Biology
Heard about the ‘luteal uglies’? Women know more about our hormones than ever – and that’s beautiful | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
When I was younger, female biology was seen as something to be overcome. Now we can talk about the reality of living in our bodiesHave you got the “luteal uglies”? I’m not trying …
‘A mouse can’t tell us what works’: UK scientists to grow miniature human organs for drug testing
Organoids and tissues grown from human cells promise more accurate results, with £20m Cambridge project to create standardised modelsMiniature human organs and other tissues are t…
Genomics used to find endangered fish populations most vulnerable to climate change
Scientists have shown that genomics can help identify which wild populations are most vulnerable to climate change—offering practical guidance for conserving threatened species be…
Genetic neighborhoods distinguish harmful poultry bacteria from harmless strains
When it comes to identifying harmful bacteria, it helps to look at the company their genes keep. Researchers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of…
Beyond color: Fluorescence lifetime imaging distinguishes multiple proteins in living plant cells
Fluorescent protein imaging is an indispensable tool in life science research, enabling visualization of protein movement and localization, gene expression, signaling pathways, pr…
How to test your lawn for grubs and what to do if you find them
What does it mean when brown patches show up in a perfectly healthy lawn? The truth is, it could be anything from drought to dog urine, fungal diseases, pests or too much fertiliz…
Sorting potatoes with AI
Karevo's AI-powered optical recognition system can sort up to 10 tons of potatoes per hour with 95% accuracy. The founder's journey took him from a potato farm to the Technical Un…
X-ray analysis reveals the inner life of leaves while advancing engineering efforts to reduce 'crop sweat'
In the Midwestern summer, humans and plants have to breathe through the heat and humidity. Researchers hope that a retooled crop plant—one with an improved ventilation system with…
As New World screwworm returns to the US, a new dashboard tracks the risk
In the 1950s, the New World screwworm cost U.S. livestock producers tens of millions of dollars a year, reaching $50 million to $100 million annually in the hardest-hit Southwest,…
Himalayan grain demonstrates the potential of pangenome-guided breeding for higher yields and adaptability
Scientists from the Centre for Crop and Food Innovation (CCFI) at Murdoch University have participated in a landmark proof-of-concept research project demonstrating how pangenome-…
Malaysian farmers, environmental groups call for rejection of GMO rice trial
A coalition of farmers, consumer associations and environmental groups is urging Malaysia's National Biosafety Board to reject a proposed field trial of genetically modified rice,…
Fungal chitin offers new route to tougher hydrogels for medical devices and soft robots
Researchers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville, have made an advance by using a natural subst…
More than a decade of observation in Seattle suburbs shows where sensitive bird species won't go
Nearly 30 years ago, a simple question sent University of Washington researchers into the Puget Sound lowlands to look for birds. With Seattle's population swelling and housing de…
Major genetic weakness threatens future corn breeding, study reveals
A new study led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign scientists reveals critically low genetic variation in one of the country's primary breeding stocks for corn. The findin…
Mitochondrial proteins may trigger inflammation by mimicking bacterial distress signals
Mitochondria are often called the powerhouses of the cell. But their ancient origins may also make them drivers of inflammation. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago …
Early farmers' larger grains may reflect rainfall, not genetic selection
A new archaeobotanical study by researchers from the University of Oxford and Kiel University (CAU) has revealed that increases in cereal grain size at the dawn of agriculture, mo…
Genome study reveals centromeres as one of the fastest-changing regions in human DNA
A centromere is a specific region on a chromosome that ensures that, when a cell divides, the chromosome separates accurately so each new cell receives the correct amount of genet…
Scientists uncover a hidden mechanism that drives RNA synthesis
Scientists have long been fascinated by two promising classes of antibiotics that disable RNA polymerase (RNAP). They knew that these drugs could grind gene expression to a halt i…
Humans have a 'highly abundant' number of stable proteins that are not all predicted by genetic code
In 1968, the American biochemist and geneticist Marshall Nirenberg and his colleagues won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their work deciphering how an organism's pr…
We’re reading less. And it’s making us stupid
Books have never been trendier, but studies show that as more and more things compete for our frazzled attention spans, we’re reading less and less. This is a problem because read…
Mathematical model shows how birds create a synchronized dawn chorus
Every morning, groups of birds start singing and chirping around the same time, typically when the sun starts rising. While zoologists have been studying this collective bird beha…
‘Real mummy’s curse’: health warning over growing trade in mummified human remains
Academic paper says often illicit trade exposes enthusiasts – and postal workers handling items – to serious risksA growing global trade in mummified human remains has been descri…
How to safely watch the solar eclipse
On August 12, the moon will pass in front of the sun, completely obscuring it in a solar eclipse. According to Nasa, parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and Portugal will e…
We’re reading less. And it’s making us stupid – podcast
Books have never been trendier, but studies show that as more and more things compete for our frazzled attention spans, we’re reading less and less. This is a problem because read…