Biology
Newly identified Bolivian wildcat 'Tigrino' plays in his enclosure – video
Scientists who identified a previously unknown wildcat in Bolivia have called the new species Leopardus tilcayo. The 10-year-old wildcat, called Tigrino, had been adopted by a fam…
A newly discovered mechanism helps cells prevent errors during DNA replication
At the scale of individual cells, the human body is constantly in motion. Every second, millions of cells divide, particularly in tissues such as the bone marrow, intestine and sk…
Lemur uses opera singer's trick to belt out forest songs
We are often left open-mouthed in awe as an opera singer hits a soaring top note. Now, researchers at the University of Warwick have found that the indri, the world's only known s…
Elusive builders of nearly perfect hexagonal tunnel fossils were probably small crustaceans—not worms
For more than 170 years, paleontologists have been trying to solve the mystery of what created the strangely uniform hexagonal tunnels found in fossils. In a new study published i…
Under stress, bacterial RNA and proteins tell different stories
During infection, bacteria encounter rapidly changing and stressful environments inside the body. To understand how they adapt, researchers often measure messenger RNA (mRNA), whi…
Newly identified Bolivian wildcat 'Tigrino' plays in his enclosure
Scientists who identified a previously unknown wildcat in Bolivia have called the new species Leopardus tilcayo. The 10-year-old wildcat, called Tigrino, had been adopted by a fam…
A mushroom-powered boost for soybean byproducts
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have demonstrated in a lab-scale study a fermentation method that could transform okara, a nutrient-ric…
Family interactions can help young beetles cope with climate stress, study finds
Climate change is one of the most complex challenges of our time and places considerable strain on a wide range of animal groups. A research team at the University of Bayreuth has…
Discovery of new Australian stick insect species reveals case of mistaken identity
New study describes two species, Anchiale robusta and Anchiale mabiensis, both found in far north QueenslandGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo new larg…
Q&A: Tiny spores for a big critical minerals challenge
Scientists at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are exploring how durable, customizable bacterial spores could capture rare earth elements (REE…
Flies, mice and humans share a walking pattern despite radically different bodies
Flies, mice and humans move in different ways because of their very different physiques, but their movements follow a common pattern— joints farther from the center of the body mo…
Nasal spray for humans may help dogs during surgery
Dr. Jun-Yan Sek, a small-animal surgical registrar at JCUVet, lecturer at James Cook University and JCU veterinary alumnus, led a study investigating the use of xylometazoline hyd…
What's keeping schoolchildren from eating local foods?
To get locally grown food onto a schoolchild's lunch tray, communities need supply chains that sort, process and package local farm products. They don't always exist.
Tree vaccines and gene-edited butterflies among biotechnology projects funded by UK ‘invention agency’
Exclusive: The tax-funded research aims to protect British wildlife from the human-caused climate crisisVaccines for ash trees, skin treatments for newts and gene-edited swallowta…
Baby girls’ greater interest in faces offers clue to nature v nurture debate
Study finds overall differences between groups of newborns by sex that are likely to be determined by biologyThe question dates back to the first man and woman: how does the world…
Genes that help flatworms regenerate their brains revealed
The human brain is terrible at healing itself from injury or disease. But some animals can harness their own cellular abilities not only to repair injuries but also to regrow thei…
AI-powered barcode unmasks 'zombie cells' in aging tissue
As we age, some of the cells in our body enter a state of senescence, in which they stop dividing but do not die. Those senescent cells can contribute to age-related disorders suc…
New Zealanders pick endangered black robin as Bird of the Year
A record number of New Zealanders turned out at the polls this month, not for national elections but to vote for their Bird of the Year—the critically endangered black robin.
Starwatch: Autumnal equinox in northern hemisphere, spring in the south
Precise moment of equinox in UK is 1.05am on Wednesday – but day and night will not be equal until FridayThe September or autumnal equinox takes place this week. It marks the astr…
Trump reportedly to form health funding board that could veto ‘woke’ initiatives
President’s latest order expected to bring NIH funding under control of Trump administration to align with agendaDonald Trump’s latest executive order is expected to establish a b…
The Guardian view on AI v mathematicians: humans are still vital to the field, but tech firms refuse to see that | Editorial
OpenAI claims its agents have solved the Navier-Stokes problem. But questions remain about how useful and independent its work really isOn 8 September, OpenAI claimed that its AI …
Virtual cells built from 4D AI models and 'digital twins' could speed up drug discovery
Mitochondria—tiny structures that convert nutrients into energy—are often depicted as discrete kidney bean-shaped objects. But in reality, they form a dynamic, interconnected netw…
Adults with severe mental illness die 15 to 20 years earlier from diseases such as cancer
Exclusive: Stark health inequalities in terms of deaths before age of 75, NHS data revealsAdults with severe mental illness are nearly five times more likely than their peers to d…
Is culture alive?
From Mozart to Madonna, dim sum to doughnuts, Shakespeare to Sartre – not all forms of life need DNAOn Mount Athos, in northern Greece, a monk rises before dawn to sing the same o…