Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Sri Lanka rangers spot possible rare baby elephant twins
A pair of baby elephants feeding from the same mother have been spotted in a Sri Lankan national park, with officials speculating Wednesday the two could be a rare set...
Hearing persists at end of life
Hearing is widely thought to be the last sense to go in the dying process. Now UBC researchers have evidence that some people may still be able to hear while...
Enzymes as double agents: New mechanism discovered in protein modification
Proteins are the workers in a cell and, as the 'basic element of life," are responsible for the most widely varying metabolic processes. In plants, for example, they take on...
Study reveals the hidden fight within corals
Researchers from the School of Biological Sciences and Swire Institute of Marine Science at the University of Hong Kong are working to understand how the coral symbiosis may respond to...
Technique fishes valuable nutrients out of shrimp processing water
The seafood industry requires large amounts of water for food processing. Before used water is discharged, some organic matter, including protein, is typically removed. This sludge is usually landfilled or...
Fluorescent peptide nanoparticles, in every color of the rainbow
The discovery of green fluorescent protein (GFP), which is made by a jellyfish, transformed cell biology. It allowed scientists to stitch the GFP sequence to proteins from other organisms to...
Protein involved in corn's water stress response discovered
Researchers affiliated with the Genomics for Climate Change Research Center (GCCRC), hosted by the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, have discovered a protein involved...
Hummingbirds found able to understand numerical order
A team of researchers from the University of St Andrews in the U.K. and the University of Lethbridge in Canada has found that hummingbirds are able to understand the concept...
Supergenes play a larger role in evolution than previously thought
Massive blocks of genes—inherited together 'plug and play' style—may play a larger role in evolutionary adaption than previously thought, according to new research in Nature.
How to precisely edit mitochondrial DNA
Scientists can now precisely edit the genes inside mitochondria, the tiny energy factories inside of cells.
Custom nanoparticle regresses tumors when exposed to light
A unique nanoparticle to deliver a localized cancer treatment inhibits tumor growth in mice, according to a team of Penn State researchers. The nanoparticles, developed by Daniel Hayes, associate professor...
Bats are hosts to a range of viruses but don't get sick – why?
Bats harbour many diverse viruses, including coronaviruses. Indeed, SARS, Mers and COVID-19—which are all caused by coronaviruses—are thought to have emerged from bats. These diseases can be deadly to humans,...
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 study by Kansas State University and Washington State...
To fool predators, antlion larvae play dead for unpredictable amounts of time
A new study, published Wednesday, doesn't explain why playing dead keeps prey alive, but did find that varying the time prey spends motionless can, at the very least, keep predators...
Green glowing worms provide live-action movies of the body's internal scaffolding
Duke University researchers have made the first time-lapse movies of the sheet-like latticework that surrounds and supports most animal tissues.
Lefties and righties: Asymmetry in fish genitalia
Evolutionary biologists from the University of Konstanz have resolved a century-old question regarding the asymmetric genitals of internally fertilizing fishes of the family Anablepidae. Surprisingly, the direction of genital asymmetry...
'Hair Love' characters to appear in HBO Max series
HBO Max has ordered a 12-episode, animated series called "Young Love."
Professional mouse upgrades that will work wonders for your productivity
Best mice to get your work done. (Gunnar Sigurðarson via Unsplash/)Whether you were stuck working with a mouse from the bottom of the office-supply closet or you’re an old pro who remembers having...
Tackling coral reefs' thorny problem
Researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have revealed the evolutionary history of the crown-of-thorns starfish—a predator of coral that can devastate coral reefs. Their...
Tobacco budworm moths have receptors in their eggs, laying organs that detect odorants
When most insects reproduce, they lay eggs that hatch into juveniles known as larvae. To provide good sources of food for the larvae, the adult insects have to carefully select...
Milk lipids follow the evolution of mammals
Skoltech scientists have conducted a study of milk lipids and described the unique features of human breast milk as compared to bovids, pigs, and closely related primates. Their findings could...
Researchers discover a novel mechanism regulating planar cell polarity
Planar cell polarity (PCP), a process in which the epithelial tissues are polarized within the plane of the epithelium, plays an important role in development and organ function. Defects in...
Novel major locus regulates beak evolution of ground tit
Classical quantitative genetics has found that most phenotypes are polygenic traits. Under this polygenic model, natural selection often acts on many loci simultaneously, resulting in the combination of a few...
Rare gorillas in Nigeria captured on camera with babies
Conservationists have captured the first images of a group of rare Cross River gorillas with multiple babies in Nigeria's Mbe Mountains, proof that the subspecies once feared to be extinct...
Why more great white sharks are showing up in Atlantic Canada
A newly-published paper in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences speculates on why more great white sharks are being seen in Atlantic Canada in the summer months, especially...
Microplastic pollution harms lobster larvae, study finds
Microplastic fiber pollution in the ocean impacts larval lobsters at each stage of their development, according to new research. A study reports that the fibers affect the animals' feeding and...
Metabolomics meets genomics to improve patient diagnosis
Researchers have improved their ability to identify the genetic cause of undiagnosed conditions.
Neurons show distinct styles as they interact with the same muscle partner
A study shows a newfound diversity in how cells talk to the muscle they innervate, revealing that the subclasses of neurons have distinct propensities for change, or 'plasticity'.