Biology
Pollinators keep a later calendar in human-modified landscapes, study finds
Human development may be changing more than where pollinators live—it may also be changing when they are active. University of Florida researchers at the Institute of Food and Agr…
RNA 'delivery tags' guide key messages to distant neuron branches
Much like a courier reading an address on a package, neurons must deliver RNA to the precise locations where it is needed. A KAIST research team has discovered how a small chemica…
Improved climate forecasts alone won't protect Africa's poorest farmers
As Africa prepares for the arrival of a powerful El Niño weather event, an international team of researchers led by the University of Sydney and Imperial College London has found …
Can you solve it? Do you have the brain of an engineer?
Hacks from the hidden world of test engineeringToday’s puzzles test your engineering smarts.The cranberries Continue reading...
Starwatch: A Venus-spotting challenge with a beautiful reward
The bright planet and the young crescent moon will make an attractive pairing on Monday eveningThis week’s Starwatch is a challenge but a beautiful reward awaits for anyone who su…
Researchers hope powerful new microscope will reveal ‘root cause’ of incurable bowel disease
No run-of-the-mill tech, ‘Curie’ operates at 10 times the resolution of conventional microscopy and could spur discoveries leading to new treatmentThe number of young people livin…
AI automates 3D membrane mapping, matching manual results in a fraction of time
Cell membranes and the proteins within them control many vital processes and play a key role in health and disease. But studying them in 3D images of cells has so far meant slow, …
Saltwater flooding could radically change which crops are worth growing
Saltwater isn't something most people associate with English farmland. But in parts of eastern England, it's becoming a growing problem, not just for crops but for farm incomes to…
Luminescence dating pushes age of South Dakota's Mammoth Site back by more than 100,000 years
Deep within an ancient sinkhole lie the remains of dozens of mammoths, prehistoric wanderers who waded into the warm springs to their deaths. These deaths had long been accepted a…
Fish may be highly sensitive to antidepressants found in water
Many of the drugs that target human brain chemistry, such as antidepressants, are still biologically active when they leave the body. These substances and their metabolites can pe…
Ancient armored fish evolved two distinct ways to crush prey 385 million years ago
Long before dinosaurs appeared on Earth, fierce predatory fish developed crushing jaws and sharp teeth to survive and diversify in ancient oceans.
Fossilized 10,000-year-old mastodon tooth found by California scientist
Molar from large mammal that once lived in North America is in ‘immaculate condition’ after discovery in Bay AreaA 10,000 year-old tooth in remarkable condition from an ancient Pa…
Why do some salivary glands fail? Researchers point to hidden cell stress
For cancer patients undergoing head and neck radiation therapy, people living with Sjögren's syndrome, people with diabetes or older people, reduced saliva production and the resu…
Human embryo base editing can reach all cells but causes unpredictable genetic changes
A study by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has found that new cutting-edge techniques can accurately edit genes in human embryos—givi…
Sea-level rise could squeeze shorebirds out of critical coastal habitat, researchers find
As sea levels rise, coastal wetlands around the world are expected to shrink—and researchers at the University of British Columbia have found this could put the world's shorebirds…
Tiny cyanobacteria may be the secret heroes of ocean carbon sequestration
A process known as the biological carbon pump (BCP) moves organic carbon from near the ocean's surface to the ocean floor. That carbon often stays there for hundreds or thousands …
As antibiotic resistance grows, researchers turn to copper to fight infections
When bacteria invade the urinary tract, the body has its own arsenal for fighting back. Among those weapons is an unlikely tool: copper. Researchers at the Texas A&M College of Ve…
Q&A: The origin of 'OnlyMarms' and what made it a roaring success
The story of Dan Blumstein's decision to share videos of marmots from the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory field study on an OnlyFans account called OnlyMarms has captured att…
New genome study rewrites the early history of grasses, the world's most important plant family
An international team of scientists, including Donald Danforth Plant Science Center member emerita Elizabeth "Toby" Kellogg, Ph.D., has produced a chromosome-level genome assembly…
AI helps find hidden human proteins and reveals what they do
New research shows how artificial intelligence, combined with advanced experimental science, can help find "hidden" and unexplored proteins in the human body and reveal what they …
Emerging SARS-CoV-2 sublineage RE.2.2 displays distinct structural features
Researchers from the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS) have characterized the structural and functional properties of the emerging SARS-CoV-2 su…
10,000 years of wheat and barley selection reveal shared climate-adaptation genes
Research teams from INRAE, the University of Clermont Auvergne and the CNRS have reconstructed 10 ancient genomes (paleogenomes) that are the common ancestors of 84 botanical spec…
Bite, buzz, release: How bees make flowers give up their pollen
Life is not always easy for a bee: Not all plants place their pollen outside. Some flowers have to be set to vibrating before the pollen can get out of their tube-like stamens. Ce…
Shapeshifting plant roots rely on a balance of anatomy, metabolism, and microbes to maximize survival
Scientists have identified the mechanisms that allow plants to change their root anatomy to maximize survival when nutrients are scarce. The findings could pave the way for develo…