Biology
The UK’s legal cannabis market is booming – so why can’t this talented artist get any to treat his epilepsy? | Kojo Koram
Companies have rushed to supply the drug as a wellness treatment, but patients with serious illnesses aren’t able to get NHS prescriptionsIn 2022, a prodigiously talented young ar…
Looking for bats after dark can help science—and change how we see them
What's that chirping sound coming through the detector? Did you feel something whiz past? Those are just some ways people react when they encounter microbats for the first time. M…
Giant virus yields potassium channel gene that illuminates complex protein evolution
Researchers have discovered a gene for a tandem potassium channel in an algal virus. The finding supports the view that giant viruses may have contributed significantly to the evo…
Calling species 'invasive'—and culling them—isn't done lightly. But it matters to Australia's threatened species
It may sound abstract, but distinctions between "native," "introduced" or "invasive" species can often be life or death. Species considered invasive in Australia—such as European …
Rare fossil discovery reveals new dinosaur species that specialized in eating fruit
Among the ravenous carnivores and lumbering herbivores that roamed the Cretaceous landscape, another kind of dinosaur was evolving that started to eat something else: the plants t…
From gold rush to cosmic questions: a South Dakota mine and the search for the secrets of the universe
A mile beneath the Black Hills, scientists are building giant detectors to analyse neutrino particles – and possibly find the answer to existenceFor more than a century, the minin…
Spatial mapping reveals how human urogenital organs codevelop during organogenesis
A new study has mapped human urogenital development in its native spatial context, revealing how neighboring organs coordinate their development through cellular communication and…
Scientists develop new system to boost prime editing in dicot plants
A new gene-editing system could make it easier for researchers to introduce precise genetic changes into crops such as tomatoes, soybeans and rapeseed. Developed by researchers in…
Livestock guardian dogs enlisted in efforts to conserve Texas' smallest fox
In the Texas Panhandle, two livestock guardian dogs patrol a herd of cattle grazing the Rita Blanca National Grasslands. Although their singular focus is protecting the herd from …
New home for orangutans rescued from Indonesia's burning forests
Deep in a forest in Indonesian Borneo, conservationists open a cage. A female orangutan and her baby waste little time, clambering up the towering trees and disappearing into the …
For many, striped bass fishing is a way of life. But the iconic species could face collapse
Striped bass fishing has been Bill Jakob's passion for more than 60 years, and he remembers an era when he'd spend all night casting his line into the crashing waves off Montauk a…
Four new frog species reveal more of Peru's biodiversity
Science can't study a species—or unlock its potential to change the world—until people actually know it exists. Four new species of frogs have now been given names, thanks to the …
Crop diversification protects fields from extreme weather and boosts productivity
Varying crop rotations and keeping the soil constantly covered with vegetation help protect crops against droughts and floods, in addition to increasing productivity. This techniq…
Drone-based AI system tracks cattle growth without stressful trips to scales
In beef cattle production, determining the ideal time to sell makes all the difference in a producer's costs. This is because, once an animal reaches its natural growth limit, it …
Global wildlife trade is twice previous species estimates, but major data gaps suggest true scale is even larger
More than 107,000 species are used and traded worldwide, more than double previous estimates, according to new research that suggests the true scale may be far greater due to majo…
The Guardian view on 50 years of The Selfish Gene: flawed, outdated, yet still a model of truly popular science writing | Editorial
Richard Dawkins’ first work has thrilled fans and frustrated critics for five decades. The science has moved on, but any writer looking to supplant its place must learn its lesson…
Different transcription systems shape chromatin behavior in distinct nuclear regions
Inside the cell nucleus, DNA is wrapped around histone proteins to form nucleosomes, which are further organized into chromatin. Chromatin has traditionally been divided into tran…
Pulling the strings: How stem cells in the developing fruit fly brain organize their DNA from outside the nucleus
Cells are very particular about the proper locations of their contents. For example, DNA is packaged in the nucleus in a highly specific way, but researchers are still trying to u…
How fish schools swim in sync may come down to following one influential neighbor
Fish schools are a marvel of navigation. They move in concert without any one fish leading the way. Instead, their coordinated movements arise from individual fish continually adj…
Global change may alter how ocellated lizards move between shelters, food and predators
Global change is also affecting the behavior and mobility of the ocellated lizard, a reptile typical of Mediterranean ecosystems. This species—the largest lizard on the Iberian Pe…
The genetic cost of being a lazy parent ... if you're a cuckoo finch
African cuckoo finches (Anomalospiza imberbis) are very deceptive birds, or at least the mothers are. They sneak into the nests of other birds, such as prinias and cisticolas, to …
Marine fossils in Colombia reveal possible evolutionary transition without mass extinction
A remarkably diverse fossil ecosystem in central Colombia that preserves an unusual overlap between survivors of older Jurassic groups and newer Cretaceous lineages has led resear…
Breeding advance could help protect East African rice harvests from bacterial blight
The rice disease bacterial leaf blight (for short: BB) is causing significant yield losses in Asia and Africa. It is triggered by the bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo)…
Flying‑foxes are starving. Why are we still responding one crisis at a time?
Once again, Australia's flying-foxes are in trouble.