Biology
Genomic study uncovers a new lace bug species on Japan's remote Ogasawara Islands
Researchers have used genome-wide DNA data to identify a new insect species on the Ogasawara Islands, a remote Japanese archipelago roughly 900 to 1,000 kilometers (560 to 620 mil…
Researchers are ignoring most living things: Analysis finds vertebrates dominate biodiversity research
According to two new UNSW studies, researchers often choose research topics based on personal preferences and cultural attitudes, including exposure to films, TV shows and even zo…
The painstaking task of cataloging the world's species
A bumblebee-like insect that was last seen in France 150 years ago was spotted again in the Paris region in 2025.
On the front line of ocean conservation off Portugal's Madeira
Juan Mayorga smiled as a stingray glided across his computer screen, moving gracefully over the seabed near Portugal's Desertas Islands, part of the Madeira archipelago in the Atl…
Starwatch: Catch the Orionid meteor shower streak across the night sky
As Earth passes through dust left by Halley’s comet, observers may see 10-20 fragments per hourThe annual Orionid meteor shower reaches its peak this week, offering the chance to …
Earth's oldest evidence of life is written in stone—but it's at risk of disappearing
Today, our planet is teeming with life, but it has not always looked the same. Long before forests reached skyward, animals walked on land and dinosaurs rose and fell, our planet …
Spatial genomics tool maps long-range DNA interactions while preserving cells' locations within tissues
DNA is not randomly distributed within the nucleus but is packaged with proteins into chromatin, which is precisely folded into complex three-dimensional structures. However, scie…
Dozens of orangutans saved from Indonesia blazes as region grapples with haze
Dozens of critically endangered orangutans have been rescued in recent weeks from rampant wildfires burning across Indonesia that have cloaked the region in toxic haze, conservati…
Climate change affects the quality of one of the world's most important staple foods
Depending on the cultivar, higher concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere can significantly alter the protein composition of wheat. This affects not only baking q…
Genome detectives: Researchers sequence the genome of a harmful plant pathogen
Graduate students in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences contributed to the first complete genome sequence of a harmful plant pathogen from an ornamental Prunus host thr…
Scientists discover a way to reverse coral bleaching at record speed
For the first time, scientists have observed bleached corals on the brink of death fully recover through brief contact with healthy clones. Ghostly white corals returned to full h…
Close social bonds help wild jackdaws hold feeding spots but come with waiting costs
Close social relationships are known to contribute to the survival of many animals, including humans. Maintaining social bonds over time, however, can also require effort and sacr…
Lion droppings yield previously unknown microbial species, exposing hidden diversity inside Africa's big cats
Scientists know a great deal about how lions hunt, breed and survive, but the microscopic communities living inside them have remained largely unexplored. Now, a study of wild lio…
One million migrating raptors dodge illegal hunters above Georgia's Black Sea coast
Standing on a verdant hill above Georgia's Black Sea coast, ornithologist Bart Hoekstra looked out over one of the world's greatest wildlife spectacles unfolding before him—then g…
Margaret Hamilton obituary
Pioneering software engineer whose work was critical to the Apollo moon landingsApollo was a bold, innovative project. It tested the boundaries of technology and human achievement…
Japan to launch world-first mission to collect samples from Martian moon
Japanese space agency leading five-year mission to Phobos, one of ‘most important unclimbed mountains in the solar system’Japan is to launch a spacecraft on the world’s first miss…
What a worm's brain can teach us about sex differences in the nervous system
Ever wonder what goes on inside the brain of a worm—how it processes information, responds to stimuli and perceives the world around it? Northeastern University researchers have o…
Hand-cranked device tells blood type and red cell levels in 1 minute
When someone is badly injured, doctors urgently need two facts: the patient's blood type, so that a transfusion is safe, and their hematocrit, the share of the blood made up of re…
Australian scavengers don't just eat everything and slink away. They approach a carcass like a buffet
When scientists talk about scavengers, you might imagine an animal sniffing out or stumbling across a carcass, eating as much as possible and slinking away.
Red-sensitive pigments in mantis shrimp eyes act as reversible light switches
With about 30 visual pigments, compared to just three in humans, mantis shrimp possess a visual system that remains a mystery. Researchers from ULiège and Humboldt University in B…
Optical imaging links altered metabolism and oxygen use in Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease is best known for its effects on memory and cognition, but the disease also involves changes in how brain cells produce and use energy. Mitochondria, the struc…
Long-serving ABC broadcaster Robyn Williams to leave The Science Show after 51 years
No replacement has been named as the 82-year-old departs, with the media announcement referring only to ‘the next generation’Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free weekly media new…
Scientists uncover mystery of how snail shells coil to the right or to the left
Scientists have discovered a gene that determines whether Japanese snails develop shells that are left- or right-coiling—with implications for understanding the underlying handedn…
Scientists discover cell division does more than make new cells: It helps reshape tissues
Every time a tissue grows or renews itself, cells must divide inside an already crowded environment. That creates a fundamental problem that scientists have not fully understood: …