Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Funnel-web spider venom varies depending on circumstances, shows study
Scientists studying the most venomous spider in the world have found the venom of some varies depending on circumstances—which could provide insights into how they could be of use for...
Kanchha Sherpa: The last of the first on Everest
Nonagenarian Kanchha Sherpa is the last surviving member of the 1953 expedition that saw Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa become the first humans to summit the world's highest mountain.
Scientists and indigenous people team up to build a kelp seed bank
Kelps provide food and habitat for myriad coastal creatures. DepositPhotos This article was originally featured on Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com. Kelp is...
How to fool a mouse: 'Chemical camouflage' can hide crops and cut losses by over 60%
For as long as humans have grown our own food, we have battled pest animals that destroy crops and take food for themselves.
Antarctic currents supplying 40% of world's deep ocean with nutrients and oxygen slowing dramatically
Deep ocean currents around Antarctica that are vital to marine life have slowed by 30% since the 1990s and could soon grind to a complete halt, a new study finds.
Bug off! Your scent signature could be key to keeping mosquitoes away
Two studies examined which scents attract mosquitoes in different settings. Results suggest that each person's individual scent signature — which may vary with diet, skin microbiome, lifestyle, and cosmetic products...
A new robot bee flies like its natural counterpart, but it can't land on the ceiling
A robotic insect with four wings is the first to be able to control itself in all three axes of movement like a bee. But landing on the ceiling like...
Death cap mushroom's invasion success may be linked to newly documented variability of toxin genes
It's a cold, wet day in 2015 and Anne Pringle is scouring the understory of a Northern California forest for the unassuming organism that has consumed her research for the...
Scientists changed scales on chicken feet to feathers by tweaking a single gene
By targeting a single gene, scientists successfully turned chickens’ feet from scaly to feathery.
How environmental disturbances can affect predator-prey interactions in the wild
Over thousands of years some animals have specialized to live in environments where the sun never shines: giant squid with eyes the size of volleyballs see even in the darkest...
Barren habitat for sows leaves imprint on piglets' brains
In a new study, researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden, together with colleagues from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, have investigated the impact that a barren living environment for...
More efforts are needed to protect orchids in karst forests
Karst forests develop in a karst landform, and have complex vegetation types and high biodiversity, and are rich in endemic species. As one of the important and special plant groups...
Genetics gives fin-tastic insights into Hector's dolphin populations
Scientists are learning more about the diets and groupings of little-studied Hector's dolphins at the top of the South Island.
Zoo’s bird-feeder-like device encourages gorillas to forage for snacks
Recreating gorillas' naturally foraging environments could improve their mental wellbeing and diet. Adam Thompson/Zoo ATL Apart from being naturally cliquey, gorillas are born foragers. In the wild, the great apes are regularly on...
Move over, bees: The lowly weevil is a power pollinator
The weevil Anchylorhynchus trapezicollis is the main pollinator of South American palm Syagrus coronata. Here, the weevil is seen on a female flower, touching the receptive parts and leaving pollen grains in the...
Conservation crime scientist uncovers secrets of trade threatening world's most endangered species
Trafficking of wildlife and wildlife products is estimated to be the fourth largest illegal trade in the world.
Mosquitoes found to prefer cooler temperatures
Mosquitoes have thermal preferences. This is an important parameter to better predict outbreaks of diseases transmitted by these insects.
When the cell digests itself: How inherited neurodegenerative diseases develop
A tangle of pockets, tubes and sac-like membrane structures runs through the cells of humans, animals, plants and fungi—the endoplasmic reticulum, or ER for short. In the ER, proteins are...
Selectivin found to kill crop-parasitizing nematodes without killing other organisms in the soil
A team of horticulturists affiliated with a host of institutions in Canada and the U.S. has found a chemical that kills crop-parasitizing nematodes in the soil without killing other organisms....
Look: Mystery alligator captured in Illinois woman's garden
Animal control officers in Illinois were in disbelief when they responded to a call from an elderly resident and discovered a 3 1/2-foot alligator was indeed wandering her garden.
Stealthy Salmonella escapes host's defenses using two-pronged approach
Like thieves that constantly look for ways to evade capture, Salmonella enterica, a disease-causing bacterium, uses various tactics to escape the human body's defense mechanisms. In a new study, researchers...
This Dubai lab clones prized camels
Camel cloning is emerging as a big business in Dubai, where the animals are cherished and can earn huge sums in beauty and racing contests. The Reproductive Biotechnology Centre in...
Yeast screen uncovers genes involved in chromosomal mutation
When creating a computer program, errors in the code can introduce bugs to the software. Similarly, errors in our body's genetic code, DNA, which is stored in structures known as...
Bird flu fells nearly 9,000 marine creatures in Chile
Nearly 9,000 sea lions, penguins, otters and small cetaceans have died in an avian flu outbreak battering Chile's north coast, the South American country's fisheries service said Thursday.
Precious cheetah cubs die in India national park
The cubs were the first to be born in the country 70 years after the animals were declared extinct here
Newly discovered chemical is a highly targeted killer of parasitic worms
The most abundant animals on farms—and everywhere on land, in fact—are microscopic worms called nematodes. Some kinds benefit the soil, but others parasitize crops, inflicting more than $100 billion in losses worldwide each...
Advanced imaging of root chemicals offers new insights on plant growth
On a sunny springtime stroll through a park, it's easy to ignore the parts of plants that are hidden from view. Plant biologists see things differently. They look below the...
Climate-stressed trees get a boost from new microbial partnerships
Climate change is subjecting plants to rapid shifts in temperature and precipitation, pushing them into new ranges and stressing them in old ones.