Advancing data honesty in experimental biology.

The ease with which scientific data, particularly certain types of raw data in experimental biology, can be fabricated without trace begs urgent attention. This is thought to be a widespread problem across the academic world, where published results are the major currency, incentivizing publication of (usually positive) results at the cost of lax scientific rigor and even fraudulent data. Although solutions to improve data sharing and methodological transparency are increasingly being implemented, the inability to detect dishonesty within raw data remains an inherent flaw in the way in which we judge research.

Seasonal remodeling of visceral organs in the invasive desert gecko Tarentola annularis.

In winter, many reptiles have a period of inactivity ("brumation"). During brumation there is no energetic intake, therefore there would be an advantage to reducing energetic expenditure. The size of energetically costly organs, a major determinant of metabolic rate, is known to be flexible in many tetrapods.

Squamate metabolic rates decrease in winter beyond the effect of temperature.

The reptilian form of hibernation (brumation) is much less studied than its mammalian and insect equivalents. Hibernation and brumation share some basic features but may differ in others. Evidence for hypometabolism in brumating reptiles beyond the effect of temperature is sporadic and often ignored.

Distance from human settlements favors wild-type appearance of feral cats () in Mediterranean woodland.

Camouflage is a common trait enabling animals to avoid detection by predators and prey. Patterns such as spots and stripes are convergent across carnivore families, including felids, and are hypothesized to have adaptive value through camouflage. House cats () were domesticated thousands of years ago, but despite artificial selection for a wide variety of coat colors, the wild-type pattern of tabby cats is very common.

The Exocrine Chemistry of the Parasitic Wasp and Its Host : A Case of Chemical Deception?

The main challenge facing a parasite of social insects lies in deceiving its host's detection and defense systems in order to enter and survive within the host colony. is an ichneumonid wasp that parasitizes the pupae of the Oriental hornet . In Israel's Mediterranean region, this parasitoid infects on average 23.