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. A scientist from the University of Salamanca and another from Yale University have shown that the presence of predators affects the behaviour of Acanthodactylus beershebensis, a lizard species from the Negev Desert in the Near East. According to the study, these reptiles move less and catch less mobile and different prey if they are under pressure from predators. http://www.physorg.com/news178978395.html Biology Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:30:01 EST news178978395 Armed with eyelash glue, a walking stick and a faithful horse, University of Alberta researcher Krista Fink is hoping to help Canada's most northern lizard get off the species-at-risk list. http://www.physorg.com/news177614057.html Biology Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:30:02 EST news177614057 (PhysOrg.com) -- Were dinosaurs endothermic (warm-blooded) like present-day mammals and birds or ectothermic (cold-blooded) like present-day lizards? The implications of this simple-sounding question go beyond deciding whether or not you'd snuggle up to a dinosaur on a cold winter's evening. http://www.physorg.com/news177138663.html Biology Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:12:21 EST news177138663 (AP) -- A rare Panamanian tree frog, a rodent from Madagascar and two lizards found only in the Philippines are among over 17,000 species threatened with extinction, a leading environmental group said Tuesday. http://www.physorg.com/news176412974.html Biology Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:36:43 EST news176412974 Mother Nature has provided the lizard with a unique ability to regrow body tissue that is damaged or torn ― if its tail is pulled off, it grows right back. She has not been quite so generous with human beings. But we might be able to come close, thanks to new research from Tel Aviv University. http://www.physorg.com/news175177923.html Biology Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:32:43 EST news175177923 The world's largest living lizard species, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), is vulnerable to extinction and yet little is known about its natural history. New research by a team of palaeontologists and archaeologists from Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia, who studied fossil evidence from Australia, Timor, Flores, Java and India, shows that Komodo Dragons most likely evolved in Australia and dispersed westward to Indonesia. http://www.physorg.com/news173515666.html Other Sciences Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:40:03 EST news173515666 (PhysOrg.com) -- Reptiles changed their walking posture from sprawling to upright immediately after the end-Permian mass extinction, the biggest crisis in the history of life that occurred some 250 million years ago and wiped out 90% of all species. http://www.physorg.com/news172221271.html Other Sciences Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:15:10 EST news172221271 Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease have traced the evolution of the four-chambered human heart to a common genetic factor linked to the development of hearts in turtles and other reptiles. http://www.physorg.com/news171116708.html Medicine & Health Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:00:17 EST news171116708 How do you recognize a new species? A thorough study of the million-year evolution of California's horned lizards, sometimes referred to as "horny toads," shows that when it comes to distinguishing such recently diverged species, the most powerful method integrates genetic, anatomical and ecological information. http://www.physorg.com/news167409453.html Biology Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:38:31 EST news167409453 Cartoon depictions of the first animals to emerge from the ocean and walk on land often show a simple fish with feet, venturing from water to land. But according to Jennifer Clack, a paleontologist at the University of Cambridge who has studied the fossils of these extinct creatures for more than two decades, the earliest land vertebrates -- also known as tetrapods -- were more diverse than we could possibly imagine. http://www.physorg.com/news166117136.html Other Sciences Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:39:23 EST news166117136 Avoidance of inbreeding is evident amongst humans, and has been demonstrated in some shorebirds, mice and sand lizards. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology now report that it also occurs in a strictly monogamous species of bird, suggesting that the black-legged kittiwake possesses the ability to choose partners with a very different genetic profile. http://www.physorg.com/news165565521.html Biology Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:26:04 EST news165565521 Whether baby lizards will turn out to be male or female is a more complicated question than scientists would have ever guessed, according to a new report published online on June 4th in Current Biology. The study shows that for at least one lizard species, egg size matters. http://www.physorg.com/news163342512.html Biology Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:56:04 EST news163342512 Some dinosaurs may have held their heads up, like a giraffe, rather than in a more horizontal position, University of Portsmouth scientists report today. http://www.physorg.com/news162653613.html Other Sciences Wed, 27 May 2009 14:34:15 EST news162653613 An international team of scientists has discovered a new acarine species (Ophionyssus schreibericolus) that lives off black green lizards from the Iberian Peninsula. This involves the first recording of the Ophionyssus genus that feeds off and lives on animals endemic to the peninsula. The researchers now think that these parasites could be found in other reptiles in the region. http://www.physorg.com/news157988634.html Biology Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:44:28 EST news157988634 (PhysOrg.com) -- University of Michigan ecologists and their colleagues have answered a question that has puzzled biologists for more than a century: What is the main factor that determines a lizard's ability to shed its tail when predators attack? The answer, in a word: Venom. http://www.physorg.com/news157220324.html Biology Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:19:28 EST news157220324 (PhysOrg.com) -- University of Adelaide research has discovered that there are many more species of Australian lizards than previously thought, raising new questions about conservation and management of Australia's native reptiles. http://www.physorg.com/news155383262.html Biology Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:01:46 EST news155383262 From geckos and iguanas to Gila monsters and Komodo dragons, lizards are among the most common reptiles on Earth. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. One even pitches car insurance in TV ads. They seemingly can adapt to a variety of conditions, but are most abundant in the tropics. http://www.physorg.com/news155333999.html Biology Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:20:19 EST news155333999 Young male lizards in South Africa imitate females to fool aggressive older males into leaving them alone, in an example of transvestism in the natural world, researchers have found. http://www.physorg.com/news155288676.html Biology Tue, 03 Mar 2009 07:45:13 EST news155288676 If you've ever tried capturing a lizard, you'll know how difficult it is. But if you do manage to corner one, many have the ultimate emergency quick release system for escape. They simply drop their tails, leaving the twitching body part to distract the predator as they scamper to safety. According to Gary Gillis from Mount Holyoke College, USA, up to 50% of some lizard populations seem to have traded some part of their tails in exchange for escape. This made Gillis wonder how this loss may impact on a lizard's mobility and ability to survive. Specifically how do branch hopping, tree dwelling lizards cope with their loss. http://www.physorg.com/news153755239.html Biology Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:48:11 EST news153755239 (PhysOrg.com) -- Penn State Assistant Professor of Biology Tracy Langkilde has shown that native fence lizards in the southeastern United States are adapting to potentially fatal invasive fire-ant attacks by developing behaviors that enable them to escape from the ants, as well as by developing longer hind legs, which can increase the effectiveness of this behavior. http://www.physorg.com/news151688677.html Biology Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:45:03 EST news151688677 Pterosaurs have long suffered an identity crisis. Pop culture heedlessly - and wrongly - lumps these extinct flying lizards in with dinosaurs. Even paleontologists assumed that because the creatures flew, they were birdlike in many ways, such as using only two legs to take flight. http://www.physorg.com/news150483980.html Other Sciences Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:06:20 EST news150483980 Small skink lizards, Lerista, demonstrate extensive changes in body shape over geologically brief periods. Research published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology shows that several species of these skinks have rapidly evolved an elongate, limbless body form. http://www.physorg.com/news145602979.html Biology Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:16:19 EST news145602979 Skin infections are common in pet lizards and can lead to fatal organ disease and septicaemia. Infections are particularly risky in lizards that are bred in captivity for release into the wild, as they can spread into the wild population. http://www.physorg.com/news141015799.html Biology Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:03:19 EST news141015799