Biology
Bath show highlights sibling finds – and England’s first paid female astronomer
Exhibition features artworks in townhouse where William and Caroline Herschel worked and lived in late-18th centuryFrom the garden of their Georgian townhouse in Bath, a brother a…
Not a cheetah: Ancient DNA reveals the surprising Arctic life of extinct North American cat
A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has overturned decades of assumptions about Miracinonyx trumani, the extinct predator popularly known a…
Divergent molecular mechanisms for fungal plant biomass conversion
Fungi are major degraders of plant biomass, including leaves, stems and roots. Investigating the molecular mechanisms that control this process is essential for identifying ways t…
Critically endangered pygmy raccoons observed making their own paper toys
Some of the most intriguing scientific breakthroughs happen when researchers aren't explicitly looking for them. Take, for example, the pygmy raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus), a critica…
An activity-based probe library for identifying protein function
Proteins are vital to living systems. They build and repair tissues, act as enzymes to speed chemical reactions, regulate hormones and transport nutrients—all of which are importa…
Brainless sea sponges use sunset to prepare for metamorphosis—and attach in 30 minutes
Well before I start collecting coats, keys or shoes, my dog always knows when we're about to leave. By picking up on subtle cues, he anticipates our next movements, reminding me h…
How hibernating squirrels retain sense of touch in the cold
For most mammals, cold suppresses neural activity and diminishes the sense of touch. But the thirteen-lined ground squirrel can detect touch in conditions as low as 4°C (39°F), ab…
Researchers test far-ultraviolet light to prevent bird flu in poultry
When a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, tore through U.S. poultry farms in early 2025, farmers culled tens of millions of birds, and egg prices soared.
Molecular snapshots reveal how bacteria assemble outer membrane proteins
Gram-negative bacteria are responsible for several infections that are hard to treat because of their high resistance to antibiotics. These bacteria possess an outermost layer cal…
Week in wildlife: a hitchhiking crab, a shy wallaby and penguins in little jackets
This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
Your house may be a haven for wildlife. It's time we design homes with nature in mind
Ever found a bare-nosed wombat napping under your house or heard a possum thumping around in your attic?
‘They’ll be finding bodies next year’: a renowned forensic scientist on Nepal’s ‘extreme challenges’
Prof Richard Bassed helped identify Boxing Day tsunami and victims of Australia’s catastrophic Black Saturday bushfires. ‘The randomness of this massive flood,’ he says. ‘That get…
Tiny fossils reveal big insights about ant ancestors
Two tiny ant fossils recovered in southern Saskatchewan are helping scientists better understand the evolutionary history of modern ants. Ant fossils dating from 72–56 million yea…
How an unassuming wildflower thrives in salt-laden air that kills other plants
On the windswept coasts of Oregon and California lives an unassuming little plant that can withstand salty blasts that kill its inland counterparts. It's called the yellow monkeyf…
Warming seas could shrink most mollusks by 2100, but some may grow
Research led by scientists at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette challenges a long-held assumption about the effects of climate change on marine life: Warmer oceans won't si…
Microbes—dead or alive—can be early indicators of soil health under regenerative farming
Researchers have demonstrated a series of biological tests that could serve as "proxies" for measuring how different regenerative agriculture practices could improve soil carbon—y…
Predictive tools can confuse rare mutations with dangerous ones
When a patient's DNA is read, it is compared with a reference version of the human genome. This allows geneticists and rare disease experts to look at a list of places where the p…
'Green thumb' molecule helps leaf stalks grow in crowded conditions
Potassium (K) is one of the three essential nutrients for plants. It plays a critical role in a wide range of processes, including cell growth, photosynthesis and regulation of wa…
A molecular brake that keeps muscle architecture in check
Every movement we make, from blinking to sprinting, depends on the ability of muscle fibers to contract in a rapid and coordinated way. Achieving this precision requires an intric…
How a plant's refusal to self-pollinate could help India grow more of its own cooking oil
Most people assume plants reproduce through whatever pollen happens to land on them. This is not true. A collaborative research initiative involving the Indian Institute of Techno…
Early mammals weren't all loners—some may have lived in pairs alongside the dinosaurs
About 200 million years ago, furry, little egg-laying creatures evolved the ability to feed their offspring with a secretion from special glands: milk. Their evolutionary journey …
Chimpanzees have accents too, study finds
A study has found that young chimpanzees develop distinct population-specific vocal patterns as they mature (ontogeny), challenging the long-held assumption that their calls are i…
Wrinkled or smooth? Cell growth mechanics determine shape of plant organs
When inner and outer cell layers of sepals—the leaf-like plant organs that cover and protect the flower bud before it opens—all grow upward, the organs stay smooth and uniformly s…
Satellite images show how penguins' diets are changing in response to Antarctic climate change
The color of penguin poop, as seen from space, is offering a new window into how Antarctica's ecology and environment are changing over time.