Biology
Taking the sting out of fire ants with genomics
Fire ants have earned their reputation as one of Australia's most damaging invasive pests. From ruined picnics to serious impacts on agriculture, biodiversity and public health, t…
UK subsidies for land-based seafood farming would boost tree-planting policy
Subsidies for emerging technology that allows seafood to be produced on land would boost the UK's food security and deliver significant climate benefits, new research shows.
How we manage and engage with horses may shape their personality
A new study reveals that horse personality is not only a matter of genetics, age or breed but also systematically linked to how horses are housed, ridden and cared for, and to the…
New AI model for DNA learns from evolution to unlock secrets of the human genome
More than two decades after scientists first sequenced the entire human genome—all 3 billion base pairs, of DNA code—the meaning of much of this code remains a mystery.
First Denisovan forearm bone discovered in southwest China
Scientists have discovered various Denisovan remains in Southwest China dating to the late Middle Pleistocene, including the first Denisovan radius—one of two long bones in the fo…
A 'wholistic' view of cellular communication across an entire animal
It can't be heard, but different parts of the human body are in constant conversation, communicating to keep the entire system running efficiently. For biologists, being able to l…
How 'parachute science' is failing the world's tropical insects
Monash University scientists have developed a global framework to tackle a major blind spot in biodiversity conservation: Insects underpin ecosystems and food production but remai…
A 66.5-million-year-old trackway captures adult T. rex at walking pace
Scientists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Liverpool John Moores University in England have discovered the first adult T. rex trackway, providing insights into how …
Ancient DNA reveals 1,000 years of human-environment interactions at Crawford Lake
An international team of scientists has recreated a 1,000-year timeline documenting ecological changes and human impact on the area surrounding Crawford Lake, the famed location o…
Biologists find a hidden weak spot in how bacteria build the tails they use to move
New research from Indiana University has uncovered a previously unknown vulnerability in how bacteria build the whip-like tails they use to move. The researchers found that buildi…
Local microbes persist in wine despite commercial yeast
A new study has demonstrated that regional microbial imprints can remain detectable under commercial winemaking conditions. The research, appearing in Applied and Environmental Mi…
Hurrah, lie-ins may be good for us – if only I can convince my five-year-old daughter | Arwa Mahdawi
CEOs may like to get up at the crack of dawn and go for a run, but I prefer optimising my life with lie-ins, trashy films, swearing and coffeeThis evening I’m going to tuck my fiv…
These bulbs have evolved to avoid being eaten. You can take advantage of that
There's little worse in a gardener's mind than watching their careful planning and hard work go up in a cloud of teeth, thanks to every four-legged freeloader within chewing dista…
GPS collars reveal secrets of the power struggle between lions and hyenas in the wild
Hidden deep in the bush, ranging over huge territories at speeds humans can't match and through terrain not even the most rugged vehicle can handle, hyenas and lions are hard to s…
Chesapeake Bay underwater grasses increase 7%, buoyed by gains in salty waters
Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), one of the Chesapeake Bay's most important indicators of ecosystem health, increased by 7% in 2025, according to researchers at William & Mary'…
New computational method pushes cryo-electron microscopy beyond traditional resolution limits
Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has become a powerful tool for determining the structures of proteins, viruses and molecular complexes at near-atomic resolution. However, achie…
Tiny backpacks reveal the secret, sometimes circuitous migrations of small songbirds
Squinting through my binoculars, I scanned the dense branches of a black spruce, trying my best to catch a glimpse of the thin legs of a small black, white and yellow songbird. I …
Searching for unknown fungi in the Norwegian mountains
During some days in August, science takes center stage. The experts are surveying the little-known diversity of fungi found in the alpine Dryas heath. They may even discover speci…
One of the oldest known 3D animal fossils found in Norwegian sheep field
One of the oldest known 3D fossils of an animal has been discovered in a sheep field in the Norwegian Arctic, the first new major site of its kind anywhere in Europe in decades.
Researchers rewire ribosomes to specialize in one protein
Every cell relies on ribosomes, the molecular machines that read genetic instructions and use them to assemble proteins. A cell needs thousands of types of proteins at any one tim…
When disaster strikes, what happens to our pets?
As large-scale disasters—including earthquakes, torrential rains, typhoons and wildfires—become increasingly frequent, ensuring that pets as well as their owners can evacuate safe…
Untangling the meta-biomaterial puzzle one property at a time
From repairing damaged tissues to developing better implants, many medical developments depend on materials that can mimic the complex properties of human tissue. Meta-biomaterial…
Optimizing tomato plant growth with microbes
Plants are home to a diverse array of microorganisms that support their growth and help them adapt to environmental stress—of which there has been an abundance lately. High temper…
Not all eggs are the same—uncovering a tropical parasite's secret weapons
A team of scientists from the Faculty of Science at Charles University has achieved a major breakthrough in research into schistosomiasis, a serious tropical disease affecting mor…