The evolution of lifespan is a central question in evolutionary biology, begging the question why there is so large variation among taxa. Specifically, a central quest is to unravel proximate causes of ageing. Here it is shown that the degree of unsaturation of liver fatty acids predicts maximum lifespan in 107 bird species.

The results of this study provide consistent and robust evidence that populations of golden jackals from Africa and Eurasia represent distinct monophyletic lineages separated for more than one million years, sufficient to merit formal recognition as different species: C. anthus (African golden wolf) and C. aureus (Eurasian golden jackal).

During the past decade, melanins and melanogenesis have attracted growing interest for a broad range of biomedical and technological applications. Despite considerable advances, applied research on melanins and melanogenesis is still far from being mature. The present review aims at providing an interdisciplinary perspective of melanin pigments and related pathway.

Melanins are biological pigments that occur in two chemical forms, eumelanin and pheomelanin. Here authors report for the first time that an insect (grasshopper) synthesizes pheomelanin.

The introduction of invasive species, which often differ functionally from the components of the recipient community, generates ecological impacts that propagate along the food web. This review aims to determine how consistent the impacts of aquatic invasions are across taxa and habitats. To that end, we present a global meta-analysis from 151 publications, covering a wide range of invaders (primary producers, filter collectors, omnivores and predators), resident aquatic community components...