Biology
First individual-based model of basking sharks replicates complicated social and environmental drivers of behavior
A new study published in Individual-Based Ecology presents the first individual-based model (IBM) of basking shark behavior.
Astronauts step out of the ISS for spacewalk – watch live
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk perform spacewalk to install and deploy an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROS…
‘It’s a theatre and we’re pawns’: taking the stand as an expert witness – podcast
As one of the world’s leading forensic anthropologists, Dame Sue Black has acted as an expert witness in a myriad of high-profile criminal cases. Her work has taken her from the l…
Macromolecular crowding could help build artificial cell systems
Macromolecular crowding can serve as a design tool for controlling the formation and organization of synthetic DNA droplets, a study from Science Tokyo reveals. Researchers invest…
Molecular architecture determines tomato plant resistance to its main pest
An international study investigating why wild tomatoes are more resistant to the tomato leafminer (Phthorimaea absoluta) than cultivated varieties revealed that the secret lies in…
Q&A: Decoding the cell—a conversation with a computational biologist
Computational biologist Christina Leslie, Ph.D., has spent nearly two decades at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) building computational tools that help make sense of …
Chornobyl dog population shows genetic signatures of directional selection
The latest research on the wild population of dogs in Chornobyl reveals that the genetic differences between these dogs and other similarly isolated dog populations are likely evi…
Rarely seen deep-sea barreleye fish filmed in 4K
During a recent expedition aboard the research vessel David Packard, MBARI scientists encountered a rarely seen barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma). This sighting is MBARI's 11…
Controlling where gibberellin acts reveals how the plant hormone coordinates root growth
Plant hormones influence growth and development by acting on specific cells and tissues. However, determining precisely where and when a hormone needs to act has been challenging …
150-year-old mystery about the identity of an 'extinct' giant crane solved
Scientists at Bournemouth University (BU) have solved a 150-year-old mystery about the identity of an extinct giant crane that lived in Europe over 20,000 years ago. The work is p…
New tissue atlas aims to help AI understand cancer
How cells are arranged within tissue can reveal as much about disease as the cells themselves. When doctors examine a cancer tumor, for example, they don't just look at which cell…
Relocating amphibians and reptiles to make way for human development rarely delivers long-term conservation success
Relocating amphibians and reptiles to protect them from development rarely leads to long-term conservation success, a new UBC-led global review has found. The findings highlight t…
Scientists count more than 2 million eels on one underwater mountain
Patience Seamount is an underwater mountain in Australia's Huon Marine Park off the coast of Tasmania. Every year, it is the site of an enormous gathering of basketwork eels (Dias…
A spider named for Stephen Colbert has a genome about 50% larger than ours
Many spiders reach their maximum size about this time of year, having spent the summer eating, which helps explain their starring role in Halloween decorations. Researchers at the…
Islands harbor nearly 20% of Earth's biodiversity, yet remain overlooked in conservation strategies
Although they account for just 7% of the Earth's land surface, island ecosystems harbor almost 20% of the world's biodiversity. From sea-level rise to biological invasions, island…
Extracellular vesicle discovery may shed light on how cancer spreads
A team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center (The Institute) have discovered a new type of extracellular vesicle released by migrating cancer cells, r…
Launch of global seed platform to tackle native seed bottleneck holding back nature restoration
On Oct. 13, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) launched the Seed Portal for Online Data (SeedPOD), a new open-access platform designed to tackle bottlenecks affecting global…
Japan's genome-editing law sets a global ethics challenge
A Hiroshima University researcher contends that Japan's newly enacted law regulating human genome-edited embryos and germ cells marks a significant advance in the governance of re…
Earwax is both slippery and sticky—this weird combo might lead to safer insect repellents
What has the consistency of both toothpaste and dough, can absorb twice its weight in water and still remain sticky, was used by medieval artists as a binder in paint and has been…
Amber fossils reveal how ancient Australian landmass helped seed Southeast Asia's tropical forests
A landmass that broke away from northwestern Australia about 150 million years ago and drifted north for the next 100 million years helped lay the foundations for Southeast Asia's…
When consumers search 'cyclospora,' bagged salad sales take the hit
This year, the U.S. saw its highest annual count of confirmed Cyclospora cases, roughly 20,000, according to the CDC. New research published in Risk Analysis examines outbreaks fr…
Ants prioritize brain energy during starvation, echoing pattern seen in humans
The human brain accounts for roughly 2% of total body weight but uses approximately 20% of our body's energy. Relative to our body size, human brains are much larger than those of…
New feed supplement addresses honey bee declines after blueberry pollination
Washington produces more blueberries than any other U.S. state, but farmers sometimes struggle to obtain honey bees to pollinate the plants and produce fruit. That's in part becau…
Fishmeal alternative aims to protect marine wildlife from overfishing
Technology that transforms organic waste into animal feed could help ease an overreliance on fishmeal in aquaculture. University of Queensland researchers have developed a product…