Biology
Your dog may link sounds with shapes, just like you do
Sounds have shapes. That might sound strange since sound waves are invisible, but a famous psychological experiment in the 1920s showed that our brains naturally link spoken sound…
Chemists develop blueprint for designing powerful fluorescent materials for better disease detection
The team, led by professors Simon Lewis and Tony James and Dr. Dan Pantos in the university's Department of Chemistry, has transformed azulene, a naturally occurring blue compound…
Introduced species aren't good or bad—they are labeled according to human interests
In George Orwell's 1945 allegorical novella "Animal Farm," pigs coach the other revolutionary farm animals in their new creed of Animalism using the memorable maxim: four legs goo…
Ancient climate shifts may explain why today's flowering plants are so diverse
The two warmest time periods on Earth in the past 140 million years drove both mass extinctions and explosions in plant diversity, according to researchers in Australia and Austri…
Wild bobwhite quail spotted after habitat restoration project
Multiple coveys of wild bobwhite quail were recently sighted at the University of Tennessee's Ames AgResearch and Education Center, marking an encouraging milestone in an ongoing …
Simple cleaning steps could curb deadly fungal disease risks for Australia's wild reptiles
With spring underway and the weather warming, reptiles are on the move in suburbs, parks and scrubland across Australia. Snake catchers and wildlife caregivers are responding to c…
Scientists discover 'D-rex', a giant fungus from Chinese forests whose unique lineage dates back 65 million years
Deep in the forests of Yunnan, China, scientists have discovered a "fungal giant" that challenges our understanding of how large fungi can become. The newly described species, Dia…
Isle of Wight fossil Europe's first known long-clawed megaraptoran dinosaur
A new species of dinosaur—a long-clawed predator the size of a large tiger—has been discovered by a UCL-led team from a fossil found on the Isle of Wight. The dinosaur, described …
Stop making sense: focus on sounds to help learn a language, study suggests
Research shows that the best linguists process unfamiliar foreign speech sounds more like non-speech soundsIf you want to get really good at French, Arabic or Hungarian, don’t sta…
Hawaiian coral tests reveal heat tolerance varies by species and location
As ocean temperatures rise, corals' ability to withstand and adapt to heat stress is critical for the future of coral reefs. Many reef-building corals already live near their uppe…
Drier Texas rivers support simpler food webs and higher animal productivity, study finds
Global warming is often treated as synonymous with climate change, but rising temperatures are only one consequence of the human-driven phenomenon. Changes in rainfall patterns ar…
DNA 'flight recorder' traces embryonic development cell by cell
For decades, scientists have been able to look at individual moments in the development of an embryo: a snapshot of a developing brain, a picture of how the heart takes shape or a…
New method helps researchers study proteins involved in plant health, disease
Plants—like people—come in all shapes and sizes. And just like scientists want to understand the components of the human body to treat disease and improve our lives, they also wan…
Humans and songbirds hear the same sounds, but organize them differently
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and Leiden University have discovered that humans and songbirds use markedly different strategies to recognize sequences of complex so…
Sequence changes help modified mRNA avoid protein-making errors to improve vaccine design
When the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 turned our world upside down, mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 brought a breakthrough. Their success established modified mRNA as a powerful foundati…
Researchers uncover multiple genetic paths that lead to mottled feathers in chickens
The white-tipped feathers found in many chicken breeds may look like variations of the same decorative pattern, but new research shows that they do not all share the same genetic …
3D map of rice development charts gene activity across plant's entire life cycle
Rice is one of the world's most familiar staple foods, but how does a single cell develop into a rice plant with specialized tissues and organs? A new study offers a detailed look…
Candida auris copies its entire genome to survive antifungal treatment, research reveals
New research has revealed an unexpected new mechanism through which the killer fungus Candida auris is resisting antifungal drug treatment. A team led by the University of Exeter …
Newly discovered antiviral system in bacteria is 'strangest of its kind'
Researchers at Gladstone Institutes have uncovered an unusual bacterial immune system that operates in reverse of known defenses. The discovery, published in Molecular Cell, detai…
Before leaf miner damage shows, horse chestnut leaves alter how they function
Researchers from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) and Semmelweis University have investigated what happens to horse chestnut leaves when they are attacked from within by the horse …
Natural RNA modifications in archaea mirror those used in medicine
RNA therapeutics open up new possibilities for the targeted and precise treatment of diseases. To ensure that RNA molecules remain stable in the body and can reliably exert their …
Winged insect evolution: New evidence sheds light on century-old debate
A new study combining genomic analyses and fossil evidence sheds light on the century-old "Palaeoptera Problem," a longstanding debate over the evolutionary relationships among ma…
A small RNA switch with huge potential opens up new possibilities for synthetic biology
An international research team led by TU Darmstadt Professor Beatrix Süß, working in close collaboration with partners in Germany and Denmark, has elucidated how an RNA switch new…
A closer look at hard-to-see cells could answer new questions about nerve damage and recovery
Under the microscope, mitochondria inside healthy terminal Schwann cells form a web of interconnected branches, with tiny doughnut-shaped loops appearing near where the cells bran…