http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Amphibians like frogs and toads have existed for 360 million years and survived when the dinosaurs didn't, but a new aquatic fungus is threatening to make many of them extinct, according to an article in the November issue of Microbiology Today. http://www.physorg.com/news178198770.html Biology Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:40:13 EST news178198770 Amphibians, for years considered a leading indicator of environmental degradation, are not uniquely susceptible to pollution, according to a meta-analysis to be published in Ecology Letters. http://www.physorg.com/news177155119.html Biology Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:47:11 EST news177155119 Dr Amber Teacher, studying a post-doctorate at Royal Holloway, University of London, has discovered evidence that a disease may be causing a behavioural change in frogs. The research, published in the August edition of Molecular Ecology, has unearthed a surprising fact about our long-tongued friends: wild frogs in the UK may be changing their mating behaviour. http://www.physorg.com/news167905623.html Biology Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:27:57 EST news167905623 For the first time in nearly 50 years, a population of a nearly extinct frog has been rediscovered in the San Bernardino National Forest's San Jacinto Wilderness. Biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessing suitability of sites to re-establish frogs and scientists from the San Diego Natural History Museum retracing a 1908 natural history expedition both rediscovered the rare mountain yellow-legged frog in the San Jacinto Wilderness near Idyllwild, Calif. http://www.physorg.com/news167720913.html Biology Sat, 25 Jul 2009 07:10:01 EST news167720913 Burrowing frogs can survive buried for several years without food or water. Scientists have discovered that the metabolism of their cells changes radically during the dormancy period allowing the frogs to maximize the use of their limited energy resources. This discovery could prove to have important applications in the long term for treating energy-related disorders such as obesity. The results will be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting on Monday, June 29. http://www.physorg.com/news165475339.html Biology Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:30:01 EST news165475339 Same-sex behavior is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom, common across species, from worms to frogs to birds, concludes a new review of existing research. http://www.physorg.com/news164376975.html Biology Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:46:24 EST news164376975 New research documents a surprising chemical weapon used by some Amazonian poison frogs. The study identified for the first time a family of poisons never before known to exist in these brightly colored creatures or elsewhere in Nature, the N-methyldecahydroquinolines. The authors then speculated on its origin in the frogs` diet, most likely ants. The report is scheduled for the June 26 issue of ACS` Journal of Natural Products. http://www.physorg.com/news163350366.html Chemistry Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:06:34 EST news163350366 (AP) -- Scientists are airlifting dozens of one of the world's largest frogs off of Montserrat island to save them from a deadly fungus devastating their dwindling habitat. The dense forest of this tiny British Caribbean territory is the last remaining stronghold of the critically endangered mountain chicken frog, a 2-pound (0.9 kg), frying pan-size amphibian that got its name because locals say its meat tastes like - you guessed it - chicken. http://www.physorg.com/news161054412.html Biology Sat, 09 May 2009 02:20:56 EST news161054412 (AP) -- The black salamander with yellow spots sat on the roadside in the dark, ready to make a go of it. http://www.physorg.com/news158223902.html Biology Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:07:45 EST news158223902 Ecologists in Australia have discovered that cane toads are far more susceptible to being killed and eaten by meat ants than native frogs. Their research - published in the British Ecological Society's journal Functional Ecology - reveals a chink in the cane toad's armour that could help control the spread of this alien invasive species in tropical Australia. http://www.physorg.com/news157620513.html Biology Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:29:30 EST news157620513 Colorful poison frogs in the Amazon owe their great diversity to ancestors that leapt into the region from the Andes Mountains several times during the last 10 million years, a new study from The University of Texas at Austin suggests. http://www.physorg.com/news155883644.html Biology Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:01:26 EST news155883644 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have discovered how changes to a frog's immune system may be the key to beating a viral infection which is devastating frog populations across the UK. http://www.physorg.com/news154960069.html Biology Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:28:18 EST news154960069 (PhysOrg.com) -- Around the world, amphibian populations are in decline, and scientists have not been able to figure out why. Now a study of leopard frogs in Pennsylvania has identified a possible culprit, and the ramifications are troubling, according to a Penn State ecologist. http://www.physorg.com/news152983713.html Space & Earth Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:29:20 EST news152983713 Ten of the world's most popular pesticides can decimate amphibian populations when mixed together even if the concentration of the individual chemicals are within limits considered safe, according to University of Pittsburgh research published Nov. 11 in the online edition of Oecologia. Such "cocktails of contaminants" are frequently detected in nature, the paper notes, and the Pitt findings offer the first illustration of how a large mixture of pesticides can adversely affect the environment. http://www.physorg.com/news145644586.html Space & Earth Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:49:46 EST news145644586 (PhysOrg.com) -- A physicist and a conservationist from The University of Manchester are heading for the rain forests of Costa Rica - in a bid to understand more about a deadly fungus that is killing amphibians around the world. http://www.physorg.com/news138289678.html Biology Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:47:58 EST news138289678 Researchers have discovered that a frog that lives near noisy springs in central China can tune its ears to different sound frequencies, much like the tuner on a radio can shift from one frequency to another. It is the only known example of an animal that can actively select what frequencies it hears, the researchers say. http://www.physorg.com/news135937929.html Biology Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:32:09 EST news135937929 As frog populations die off around the world, researchers have identified certain genes that can help the amphibians develop resistance to harmful bacteria and disease. The discovery may provide new strategies to protect frog populations in the wild. http://www.physorg.com/news135402647.html Biology Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:50:47 EST news135402647