Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Researchers evaluate 2020 census data privacy changes
After the U.S. Census Bureau announced that it was changing how it protects the identities of individuals for the 2020 Census, a Penn State-led research team began to evaluate how...
Marine biologists forecast the effects of oil platform decommissioning on fish communities
Biologists and fishermen alike know that offshore oil platforms function as de facto habitats for fish. The structures climb hundreds of feet into the water column, creating a prefab reef...
Sea snail venom could lead to better insulin for diabetics
A species of venomous sea snail preys on fish by emitting plumes of venom that stun and paralyze its prey. But the venom might be useful to humans, too. (Pixabay/)Most people don’t...
Blood markers predict Humboldt penguin nest type, reproductive success
Researchers looked at metabolic markers in the blood of 30 Humboldt penguins nesting in the Punta San Juan Marine Protected Area in Peru. The scientists discovered metabolic differences between penguins...
These flexible feet help robots walk faster
Roboticists have developed flexible feet that can help robots walk up to 40 percent faster on uneven terrain such as pebbles and wood chips. The work has applications for search-and-rescue...
Ancient DNA Yields New Clues to Dead Sea Scrolls
A sensitive genetic fingerprinting technique could help scholars learn more from thousands of fragile parchment fragments -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Tiger snakes tell more about local wetlands' pollution levels
Tiger snakes living in Perth's urban wetlands are accumulating toxic heavy metals in their livers, suggesting that their habitats -- critical, local ecosystems -- are contaminated and the species may...
Bees grooming each other can boost colony immunity
Honeybees that specialise in grooming their nestmates (allogroomers) to ward off pests play a central role in the colony, finds a new UCL and University of Florence study published in...
Hides that reveal: DNA helps scholars divine Dead Sea Scrolls
Genetic sampling of the Dead Sea Scrolls has tested understandings that the 2,000-year-old artefacts were the work of a fringe Jewish sect, and shed light on the drafting of scripture...
Bees grooming each other can boost colony immunity
Honeybees that specialise in grooming their nestmates (allogroomers) to ward off pests play a central role in the colony, finds a new UCL and University of Florence study. Allogroomer bees...
Oil Platforms’ Fishy Future
Biologists and fishermen alike know that offshore oil platforms function as de facto habitats for fish. The structures climb hundreds of feet into the water column, creating a prefab reef...
Artificial tissue used to research uterine contractions
Advanced tissue engineering technologies allow scientists to mimic the structure of a uterus, enabling crucial research on fertility and disease.
Charting metabolic maps in the pursuit of new vaccines and antimicrobials
A study in Cell Reports maps genes essential for the metabolic function of M. agalactiae and M. pneumoniae, two common bacteria that infect livestock and humans respectively. The map of...
Enabling functional genomics studies in individual cells
Although the first complete sequence of the human genome was reported more than 15 years ago, the biological functions of large parts of the genome are not yet known. Scientists...
The unusual molecular and isotopic content of planetary nebulae
Observations of planetary nebulae have revealed unusual molecular content and surprising enrichments of rare isotopes, challenging both chemical models as well as our current understanding of stellar nucleosynthesis.
A genome-scale map of DNA methylation kinetics
While the first genome-wide DNA methylation map in mammalian cells was established over 10 years ago, such maps only provide snapshots and do not inform about the actual dynamics of...
When determining sex, exceptions are the rule
For nearly a century, biologists have modeled the evolution of sex chromosomes—the genetic instructions that primarily determine whether an individual will develop into a male or female (or a certain...
Interfacing gene circuits with microelectronics through engineered population dynamics
The ability to detect the growth of a bacterial colony by monitoring changes in impedance (a measure of resistance) across time reflects the impressive scientific progress connecting bacterial behavior with electrodes via synthetic...
The interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health
The COVID-19 pandemic probably began with a single transmission of virus from an animal to a human.
Evolution: why it seems to have a direction and what to expect next
The diversity and complexity of life on Earth is astonishing: 8 million or more living species—from algae to elephants—all evolved from a simple, single-celled common ancestor around 3.5 billion years...
Scientists find gene that causes Mexican cave fish to lose eyesight
Surface-dwelling varieties of the Mexican tetra, or Mexican cave fish, have eyes to see, but many varieties, living in caves where light cannot penetrate, do without eyesight.
Severely damaged sea urchin shows astonishing resilience
Together with his colleague Christian Neumann of the Natural History Museum in Berlin, Senckenberg scientist Max Wisshak documented a sea urchin's fight for survival on the ocean floor off Spitsbergen....
Researchers propose new approach to enable high-spectral-efficiency noncoherent underwater acoustic communication
The seafloor wireless observation network (SON) plays an important role in real-time ocean observation. The nodes connect with each other via the acoustic link.
Universal virus detection platform to expedite viral diagnosis
The quick, accurate detection of a virus on a wide scale is the key to combating infectious diseases such as COVID-19. A new viral diagnostic strategy using reactive polymer-grafted, double-stranded...
We can soon thank butterfly tongues for better cancer treatments and vaccines
The blue morpho butterfly's scale structure could launch a thousand innovations. (Peter Wey/Deposit Photos/)For more than 130 million years, butterflies have graced our planet. For much of our own history we’ve enjoyed them,...
DNA robbery in progress in Australia's copperback quail-thrush
Quailthrush are a group of songbirds unique to our region. They are widespread throughout Australia and New Guinea and there are eight recognized species.
Heavy metals present in snake livers raise environmental concerns
Tiger snakes living in Perth's urban wetlands are accumulating toxic heavy metals in their livers, suggesting that their habitats—critical, local ecosystems—are contaminated and the species may be suffering as a...
New technique takes 3-D imaging an octave higher
A collaboration between Colorado State University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign resulted in a new, 3-D imaging technique to visualize tissues and other biological samples on a microscopic scale,...