Biology
Eye-eating amoeba resists treatment—understanding its biochemistry could help
In water, soil and air all around us lives a free-living, single-celled organism called Acanthamoeba. Most of the time, Acanthamoeba keeps to itself. On rare occasions, though, th…
Chameleon embryos reveal early developmental feature once thought unique to mammals
Before most women know they're pregnant, an embryo has already begun organizing itself into the structures that will shape a developing body. Scientists have few opportunities to …
I went to America’s largest gathering of astrologers. It was a battle over how to read the stars
Now a $15bn industry, astrology is more mainstream in the US than ever. But its practitioners are still debating: who gets to have authority on the celestial bodies?“The dwarf pla…
Rice work: Dutch test new crop to save sinking peatlands
In a soggy field between Amsterdam and The Hague, farmer Sander Roeleveld plows a small white combine harvester into his crops, gathering a grain never before harvested in the Net…
Thursday briefing: The long, long wait for a male contraceptive pill may soon be over
In today’s newsletter: Reversible male hormonal contraception could reach the market within five to 10 years. But why has this development been so slow?Good morning. Since the fir…
The incredible science of memory manipulation – podcast
Madeleine Finlay hears from Steve Ramirez, an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University, whose book How to Change a Memory was shortlisted for t…
Even high-altitude forests in Switzerland are now weakened by frequent droughts, making natural hazards more dangerous
Due to global warming, Swiss forests are now at a tipping point where summer droughts are overwhelming trees' tolerance and resilience, scientists have shown. That bodes ill for p…
Wildlife tracking to fill gaps in monarch migration research
Every fall, monarch butterflies fuel up on nectar from Iowa's fall-blooming wildflowers before embarking on an extraordinary migration from North America to Mexico. But the pathwa…
Bacteria can make plant-based foods healthier for humans and animals
New research from the DTU National Food Institute and Aarhus University shows that microorganisms can be used to specifically alter the amino acid composition of plant-based foods…
Scientists develop 'floating scarecrow' to protect threatened seabirds
New research has shown that a "floating scarecrow" developed by U.K.-based scientists and a repurposed bird-scaring kite can help save threatened seabirds from getting caught in f…
‘Hugely exciting’ finds on tiny Scottish island shed light on spread of Christianity
Community-funded archaeological excavations of ‘really important’ sixth-century monastery also rewrite story of LismoreTo the residents of the Scottish island of Lismore, populati…
Key protein for cells' gene regulation needs a chaperone to do its job
A protein that's essential to every cell's ability to turn off unnecessary genes is well known for its key function of compacting genes and its connection to cancer when it underg…
Ocean predator chemical cues could provide early warnings for toxic algal blooms
A team of marine scientists led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has developed a new approach to predicting harmful algal blooms (HABs), changing how oc…
AI scientist autonomously generates and validates new biological discoveries
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed an AI scientist capable of generating scientific hypotheses, designing experiments and interpreting resul…
Tracking the fin whale and the sperm whale in the Mediterranean
Where are the great marine animals of the Mediterranean, such as the fin whale, the sperm whale or the bottlenose dolphin? How does their distribution change over a few weeks? All…
Anti-fibrotic drug could be repurposed to control cell communication
An experimental antifibrotic compound can dramatically alter how cells release the microscopic packages they use to communicate, according to new research from the University of S…
Fossil long known as world's oldest reptile dethroned
For nearly 30 years, a small fossil from Scotland has been celebrated as one of the earliest known reptiles. A new study out today in Nature and led by researchers at the American…
'Molecular movie' fills in blanks of how nonenveloped viruses infect cells
Viruses come in two major flavors—not chocolate and vanilla, quips Harvard Medical School structural biologist Stephen Harrison, but those enveloped in membranes, such as herpesvi…
Some threatened species may miss out as zoos try to balance conservation efforts with competing pressures
In the largest study of its kind, researchers at Nottingham Trent University analyzed more than 7,200 species across 613 zoos in 72 countries over a 30-year period. The team compa…
Groups of genetically identical fish follow different behavioral paths as they mature
Schooling fish have long fascinated us with their mesmerizing collective movements and seemingly perfect coordination. But a new study on clonal mollies suggests that this behavio…
How New World blackbirds conquered the Americas
Where did the roughly 100 species of New World blackbirds alive today originate, and how did they spread across the Americas? Dr. Axel Arango Garcia and professor Chaitanya S. Gok…
Longer lives despite mitochondrial defects? Worms rely on calcium-triggered 'cages'
If your car's engine develops a stutter, that's generally a sign that you should go to a mechanic before it stops running. We tend to think the same way about our bodies: When som…
New click beetle species named after Dominican Republic's Indigenous Arawak people
A new species of click beetle with a glossy and highly domed black body has been described from cloud forest sites in the mountains of the Dominican Republic and named in honor of…
Mysterious oarfish's fins inspire large underwater robot design
When designing a large underwater robot that could swim silently to avoid startling sea creatures, roboticist Rob Shepherd considered the unusual swimming system of oarfish, the m…