ADVERTISEMENT
TK
Bat Immune Systems: The Original Antivirus Programs
Bats stay healthy while hosting some of the world’s deadliest viruses. Scientists are just beginning to understand how.
Bat Immune Systems: The Original Antivirus Programs
Bat Immune Systems: The Original Antivirus Programs

Bats stay healthy while hosting some of the world’s deadliest viruses. Scientists are just beginning to understand how.

Bats stay healthy while hosting some of the world’s deadliest viruses. Scientists are just beginning to understand how.

bat

Countless bats swarming in the evening dusk
Bat Coronaviruses May Infect Tens of Thousands of People Yearly
Andy Carstens | Aug 10, 2022 | 2 min read
Parts of Southeast Asia where human and bat population densities are highest could be infection hotspots, a study finds.
Bat perching upside down in a cave.
Some Bats Buzz Like Hornets to Deter Predators
Natalia Mesa, PhD | May 9, 2022 | 2 min read
The behavior is the first example of a mammal mimicking a more-dangerous species.
A woman sits with a camera and recording equipment looking up at a tree full of bats (unseen).
Baby Talk: Bat Pups Babble Like Human Infants
Annie Melchor | Aug 20, 2021 | 4 min read
By studying the vocal behavior of 20 baby bats from birth to weaning, researchers have identified striking similarities between how young humans and bats develop communication skills.
When Pursuing Prey, Bats Tune Out the World
Lisa Winter | May 1, 2021 | 2 min read
As they close in for the kill, the flying mammals use quieter echolocation to focus on the chase.
christmas island gold course australia extinct species Christmas Island forest skink Emoia nativitatis Christmas Island pipistrelle Pipistrellus murrayi
Australian Government Adds a Dozen Animals to Extinct List
Kerry Grens | Mar 3, 2021 | 1 min read
The species include the first reptile to be listed and the Christmas Island pipistrelle, a bat last seen in 2009.
Yunnan province, China, bats, bat, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, infectious disease, pandemic, coronavirus, climate change, modeling,
Are Climate-Driven Shifts in Bat Diversity to Blame for COVID-19?
Asher Jones | Feb 12, 2021 | 4 min read
A study proposes that habitat for bats—and their accompanying coronaviruses—has increased in southern Asia over the last century, but experts debate the reliability of the analysis.
wuhan china who world health organization sars-cov-2 origins lab escape huanan seafood market intermediate host bat covid-19 coronavirus pandemic
WHO Discounts Idea that SARS-CoV-2 Leaked from a Lab
Kerry Grens | Feb 9, 2021 | 2 min read
An investigation by the World Health Organization into the origins of COVID-19 will instead focus on the virus’s animal origins and the possibility of spread through frozen foods.
Alterations in Immune Genes Make Bats Great Viral Hosts
Abby Olena, PhD | Oct 27, 2020 | 3 min read
Bat species use different strategies to dampen immune activation in response to viruses.
a person with a basket strapped to her back walks past terraced rice fields
NIH Cancels Funding for Bat Coronavirus Research Project
Shawna Williams | Apr 28, 2020 | 3 min read
The abrupt termination comes after the research drew President Trump’s attention for its ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
bats hanging upside down
Where Coronaviruses Come From
Shawna Williams | Jan 24, 2020 | 6 min read
EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak speaks with The Scientist about how pathogens like 2019-nCoV jump species, and how to head off the next pandemic.
little brown bat myotis lucifugus white-nose syndrome california
Fungus Behind Deadly Bat Disease Found in Northern California
Ashley P. Taylor | Jul 8, 2019 | 2 min read
Bats are infected with the microbe that causes white-nose syndrome, but the disease itself has not shown up.
bats echolocation echo echoes find prey target navigation
Image of the Day: Target Practice
Chia-Yi Hou | Jun 5, 2019 | 1 min read
Bats move their ears fast to create frequency shifts in echoes that can give them more information about their prey targets or the surroundings they are navigating through.
Thousands of Australian Animals Die in Unprecedented Heatwave
Jef Akst | Jan 17, 2019 | 2 min read
Freshwater fish suffer from low levels of oxygen in the country’s rivers, while bats are unable to survive the extreme air temperatures.
Newly Identified Virus Similar to Ebola, Marburg
Kerry Grens | Jan 9, 2019 | 2 min read
Menglà virus, detected in bats in China, infects cells through the same host receptor targeted by the deadly pathogens.
Image of the Day: Acoustic Camouflage
Kerry Grens | Nov 14, 2018 | 1 min read
Moths’ scales vibrate in the frequency range of bats’ echolocation calls, perhaps helping the insects to avoid predation.
New Species of Ebola Discovered
Catherine Offord | Jul 30, 2018 | 2 min read
The Bombali Ebola virus was identified in bats in Sierra Leone, and there’s no evidence that it has infected people or causes human disease.
Why Bats Make Such Good Viral Hosts
Katarina Zimmer | Jun 1, 2018 | 4 min read
The bat version of the STING protein helps dampen the mammals' immune response to infection, researchers have found.
Image of the Day: Hammerhead
The Scientist Staff | May 21, 2018 | 1 min read
This hammer-headed fruit bat is wearing a GPS tracker deployed by researchers with the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Robert Baker, Bat Biologist, Dies
Diana Kwon | Apr 5, 2018 | 2 min read
The Texas Tech University professor also investigated the effects of the Chernobyl disaster on surrounding wildlife.
ADVERTISEMENT