Biology
Orangutans prefer food associated with sounds of laughter, study suggests
Apes in study more likely to choose treats linked to sound of peers having fun, suggesting emotions influence learningOrangutans base their food choices on whether others appear t…
How humans domesticated the bacterium behind Botox treatments
Clostridium botulinum bacteria produce a potent neurotoxin called botulinum toxin, which causes the serious illness botulism. The toxin attacks the nervous system, leaving the bod…
Tesla to report earnings after Elon Musk floats SpaceX merger plan
Musk says ‘there’s a lot of merit’ to potential merger that would require approval of 50% of Tesla shareholdersInvestors will be paying close attention to Tesla’s third-quarter ea…
Serengeti hyenas manage to keep clans stable as climate change alters animal migrations
Although the main prey of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), migratory ungulates such as blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), now spend substantially less time within hyena ter…
Ancient fish bones reveal how Arctic cod species survived the last ice age
The glacial Arctic Ocean was not a barren ice desert but a breeding ground for the evolution of cold adaptation in marine fish. This is the main conclusion of a new scientific pub…
Genetic snapshot of North Carolina black bears could improve population resilience
A recent genomic survey of North Carolina black bears from mountain and coastal habitats reveals distinct differences in genetic health and diversity between the populations, with…
Swiss barn owls are gradually changing color
Over the past 30 years, Swiss barn owls have become more reddish-brown and more heavily spotted. By analyzing the genomes of more than 3,000 birds, scientists at the University of…
Butterfly navigation tests reveal that migrating species may rely on different natural compasses
Researchers at Keele University have discovered that migratory butterflies may use different navigation systems to find their way during migrations, highlighting the importance of…
Do people become less creative as they get older? Research makes surprising discovery
Study pitting preschoolers against adults mostly in their 20s finds fear of failure and anxiety hamper the grownupsAsk a five-year-old to paint a picture and they will almost inst…
Scientists discover migration-mediated mechanism enabling bacteria-virus coexistence
Bacteria and the viruses that infect them—known as phages—coexist in soils, oceans and living organisms. Scientists have long thought this coexistence reflects a microscopic versi…
Keeping to warm climates may have helped crocodiles outlast the dinosaurs
Keeping to warm climates throughout their 250-million-year history may have helped crocodiles and their relatives survive the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, finds a new study…
Electronic nose puts police detection dogs to the test
A pilot study tested an electronic nose, called NOS.E, alongside human-remains detection dogs to see whether it could detect buried remains and help confirm dogs' signals.
Chromosome anchors form hollow shells before cell division, imaging reveals
Whenever a cell divides, it has to split its chromosomes perfectly between two daughter cells, and even a single mistake can be disastrous. Now, researchers from Japan have found …
'Silent' vultures turn out to use a wide range of sounds to communicate
Vultures were long thought to make few and fairly simple sounds. Yet no one had investigated in detail how the birds use sound to communicate. For his master's thesis in Jorg Mass…
Poor ocean conditions leave murrelet chicks exposed to nest predators for longer
Less favorable ocean conditions mean marbled murrelet chicks take longer to leave the nest, making them more vulnerable to predation, according to a new study of the Pacific North…
Two-in-one tool tracks viral RNA inside live infected cells in real time
Viruses are sneaky intruders, hijacking the internal machinery of host cells and replicating out of sight. Understanding these dynamics is the first step to developing effective a…
Africa's bats could survive climate change—if they can find somewhere to live
Climate change and changes in the way land is used are the two biggest threats to wildlife because they change the environment in which animals survive and thrive. Knowing how spe…
Reindeer grazing changes plant roots in pine forests
Reindeer grazing changes the vegetation of northern pine forests below ground as well as above it. In a recent study in Finland, trees and understory vegetation in grazed forests …
Migratory birds spread avian influenza to Greenland's polar bears
Migrating birds that breed in the Arctic are spreading avian influenza to polar bears in eastern Greenland, according to a new study that found evidence of infections in bear bloo…
Light-based method could offer first way to detect hypothetical 'mirror life'
Scientists have proposed what they believe is the first method for detecting "mirror life"—a hypothetical form of life made from molecular building blocks that are the mirror imag…
South Korea guides crowd-pulling shark out of canal
A shark that has become a viral sensation in South Korea was coaxed out of a canal in which it was stuck, authorities said on Wednesday, as falling temperatures raised concerns fo…
'The fishing's terrible': Deforestation devastates Central African river
Sitting in his narrow dugout canoe, Jean-Romeo Senguemboli frowned at the meager catch in his nets on the Central African Republic's Mbali River, where experts say deforestation i…
Bending a liquid: Liquid membranes flex 100 times more easily than cell membranes
Many structures in biology are bounded by membranes, but not all of them. Droplets of a liquid called a coacervate, which form when oppositely charged molecules come together in w…
Newly identified metabolic pathway helps explain how cold extends lifespan
Moderately cold temperatures have proven to effectively extend lifespan and delay age-related decline in animals. However, how cold temperatures trigger these beneficial effects a…