Latest science news in Biology & Nature
The cascade to criticality
Combined theoretical and experimental work has resulted in a novel mechanism through which criticality emerges in quasiperiodic structures—a finding that provides unique insight into the physics on the middle ground...
Pandemics rapidly reshape the evolutionary and ecological landscape and have cascading social, economic effects
Like human pandemics, plant pandemics are also associated with the coming of the Anthropocene and first started appearing with the rise of an interconnected world. Some of the first recorded...
Researchers identify the process behind the organ-specific elimination of chromosomes in plants
Typically, each somatic cell in an organism holds the same amount of DNA. However, researchers have, for the first time, shed light on a process that leads to tissue-specific differences...
Should Ecologists Treat Male and Female Animals like 'Different Species'?
Creatures from albatross to loggerhead turtles will use different habitats, depending on their sex—a factor that is often not accounted for in conservation plans -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Congo declares second outbreak of Ebola virus
As the Democratic Republic of the Congo neared declaring over an Ebola outbreak in its eastern provinces, health officials on Monday announced a new cluster has emerged on the other...
Gene found that causes eyes to wither in cavefish
Mexican cavefish spend their entire lives in the dark. With no need for vision, many of them lost functional eyes. In more than 30 varieties of Mexican cavefish, the eyes...
Bees grooming each other can boost colony immunity
Honeybees that specialize 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.
Loggerhead sea turtles host diverse community of miniature organisms
Researchers found that more than double the number of organisms than previously observed live on the shells of these oceanic reptiles, raising important questions about loggerhead sea turtle ecology and...
Watch: Knocking on Florida couple's door was two alligators fighting
A Florida couple who heard knocking at their front door and looked outside to find a pair of unwelcome visitors -- two alligators fighting on their stoop.
Pangolin, bat role in coronavirus path to humans remains unclear
Armadillo-like animals called pangolins may have played a role in the emergence in humans of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, but they weren't the only links in animal-to-human transmission, scientists say.
Across the cell membrane
Aquaporins and glucose transporters facilitate the movement of substances across biological membranes and are present in all kingdoms of life.Biophysicists used a supercomputer to explore the atomic behavior of these...
Loggerhead sea turtles host diverse community of miniature organisms
There is a world of life on the backs of loggerhead sea turtles, and it's more abundant and diverse than scientists knew.
New biosensor visualizes stress in living plant cells in real time
Plant biologists have developed a new nanosensor that monitors foundational mechanisms related to stress and drought. The new biosensor allows researchers to analyze changes in real time as they happen...
New biosensor visualizes stress in living plant cells in real time
Plant biologists have long sought a deeper understanding of foundational processes involving kinases, enzymes that catalyze key biological activities in proteins. Analyzing the processes underlying kinases in plants takes on...
The cascade to criticality
Combined theoretical and experimental work unveils a novel mechanism through which criticality emerges in quasiperiodic structures -- a finding that provides unique insight into the physics on the middle ground...
Kirigami grips could help seniors keep their footing
You've never seen a pair of snake skin shoes like this before. Researchers have developed pop-up shoe grips, inspired by snake skin, that can increase friction between the shoe and...
Like a treasure map, brain region emphasizes reward location
Neuroscientists found that a brain region called the lateral septum encodes spatial information with a special emphasis on the location of the reward.
Universal virus detection platform to expedite viral diagnosis
The prompt, precise, and massive detection of a virus is the key to combat infectious diseases such as Covid-19. A new viral diagnostic strategy using reactive polymer-grafted, double-stranded RNAs will...
Big vegetarians of the reef drive fish evolution
A new study reveals the diets of reef fish dictate how fast different species evolve. The breakthrough adds another piece to the fascinating evolutionary puzzle of coral reefs and the...
Some fish do better when the shoal is in disorder
Some fish thrive in chaos -- researchers found a minority of fish are better at finding food and quicker to eat when the shoal is disorderly.
Disorder in fish shoals may reap rewards at dinner time
The advantages of animals foraging in an orderly group are well-known, but researchers have now found an element of unruly adventure can help fish in the quest for food.
FloChiP, a new tool optimizing gene-regulation studies
In the cell, proteins often interact directly with DNA to regulate and influence the expression of genes. For this to happen, proteins need to travel into the cell's nucleus where...
What Australian birds can teach us about choosing a partner and making it last
Love, sex and mate choice are topics that never go out of fashion among humans or, surprisingly, among some Australian birds. For these species, choosing the right partner is a...
Bacteria show their metal: An evolutionary path to survival
An investigation of two closely related proteins from a pathogenic bacterium has illustrated for the first time how evolution can shape the use of essential metals by enzymes.
Animals that can do math understand more language than we think
It is often thought that humans are different from other animals in some fundamental way that makes us unique, or even more advanced than other species. These claims of human...
Urban green spaces can help pollinators: new research provides basic recommendations
Bee populations are experiencing a global decline as a result of climate change, parasites and pathogens, and pesticide exposure, as well as a lack of foraging resources due to human...
Study resolves controversy surrounding tumor suppressor gene's role in pluripotent ESCs
The gene p53 is extremely important in cell biology and, hence, the world of cell replacement therapy. Its role is to regulate the cell cycle and halt the formation of...
Environmental filtering structures functional strategies of bryophytes in cloud forest
The distribution and performance of bryophyte species vary with vertical gradients, as a result of changes in environmental factors, especially light. However, the role of functional traits in bryophyte species...