Biology
Urbanization takes a bigger toll on bird diversity in the tropics than it does at other latitudes, study finds
Researchers at McGill University have found that urbanization is weakening one of Earth's most enduring ecological patterns: the tendency for biodiversity to increase toward the t…
Spawning coral release quintillions of eggs each year, new calculations suggest
Most kinds of coral spawn once a year. In an enormous multiday event synchronized to specific phases of the moon, they release vast slicks of eggs and sperm into the ocean to be m…
Genome publishing overhaul targets 200 reports per month, up from 30
The Wellcome Sanger Institute's Tree of Life program plans to accelerate publication of genome notes from approximately 30 per month to 200, expanding access to research that is s…
How E. coli eavesdrops on the metabolic activity of other gut bacteria
The gut microbiome is teeming with hundreds of bacterial species and trillions of bacteria. These microorganisms influence many aspects of health, including digestion, and assist …
How detection dogs are helping protect one of Australia's most imperiled lizards
Many of the Australian animals most at risk of extinction are extremely tough to track down. That's because they live in small pockets of disappearing nature, such as rare grassla…
Scientists identify avian cholera as major cause of penguin deaths in Antarctica
Thousands of Adélie penguins found dead in Antarctica in 2024 were primarily victims of avian cholera, not high pathogenicity avian influenza (H5N1) as researchers initially suspe…
Engineered enzyme could improve detection of HIV and other viruses
Scientists have long used a powerful gene-editing tool called CRISPR to make precise changes to DNA. But a different version of the technology, known as Cas13a, targets RNA, the g…
Mollusk family trees play a key role in shaping microbiomes, researchers find
A mollusk's microbial community has more to do with its family tree than its address. In other words, the composition of a mollusk's microbiome depends less on the environment in …
Learning reshapes inhibitory synapses differently within the same nerve cell, study suggests
Our brain must be able to learn new things without losing previously stored information or the stability of its networks. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LI…
Sheep grazing in solar fields offers farmers economic, ecological gains
Two new research papers shed light on the growing practice of grazing sheep in fields with solar arrays. One demonstrates that, in the right numbers, sheep grazing increases popul…
SpaceX rocket launch creates glowing 'space jellyfish' cloud – video
The sun illuminated the exhaust plume of a SpaceX rocket launch on 13 October, creating a glowing jellyfish-like cloud in the sky, according to Nasa. Continue reading...
Healthy corals restore bleached neighbors' color after five days of contact
The world's coral reefs face an existential threat from rising seawater temperatures that trigger widespread bleaching, a problem driven by climate change and compounded by this y…
Museum specimens reveal pathogen behind decades-old mystery of disappearing frogs
In the 1970s, researchers began to observe drastic amphibian declines in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, a global hotspot of frog biodiversity. For decades, these disappearances remaine…
Border-hopping virus identified in Chilean pepper and tomato crops
An international team of scientists recently collaborated to identify a mysterious viral disease damaging pepper and tomato crops in Chile.
Most marine protected areas fail to curb fishing: Study
Fishing is increasing in most marine reserves worldwide in spite of conservation pledges, a study published Wednesday found.
Muscle cells self-organize into spirals, advancing efforts to engineer tiny blood vessels that regulate flow
Different tissues need different amounts of blood depending on what they are doing. Meeting those changing demands requires the circulatory system to continually balance how much …
Indonesia rescues starved orangutan from fires: Officials
A female orangutan that was likely starving was evacuated Wednesday from an area razed by fire on the Indonesian island of Borneo, officials said, as the country rescues hundreds …
Scientists establish new genus of deep-sea 'spaghetti worms'
Scientists have announced a new genus of deep-sea segmented marine "spaghetti worms" with suction cups on their bodies, showing just how much undiscovered biodiversity is out ther…
SpaceX rocket launch causes stunning ‘jellyfish cloud’ visible off US east coast
Expanding plume of fuel exhaust crystalized in the sky and reflected sunlight off frozen particles after Florida launchA SpaceX rocket provided a stunning pre-dawn display over Fl…
Fighting off microbial invasions drains plants' iron stores, but one protein helps restore balance
Energy production in our cells, oxygen traveling in our blood and immune cells fighting infection all depend on iron, an essential mineral that enters the food chain when plants a…
New DNA tool could help detect harmful algal blooms before they spread
A new study by researchers at the University of South Florida and Florida Atlantic University has demonstrated that a DNA sequencing tool can rapidly identify harmful algae in coa…
Removing rats and restoring native plants could help atolls withstand rising seas
Protecting seabirds and restoring natural vegetation could give low-lying tropical atoll islands a fighting chance against the threat of sea-level rise, a new study reveals.
Could AI ‘change the stakes’ in the development of bioweapons?
Experts say the technology could help terrorists and nation states with production but that significant hurdles remainIn his annual speech on threats to the nation, Sir Ken McCall…
Bacteria turn 3D-printed sand into solid building elements
Cement manufacturing is one of the largest sources of CO₂ emissions in the construction industry. At the Department of Architecture, Karen Antorveza Paez, who has just completed h…