A whole lot of shaking goin' on triggers early hatching in red-eyed tree frogs
Embryos distinguish vibrational differences, hatching early to snake attacks but not to rain At the edge of Ocelot Pond, Panama, red-eyed tree frog embryos still in their eggs are about to make a life-or-death decision. The egg clutch, a gelatinous blob clinging to a leaf overhanging the water, has been spied by a bright green parrot snake. In a twinkling, the snake tears a few eggs from...Picky female frogs drive evolution of new species in less than 8,000 years
Picky female frogs in a tiny rainforest outpost of Australia have driven the evolution of a new species in 8,000 years or less, according to scientists from the University of Queensland, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. "That's lightning-fast," said co-author Craig Moritz, professor of integrative biology at UC Berkeley and director of...Rare Chinese frogs communicate by means of ultrasonic sound
First came word that a rare frog (Amolops tormotus) in China sings like a bird, then that the species produces very high-pitch ultrasonic sounds. Now scientists say that these concave-eared torrent frogs also hear and respond to the sounds. The findings, to appear in the March 16 issue of Nature, represent the first documented case of an amphibian being able to communicate like bats, whale...Crucial site for endangered frogs and birds saved
Fast action by an alliance of conservation groups battling global extinctions has saved one of the world's most important sites for endangered species. American Bird Conservancy (ABC), Conservation International (CI), and Fundación ProAves of Colombia stepped in to protect the 1,600-acre site on the northwest slope of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta massif, on the Caribbean coast of Colom...Brain Tumor Drug in Frogs A New Report
A synthetic version of a molecule found in the egg cells of the Northern Leopard frog (Rana pipiens) could provide the world with the first drug treatment for brain tumours. The molecule Amphinase,recognises the sugary coating found on a tumour cell and binds to its surface before invading the cell and inactivating the RNA it contains, causing the tumour to die. In new r...