Biology
Shared DNA switch turns on genes in both bacteria and yeast
Microbial cell factories that produce pharmaceutical ingredients and other useful compounds include both the bacterium Escherichia coli and yeast, the organism used to leaven brea…
Dengue fever outbreak prompts Florida counties to declare state of emergency
CDC says 392 cases of Dengue were reported for the year so far in the state, along with different county-level dataSeveral Florida counties recently declared a state of local emer…
Blue-light tools let researchers track, redirect and sever cells' transport routes
Light is fundamental to human life—without it, we'd be hungry, cold and blind. But what if the same light that sustains us could also be used to control and observe parts of cells…
Neuroproteins are potential diagnostic tool for sick foals
Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that blood serum concentrations of neuroproteins and neurosteroids are associated with neonatal maladjustment syndrome …
SpaceX's Spaceship reaches orbit for first time despite engine failure – video
SpaceX's spaceship blasted off from its Starbase launch facility in Texas on 28 September morning, marking its 14th test flight and first attempt to circle the planet before falli…
Gene-edited bananas that don’t go brown could hit UK supermarkets
Scientific breakthrough could reduce food waste and make it easier to add the fruit to prepackaged foodIt is the bane of every fruit bowl: sliced banana that turns brown before it…
Did you solve it? Isaac Newton’s tower drop puzzle
The solution to the seventeenth century stumperEarlier today I set you a puzzle that Isaac Newton posed in 1679 in a latter to Robert Hooke. I mentioned that the answer is counter…
Mating-related chemical changes in New World screwworm identified
Researchers at the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have discovered that mating chan…
The joy of song: Where songbirds came from and why we should listen to them
In 2001, I had an epiphany while making my first trip to Australia. Walking across a remote sheep station in the dusty west, my ears were suddenly filled with the rich, spirited s…
Bullfrog brains can make their own backup fuel
For decades, scientists believed most animals relied on a steady supply of glucose, the body's primary fuel source, to power their brains. When glucose runs out, neural activity b…
AI godfathers warn of runaway ‘intelligence explosion’
OpenAI chief scientist also among authors of report on prospect of ‘most consequential technological development in history’Two of the “godfathers” of modern AI and senior executi…
‘Starship is in orbit’: cheers go up as huge SpaceX rocket circles Earth for first time
Mission goes ahead despite some fears an initial engine failure after the Texas launch would scupper the attemptSpaceX has sent its enormous Starship rocket into Earth’s orbit for…
The right timing of treatment keeps resistant cells in check, yeast experiments suggest
The development of treatment resistance is one of the key challenges in modern cancer and antibiotic therapy. New therapeutic approaches aim to curb the spread of resistance throu…
Worm experiments reveal how epigenetic effects persist across generations
Every cell in an organism contains the same DNA, which carries all the instructions needed for it to function. Yet cells do not all use the same genes: A nerve cell, for example, …
One of Canada's worst invasive species may have arrived naturally
Most invasive species are introduced into the areas where they become damaging. That's part of why they tend to be so successful in taking over new environments and causing billio…
Zebrafish reveal wider role for gene linked to human albinism
Tiny, striped zebrafish are helping scientists trace how a gene linked to albinism influences eye development, work that may ultimately help explain some of the vision problems ex…
An ancient human face emerges from pieced together Moroccan fossil remains
In the 1960s, a miner working at a mineral extraction site in Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, struck something far more valuable than any mineral in the area: a skull with distinctly human…
Biscayne Bay recognized as an essential habitat for sharks and rays
Biscayne Bay has been designated an Important Shark and Ray Area, recognizing the heavily urbanized estuary as essential habitat for nine shark and two ray species, including thre…
The herring fishery that took 400 years to rebound—and what it teaches us today
From the 13th to the 16th century, herring from the Sound—the strait in the Baltic Sea between Denmark and Sweden—was one of northern Europe's most important trade goods. Salted h…
New formulation helps RNA vaccines withstand high temperatures
RNA vaccines, which have proved effective against COVID-19, are now being developed for many other diseases, including cancer. One drawback is that they require ultracold storage,…
Mediterranean rockrose extract shows fungicidal activity against common skin infections
A polyphenol-rich extract from Cistus salviifolius, a Mediterranean rockrose species traditionally used to treat skin conditions, has shown fungicidal activity against several der…
Can you solve it? Isaac Newton’s tower drop puzzle
The problem that changed the worldToday’s puzzle played a pivotal role in the birth of classical phyics.The tower dropslightly to the westslightly to the eastexactly at the bottom…
Starwatch: Tracking down the faint stars of Pisces
Below the southern edge of the Great Square of Pegasus lie the fishes, linked by two stringsThis week we will track down Pisces, the fishes. Despite being one of the largest zodia…
What the smell of a soil can tell us about soil health
Farmers used to sniff their soil to gauge how healthy it was. According to ecologist Rosa Boone, you can deduce a great deal from its smell: "The fungi and bacteria present in the…