Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Lightning data more useful than previously thought
Lightning is a spectacular natural phenomenon closely associated with the electrification and discharge of thunderstorms. Different types of thunderstorms correspond to different lightning characteristics and charge structures. But what are...
Detroit Tigers' Derek Hill makes Willie Mays-style catch
Detroit Tigers outfielder Derek Hill made an over-the-shoulder, Willie Mays-style catch during an intrasquad game at Comerica Park in Detroit.
P.E.I. potato farmers plant flower-filled 'refuge fields' for pollinators
A growing number of P.E.I. potato farmers are planting small fields of flowers and other plants to provide a friendly spot for pollinators. Researchers are also hoping the plants will...
New insights revealed in the evolution of community-level heredity
What would happen if a selection experiment was performed on thousands of communities of microbes based on some community-level function? Researchers from ESPCI Paris-PSL, College de France, and ENS-PSL used...
Nigeria's gorillas: World's rarest great ape pictured with babies
The sighting of young Cross River gorillas eases fears they will soon die out, conservationists say.
Ships Hit Smaller Sea Animals More Often than Researchers Thought
New research sheds light on the range of creatures killed and injured by collisions -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
The human brain: not just large but finely shaped
Large brains have long differentiated humans and primates from other mammals and there is a clear evidence that brain mass increased through time.
Gall fly outmaneuvers host plant in game of "Spy vs. Spy"
Over time goldenrod plants and the gall flies that feed on them have been one-upping each other in an ongoing competition for survival. Now, a team of researchers has discovered...
John Swing, a driving force in L.A.'s Historic Filipinotown, dies of COVID-19 at 48
Swing's death came just two months after he was asked to lead Search to Involve Pilipino Americans
Species that use sound to 'fake' their body size are usually skilled vocal learners
Animals that use their voice to sound bigger than they are tend to also be skilled vocal learners, according to new scientific paper.
Researchers develop mobile rapid test to assess coral thermotolerance
Coral death is impacting oceans worldwide as a consequence of climate change. The concern is that corals cannot keep pace with the rate of ocean warming. In particular, because a...
Stress testing 'coral in a box'
Coral death is impacting oceans worldwide as a consequence of climate change. The concern is that corals cannot keep pace with the rate of ocean warming. In particular, because a...
New type of base editor works on mitochondrial DNA
Splitting novel bacterial toxin in two pieces enables the first precision gene editing in mitochondria
Flatworms muscle new eyes' wiring into their brains
If anything happens to the eyes of the tiny, freshwater-dwelling planarian Schmidtea mediterranea, they can grow them back within just a few days. How they do this is a scientific conundrum —...
Study reveals how bacteria build essential carbon-fixing machinery
Scientists from the University of Liverpool have revealed new insight into how cyanobacteria construct the organelles that are essential for their ability to photosynthesise. The research, which carried out in...
Tackling coral reefs' thorny problem: Crown-of-thorns starfish
Researchers have revealed the evolutionary history of the crown-of-thorns starfish -- a predator of coral that can devastate coral reefs. Their findings shed light on how the populations of these...
Researchers create air filter that can kill the coronavirus
Researchers have designed a 'catch and kill' air filter that can trap the virus responsible for COVID-19, killing it instantly.
Pacifichem rescheduled for 2021
Meeting of Pacific Basin chemical societies will be held in Honolulu on Dec. 16–21, 2021
California sets record for most coronavirus cases in a single day
California cases are on pace to double every 24.8 days, a number that is used by experts to measure how quickly the virus is spreading.
Bumblebee habitats and diets change over their lifecycle
Bumblebees change their home ranges and dietary preferences after establishing nests, suggesting that diversified landscapes help support bee populations as their needs change during different phases of their lifecycle, according...
Supergenes play a larger role in evolution than previously thought
Large blocks of 'plug and play' genes play a super-sized role in adaption-and may help fill lingering gaps in Darwin's theories.
HBO Max acquires 'Class Action Park' doc about 'dangerous' N.J. amusement park
"Class Action Park," a documentary film about the world's "most dangerous water park," will stream on HBO Max.
Calculating a dog’s age in human years is harder than you think
To estimate your dog’s age in human years, multiply the dog’s age by seven, right? Wrong. A more accurate conversion isn’t so easy to do in your head: Multiply the natural logarithm...
Animals who try to sound 'bigger' are good at learning sounds
Some animals fake their body size by sounding 'bigger' than they actually are. Researchers studied 164 different mammals and found that animals who lower their voice to sound bigger are...
Evolutionary biologists find several fish adapt in the same way to toxic water
Several species of fish have adapted to harsh environments using the same mechanism, which brings to question evolutionary chance, according to a new study.
New molecular tool precisely edits mitochondrial DNA
The precision editing technologies that have revolutionized DNA editing in the cell nucleus have been unable to reach the mitochondrial genome. Now, researchers have broken this barrier with a new...
Misfolded membrane proteins cleared from cells by 'reubiquitinase'
Chinese researchers recently discovered a protein quality control mechanism called 'reubiquitination.' The mechanism, according to the researchers, could promote the elimination of misfolded membrane proteins, minimize their dwell time in...
Toledo football player Jahneil Douglas, 22, killed in shooting
University of Toledo defensive tackle Jahneil Douglas has died after he was shot while outside of a pizza restaurant in Toledo, Ohio. He was 22.