Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Survival of coronavirus in different cities, on different surfaces
One of the many questions researchers have about COVID-19 is how long the coronavirus causing the disease remains alive after someone infected with it coughs or sneezes. Once the droplets...
Team decodes another piece of the histone code puzzle
Inside our cells, DNA is tightly packed and spooled around proteins called histones. Packaging DNA in this way allows large amounts of genetic material to exist inside the cell in...
Biohybrid model uses organic lungs, synthetic muscles to re-create respiration mechanics
Benchtop tools for studying the respiratory system misrepresent the interdependence between the diaphragm, abdomen and lungs. Meanwhile, computational models often hide the mechanisms in a black box computation, without a...
France's wolf population rises further to 580 adults
France's wild wolf population rose again last year, with officials counting 580 adults at winter's end compared with an average of 530 a year ago, France's OFB biodiversity agency said...
A new mechanism improves the efficiency of antibacterial surfaces
Resistance to antibiotics has become a serious public health problem. Hospital infections, prostheses or surgical implants that become infected and do not respond to treatment are a real challenge to the research community,...
Parasitic fungi keep harmful blue-green algae in check
When a lake is covered with green scum during a warm summer, cyanobacteria—often called blue-green algae—are usually involved. Mass development of such cyanobacteria is bad for water quality because they...
The Evolution of a Bacterial Navigation System
Caltech researchers and collaborators have discovered how the bacteria Escherichia coli evolutionarily repurposed cellular machinery into a kind of navigation system to control movement through its environment. The study was led by...
Engineers put tens of thousands of artificial brain synapses on a single chip
MIT engineers have designed a “brain-on-a-chip,” smaller than a piece of confetti, that is made from tens of thousands of artificial brain synapses known as memristors — silicon-based components that...
Rewiring plant reproduction for higher seed yields
Exploiting quirks in plant reproduction could boost yields in two staple crops, sorghum and cowpea, for crop farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa (SA).
Human presence weakens social relationships of giraffes
The effects of human presence on the social relationships of wild animals have rarely been studied. Even if the animals are not hunted or killed, increasing contact with humans could...
Scientific fieldwork 'caught in the middle' of US-Mexico border tensions
Imagine you're a scientist, setting out camera traps to snap pictures of wildlife in a remote area of southern Arizona. You set out with your gear early in the morning,...
BTS sing 'Baby Shark' in never-before-seen 'Carpool Karaoke' clip
South Korean boy band BTS sing children's song "Baby Shark" in a never-before-seen "Carpool Karaoke" clip that was released by James Corden in celebration of the group raising money for...
Invasive rushes spreading in upland farm fields
A new study involving University of Liverpool ecologists shows invasive native species of rushes are spreading across UK upland farms and have the potential to threaten wildlife and the livelihoods...
Ontario doubling limit on gatherings, more businesses to reopen in next stage of COVID-19 recovery plan
Ontarians will soon be allowed to gather in groups of up to 10 and many more businesses and services will be allowed to begin operating again as part of the...
Once COVID-19 vaccine is ready, getting people to take it may be challenge
Flattening the curve to contain the coronavirus is the current mantra, but after that, what?
Production begins on 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' sequel
Animator Nick Kondo announced on Twitter that production has begun on the cartoon adventure "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2."
Abundance and composition of periphyton show noticeable seasonality under different warming scenario
Periphyton plays an important functional role in lake nutrient cycles and food webs, especially at low and intermediate nutrient levels. Knowledge of how periphyton responds to key drivers such as...
A cell process discovered in fish has important implications for medical research and aquaculture
Autophagy is the process by which cells degrade and recycle their own components. It helps maintain homeostasis which is crucial to proper cell functioning. Among the different subtypes of autophagy,...
Are viruses alive? Perhaps we're asking the wrong question
Viruses are an inescapable part of life, especially in a global viral pandemic. Yet ask a roomful of scientists if viruses are alive and you'll get a very mixed response.
Protein degradation-focused Lycia Therapeutics launches with $50 million from Versant
Using technology from chemical biologist Carolyn Bertozzi's lab, the firm wants to develop drugs that can break down extracelluar proteins
Birds use social networks to pick opponents
Knowing when to fight and when to flee is a big part of many animal societies, including our own.
Moving out early improves squirrels' odds of surviving winter, new study shows
North American red squirrels that strike out earlier to find territory of their own could stand a better chance of surviving the winter months, according to a new study involving...
Disjunct distribution across the equator—a new riffle beetle from Kyushu, Japan
Podonychus gyobu sp. nov., a second species of the genus Podonychus Jäch & Kodada, 1997, hitherto known only to inhabit Indonesia, is reported to have been found in Kyushu, Japan....
When fathers go missing, female songbirds take up the slack
A new study of a migratory songbird shows that when fathers abandon late-season nests during flight-feather molt, the nestlings suffer no ill effects; deserted females effectively double their maternal efforts...
National survey shows different bacteria on cell phones and shoes
The largest study of its kind in the U.S. shows thousands of different types of bacteria living on cell phones and shoes, including groups that have barely been studied by...
Thailand team wins UN access to ESA’s hypergravity centrifuge
ESA and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs have selected a team from Mahidol University, Thailand to carry out research using ESA’s hypergravity-generating Large Diameter Centrifuge. The team...
A nose-horned dragon lizard lost to science for over 100 years has been found
Nearly 130 years ago, Italian explorer Elio Modigliani arrived at a natural history museum in Genoa with a lizard he’d reportedly collected from the forests of Indonesia. Based on Modigliani’s specimen, the striking...
Mysterious Australian Night Parrots may not see in the dead of night
Australia's most elusive bird, the Night Parrot, may not be much better at seeing in the dark than other parrots active during the day.