Biology
Phytophthora dieback linked to habitat loss and lower digging activity among quendas in Western Australia
A new study from Murdoch University has found that the introduced plant disease Phytophthora dieback is indirectly hindering quendas in Western Australia's jarrah forests by reduc…
Shrinking water bodies can turn drought into disease hotspots or dead ends
Prolonged dry spells or droughts can sometimes reduce aquatic diseases, many of which affect people. Yet other times, water scarcity can counterintuitively lead to an uptick in di…
Block export of ‘national treasure’ UK fossils, says MP
Sale of one of UK’s top collections overseas prompts call new rules to help keep items in countryOne of UK’s best fossil collections sold in ‘loss to the nation’An MP has called o…
Nature has spent billions of years fighting bacteria. AI could help us learn its secrets
Tiny viruses that infect bacteria could one day help us tackle infections that antibiotics can no longer treat. But first, scientists need to understand how these viruses work, an…
How healthier farm animals can cut greenhouse gas emissions
When a dairy cow miscarries, a farmer loses far more than an unborn calf. Feed has been grown, land and water have been used, and greenhouse gases have been released during the co…
Science or fiction? Shadowy ‘paper mills’ let you pay to be a published author – of fraudulent research
Paper mill activity has exploded in recent years, polluting the scientific ecosystem with falsified data and compromising medical researchDr Reese Richardson’s phone constantly bu…
Topical clove oil for canine sarcoptic mange promises faster, plant-based treatment
Canine sarcoptic mange (scabies) is a skin condition in which microscopic mites (Sarcoptes scabiei) infest dogs' skin. The condition is contagious and zoonotic and can be difficul…
Four more belugas arrive at Chicago aquarium from shuttered Canadian theme park
Four more belugas have arrived at a Chicago aquarium as part of a plan to move Canada's last remaining captive whales from a shuttered theme park to aquariums in the United States…
Scientists simulating ant swarms find a 'first mover' can set the colony in motion
In ant colonies, a single ant can be the catalyst for a wave of mob activity, launching brief bursts of coordinated movement involving hundreds or even thousands of swarming worke…
The Fauci hearing was painful to watch. But we need answers on Covid-19’s origin| David Relman
Despite the recent hearings in Congress, we seem to be even further from the goal of understanding Covid-19’s origin’s than we have ever beenAs a microbiologist and infectious dis…
After commercial whaling nearly erased them, blue and fin whales are slowly reclaiming the southeast Atlantic
More than 40 years after the end of commercial whaling, new research reveals a recent increase in sightings of the world's two largest whale species in the southeastern Atlantic. …
Wheat gene behind Hessian fly resistance cloned after 50-year search
Researchers at the University of Maryland and their collaborators have cloned a gene that makes wheat resistant to feeding by Hessian fly larvae and demonstrated its direct intera…
Unlocking the past: New method helps gain insights into old tissues
A book sits atop a table. Although it's closed, its title, "Encyclopedia of Human Tissue," promises untold secrets. Perhaps with this book, you can learn about different cell type…
Europe's mountain summits are warming—vegetation is responding in surprisingly different ways
Decades of climate change have not left Europe's mountain vegetation unscathed. However, the changes observed do not always match expectations. As a new international study by a r…
Engineered microbe speeds CO₂ capture and recovers critical metals
A genetically engineered bacterium can rapidly break down one of Earth's most abundant minerals, opening a promising new pathway for simultaneously removing carbon dioxide from th…
Cells pulse together as they grow—and malignant cells pulse the longest
Epithelial cells are the tiny shields that line and protect our bodies. In a developing embryo, epithelial cells grow, divide and move into positions to form the outer layers of o…
A new way to beat jet lag? Engineered cells speed circadian adjustment
Adjusting to a new time zone or work schedule can leave the body's internal clock out of sync for days, contributing to sleep disruption, metabolic changes and other health conseq…
Bringing butterflies back from the brink of extinction
On a summer day in Michigan, a tiny Poweshiek skipperling butterfly—smaller than a quarter—takes flight over a restored prairie.
Q&A: What are chalk streams and why are these rare rivers under threat?
Chalk streams are among the world's rarest river habitats. Fewer than 300 exist globally, and most are found in England. They support rich wildlife and have been described as Engl…
New findings overturn 100-year-old assumption about common bacteria in the lungs
The human body is teeming with more than 35 trillion bacteria, coexisting in microbiomes inside the gut, mouth, lungs, skin and urogenital tract. While it's now clear these microb…
Stable RNA elements open new possibilities for mRNA therapeutics
A research team led by Director Kim V. Narry at the Center for RNA Research within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has discovered compact viral RNA elements that can make mR…
Quality vs. quantity: Why 'super-shedders' may not be the superspreaders of disease outbreaks
A host that sheds an abundance of parasites might seem like an obvious disease-spreading threat. But new research suggests that shedding large volumes of parasites does not dictat…
Genetic analysis reveals new species of endangered baobab tree in Madagascar
Madison researchers recognize a new species of baobab tree, Adansonia bozy, unique to Madagascar, according to a study published in the journal Taxon. Previously, members of A. bo…
US could exhaust domestic phosphorus within 40 years, but waste offers reserves
The United States could exhaust its domestic phosphorus supply within 40 years. Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia already depend on imports from China and Morocco to meet t…