science news 18.10.2019

Today's selection of science news. Links are normally to press releases on EurekAlert (at the bottom end I may also add a couple of newspaper stories). I include quotes from the summary in italics in cases where the title alone doesn't reveal what the story is about. My own thoughts appear without italics if I have any.



astrobiology

Ancient stars shed light on Earth's similarities to other planets

Exoplanet interiors have Earth-like geochemistry


evolution

Paleontology: 480-million-year-old arthropods formed orderly queues


ecology

New study uncovers 'magnetic' memory of European glass eels
A new study led by researchers at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway found that European glass eels use their magnetic sense to 'imprint' a memory of the direction of water currents in the estuary where they become juveniles.

First scientific description of elusive bird illuminates plight of Borneo's forests
Scientists with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and collaborators surveying the birdlife of Borneo have discovered a startling surprise: an undescribed species of bird, which has been named the spectacled flowerpecker. While scientists and birdwatchers have previously glimpsed the small, gray bird in lowland forests around the island, the Smithsonian team is the first to capture and study it, resulting in its formal scientific description as a new species.



A scientific illustration of the spectacled flowerpecker eating mistletoe. The first formal description of this species is reported Oct. 17 in the journal Zootaxa and confirms that the bird belongs to a colorful family of fruit-eating birds known as flowerpeckers, which are found throughout tropical southern Asia, Australia and nearby islands. The Smithsonian team that described the new species analyzed the bird's diet. Like other flowerpeckers, the new species has been spotted eating mistletoe, a parasitic plant that grows high in the forest canopy. Through DNA analysis and close inspection of seeds from the bird's gut, the team was able to identify the type of mistletoe that the bird eats. This information gives researchers a new perspective on this bird's ecological needs and habitat preferences.
Credit: John Anderton


conservation

Global biodiversity crisis is a large-scale reorganization, with greatest loss in tropical oceans


humans

Modern Melanesians harbor beneficial DNA from archaic hominins, ie Neanderthals and Denisovans


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From the news media:

Genetic testing kits 'may wrongly reassure those at risk of cancer' , reports the Guardian.