited about the next few books he will be reviewing?

- After an impressive debut, I am looking forward to reading Cal Flyn's second book, The Savage Landscape: How We Made the Wilderness, published by HarperCollins.

- Time for another deep dive into the history of my favourite discipline, #EvolutionaryBiology. I really enjoyed Costa's annotated version of Wallace's notebook, and am very excited about delving into this annotated version of #CharlesDarwin's The Descent of Man, beautifully published here by @princetonupress. Expect me to go dark for a while, it's over 760 pages!

- And for context, I will be adding a review of Jeremy DeSilva's A Most Interesting Problem: What #Darwin’s Descent of Man Got Right and Wrong about #HumanEvolution, published a few years back, also by Princeton.

#Books #Bookstodon #Scicomm #Evolution #HistoryOfScience #ScienceHistory #HistSci @bookstodon

Scientific Frontline May 22

Negative hysteresis is an evolution-informed treatment strategy where an initial exposure to one antibiotic predictably induces a temporary cellular vulnerability in a bacterial pathogen to a second, different antibiotic. In the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, pretreatment with a β-lactam robustly sensitizes the bacteria to a subsequent aminoglycoside attack.
#Microbiology #EvolutionaryBiology #Pharmacology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/05/mcb05222601.html

Negative Hysteresis in Antibiotics

Discover how negative hysteresis uses sequential antibiotics to weaken resistant bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, fighting the AMR crisis.

Scientific Frontline May 21

Mammal species that live in pairs or social groups consistently outlive solitary species, demonstrating that social organization naturally extends a species' maximum lifespan.
#PopulationBiology #EvolutionaryBiology #Ecology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/05/ebio05212601.html

Why Social Mammals Live Longer

Discover how living in pairs or groups helps social mammals outlive solitary species through collective defense and evolutionary biology

Scientific Frontline May 20

The earliest known eukaryotic organisms were exclusively benthic, inhabiting shallow, oxygenated marine seafloors rather than drifting in the anoxic open oceans. Their evolution and geographic distribution were fundamentally constrained by the highly localized availability of oxygen.
#Paleontology #Geochemistry #EvolutionaryBiology #Sedimentology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/05/pal05202601.html

Benthic Origins of Early Eukaryotes

New research reveals early eukaryotes lived in oxygenated seafloors 1.7 billion years ago, explaining their billion-year evolutionary delay.

Scientific Frontline May 19

Feeding on non-native, invasive plant species during the larval stage significantly alters the adult wing coloration of the near-threatened Fischer's Blue butterfly (Tongeia fischeri), negatively impacting its reproductive success.
#Entomology #Ecology #Conservation #EvolutionaryBiology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/05/ent05192601.html

Invasive Plants Disrupt Butterfly Mating

A non-native larval diet changes the wing color of Fischer's Blue butterflies, disrupting visual mating signals and threatening reproductive success.