Biology
AI pinpoints when fish reach their thermal limit
Researchers have developed an AI-based system that automatically and objectively detects the moment when fish experience loss of equilibrium (LOE) due to temperature stress. The s…
As oceans warm, Florida scientists hunt for heat-resistant coral
Off Florida's coast, a team of scientists and trained volunteers in scuba gear descends to the ocean floor, planting young coral onto a reef and examining how others are faring in…
Online and undercover: Saving trafficked wildlife in Thailand
Nawee Changpirom has spent years working to rescue trafficked wildlife in Thailand, but even he can sometimes hardly believe the creatures he has found: leopards, hornbills and, o…
Coyote density is 9 times higher in Seattle than in Washington's wildlands
Once coyotes get a taste for city living, the call of the wild fades to a whisper. Food is abundant and predators are few. Research indicates that coyotes enjoy the benefits of ur…
‘One of the biggest discoveries in science’: have scientists found dark matter? – podcast
For decades physicists have been puzzling over the enigma of dark matter. We think it makes up 85% of the matter in the universe, but the mysterious substance cannot be seen or de…
Timing 1080 drops to prevent predators bouncing back
While aerial 1080 drops sharply reduce numbers of rats and stoats, the predators—especially ship rats—can rebound to higher numbers within a few years. Studying 24 years of small-…
The trapdoor spiders giving a leg up to science
WA's trapdoor spiders are endangered. Jackson Rendall is here to help—because he thinks they're "just really cool."
New insect genus and four species named for Taylor Swift and her albums
Taylor Swift is now the namesake of a genus of plant-feeding insects from Australia that were previously unknown to science.
Cacao genetics could help breeders reduce heavy metal levels in cocoa beans
Cadmium is a naturally occurring, toxic heavy metal found in many soils across Latin America and the Caribbean, where cacao trees are widely cultivated. It makes its way into coco…
How seeds decide whether to wake up in salty soil
Researchers have discovered a system that helps seeds survive when there is too much salt in the soil. The system helps young germinating embryos keep the right balance of sodium …
These bacteria can change their diet to survive inside the body
The human body fights staph infections by starving it of essential nutrients. Staph, it turns out, is remarkably good at changing what's on the menu. Staphylococcus aureus—the inf…
Researchers chart new course for AI-powered biomedical discoveries
University of Missouri researchers are paving the way as artificial intelligence transforms biomedical research. A team from the College of Engineering and collaborators recently …
Europe's forests are still standing, but many are losing the ability to recover
A forest can look intact from the roadside and still have lost much of its capacity to bounce back. That gap between appearance and function is at the center of a new policy brief…
How 'positive' stress could improve the welfare of zoo animals
Pelicans have resided in St James's Park, London, for 360 years. But the current flock has been a summer sensation because of the first chicks to hatch in the park's history.
Fossil ribs reveal new secrets about ichthyosaur swimming technique
Ichthyosaurs ruled the oceans for 150 million years during the Mesozoic Era. Their fish-shaped bodies were built for high speeds. In that context, it is normally an advantage to b…
Long-lost fish species rediscovered in another section of the Inn River
The Danube gudgeon had been considered extinct in the Inn River for more than 100 years. Only a few years ago, the highly endangered species was rediscovered there. Now, researche…
AI reveals new class of cellular 'off switch' linked to cancer pathways
Cornell researchers have used artificial intelligence to uncover a previously unknown way cells control how proteins move inside them, a process essential for growth, communicatio…
Fossils from embryo to adult suggest how an enigmatic, bird-like troodontid dinosaur grew
Analysis of fossilized remains from dinosaurs known as troodontids reveals how one species' hip and leg bones may have developed over its lifespan, from embryo to adult—with poten…
Asian elephants can resist impulsive behavior, researchers find
Researchers at the CUNY Graduate Center and Hunter College have found that Asian elephants can suppress impulsive behaviors and adjust their actions when circumstances change—a co…
Decades-old DNA mystery solved after strands are captured zipping together for the first time
Researchers have captured the moment two DNA molecules zip together, overcoming their identical negative charges to pair up and revealing a mechanism that has puzzled scientists f…
Liquid gold: Could we turn our urine into fertilizer?
For thousands of years, human urine has had real value. After our bodies absorb nutrients from our food, they excrete the rest—mainly via urine. An adult produces about 500 liters…
The surprising place where giant dinosaurs incubated their eggs
Finding a fossilized dinosaur egg is exceptionally rare, but finding a stash of more than 250 shell fragments in the chilly southern reaches of the planet is even more surprising.…
Restoring Australia's she-oaks means listening to Indigenous knowledges
In Australia, many Indigenous communities have connections and stories linked to the she-oak.
The 'costly son' hypothesis: Why bigger sons may make births riskier across species
A new comparative review, published in The Anatomical Record, examines factors that may lead to birth complications among humans and other mammals. The study suggests that fetal s…