Biology
Scientists discover a promising blood sugar–regulating compound in red alga
It is a dietary staple found in sushi, rice wraps and ramen toppings. Commonly known as nori in Japan and gim in Korea, red seaweed is especially popular across Asia. Yet, despite…
Human activity threatens biodiversity in remote Patagonian kelp forests
Marine scientists have conducted the first re-survey of northern Patagonia's kelp forests in more than 50 years and discovered dramatic changes across one of the world's most remo…
Could wood provide a better home for oil-degrading microbes?
According to a study conducted by researchers at Sultan Qaboos University, the material used to support microbial biofilms could influence their potential role in treating water g…
Octopus and cuttlefish suckers may have evolved by repurposing ancient developmental genes
Cephalopods, like the octopus, have specialized arms and suckers, but how these structures evolved from the simple bodies of their mollusk ancestors remains a mystery. Researchers…
Researchers explore the valuable connection between birds, memory and territory in Chile
Black-necked swans, spot-flanked gallinules, southern lapwings, austral thrushes and dozens of other bird species fly across the Río Cruces Wetland, carrying the biocultural memor…
Added receptor helps CAR T cells stay in bone marrow in cancer mouse models
By turning a patient's own immune cells into stronger cancer-fighting cells, CAR T-cell therapy has transformed how some blood cancers are treated. But it's been harder to extend …
Keeping jumping genes in place: New role for protein complex discovered
As much as half of the human genome is composed of so-called "jumping genes." These DNA sequences can make copies of themselves that are inserted back into the genome at another l…
‘These risks are real’: the threat of AI bioweapons - video
In his annual speech on threats to the nation, Sir Ken McCallum, the head of the UK’s intelligence service, MI5, warned that AI had the potential to ‘change the stakes’ on existin…
Measuring regrowth: Erk gradients guide zebrafish fins back to their original size after injury
In a new Nature Physics study, researchers found that fin regrowth in zebrafish is driven by a brief burst of growth signal at the fin tip, sized to the amount lost, which sets up…
Marine life dramatically declined in Gulf of Mexico in years after BP oil spill, study finds
In a deep, dark part of the Gulf of Mexico, the number of marine animals plummeted by about 60% in the years following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, a new study found.
‘These risks are real’: the threat of AI bioweapons – podcast
In his annual speech on threats to the nation, Sir Ken McCallum, the head of the UK’s intelligence service, MI5, warned that AI had the potential to ‘change the stakes’ on existin…
Juvenile striped bass maintaining average abundance in Virginia waters in 2026
Preliminary results from an ongoing long-term survey conducted by William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) suggest that an average year class of young-of-year …
Q&A: How does technology help track foodborne pathogens and outbreaks?
After a cyclospora outbreak and recalls of imported beef over the summer, a recent Gallup poll found that Americans' confidence in food safety has fallen to a record low, and cons…
New 4D biofabrication technology holds promise for tissue engineering, wound healing
If you've ever created a snowflake by folding, cutting and unfolding a piece of paper, you've practiced the art of kirigami. Like origami, kirigami has inspired innovations far be…
Molecular switch controls how cells load cargo for recycling
Cells constantly recycle proteins and other cellular components. But how do they ensure that the right cargo ends up in the right recycling vesicle—one of the cell's transport car…
‘Once-in-a-lifetime chance’: Japan launches historic mission to collect rocks from Mars’s moon Phobos
Scientists hope Martian material collected will shed light on the origins of the solar system and life on EarthJapan has successfully launched a spacecraft on an unprecedented mis…
Researchers unlock new way to map molecular structure on surfaces
Scientists at NPL, with the University of Surrey, University of Oxford, the Francis Crick Institute and IONTOF GmbH, have developed a technique to distinguish and map molecules th…
Beehives act as 'living immune systems' with layered antimicrobial defenses
Researchers have discovered honey beehives act as "living immune systems" that help protect the bee colony, its offspring and food supplies from disease. The finding underlines th…
Birds are among Earth's most important nutrient movers
Birds play an outsized, underappreciated role in shaping Earth's chemistry, distributing nutrients across oceans, forests and coral reefs and sustaining life far beyond the nest. …
New wheat disease detection tool established in Tanzania
John Innes Centre researchers have trained scientists from across Tanzania to use new loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays to rapidly detect wheat blast, a looming…
How enzymes locally block cell wall repair, allowing cells to fuse in an irreversible manner
The fusion of two cells is a decisive event in the sexual reproduction of many organisms. In fungi, cells must not only bring their membranes together and merge them, but also loc…
Scientists are growing human brain tissue in living mice—could this make their welfare harder to assess?
What happens when scientists start changing the brain—the very system through which an animal's mental states are expressed in behavior?
Why haven't farm animals evolved against humans? A biologist explains why there won't be a chicken uprising anytime soon
"Why haven't farm animals evolved to protect themselves against humans?—Sarang, age 15, Latur, Maharashtra, India"
Discovery of chicken immune cells could pave the way for more effective poultry vaccines
A previously unknown population of immune cells in chickens has been discovered by researchers from the University of Bristol Veterinary School in collaboration with The Pirbright…