Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Directed protein evolution with CRISPR-Cas9
New area of application for gene scissors: Optimized proteins for biomedical research.
Cultural diversity in chimpanzees
Termite fishing by chimpanzees was thought to occur in only two forms with one or multiple tools, from either above-ground or underground termite nests. By carefully observing the techniques required...
Chromosomal speciation in wild house mice
Alterations to chromosomes are considered important in speciation (the process by which new species are formed). This is because several chromosomal rearrangements can make the genome of a few individuals...
What information is coded in bird alarm calls—a new study from Korea
Have you seen small birds nervously jumping up and down the branches and calling at a cat in a park? For a long time, scientists have been interested in what...
Cold-adapted enzymes can transform at room temperature
Enzymes from cold-loving organisms that live at low temperatures, close to the freezing point of water, display highly distinctive properties. Scientists have now used large-scale computations to explain why many...
New method reveals where DNA is at risk in the cell
Researchers have developed a new sequencing method that makes it possible to map how DNA is spatially organized in the cell nucleus -- revealing which genomic regions are at higher...
Finding unique drug structures with artificial intelligence and chemistry
In the search for new medicines against diseases such as cancer, a Leiden team has developed a new workflow. This approach combines artificial intelligence (AI) with molecular modelling and is...
Directed protein evolution with CRISPR-Cas9
"Directed evolution" is the process by which scientists produce tailor-made proteins for cell biology, physiology and biomedicine in the laboratory. Based on this method, Max Planck researchers from Martinsried have...
Catch and release: Collagen-mediated control of PEDF availability
Cells are like tiny self-contained machines that are constantly fine-tuned in response to both internal and external signals. Some of these signals are induced by extracellular ligands, specialized proteins that...
Researchers capture rarely heard narwhal vocalizations
With the help of Inuit hunters, geophysicists recently recorded the various calls, buzzes, clicks and whistles of narwhals as they summered in a Greenland fjord. The recordings help scientists better...
Editing plant chromosomes using molecular scissors
The CRISPR/Cas molecular scissors work like a fine surgical instrument and can be used to modify genetic information in plants. The research teams of Professor Holger Puchta of Karlsruhe Institute...
Metal collector made of bacteria
Bacteria, fungi and plants sometimes produce metal-binding substances that can be harnessed, for example for the extraction of raw materials, for their separation, for cleaning soils or for medical purposes.
The wildlife trade encompasses all major branches of the biological tree of life
Besides being a major threat to biodiversity, the wildlife trade can be a cause of global public health issues and hundreds of billions of dollars of economic damage around the...
Cold-adapted enzymes can transform at room temperature
Enzymes from cold-loving organisms that live at low temperatures, close to the freezing point of water, display highly distinctive properties. In a new study published in Nature Communications, scientists at...
Why are we still failing to stop deforestation?
While national and international efforts to reverse the trend of deforestation have multiplied in recent years, there is still no clear evidence to suggest that these initiatives are actually working....
New sampling method allows scientists to observe cellular changes over time
Scientists have developed a new method for sampling cells multiple times without causing permanent damage to the cell.
From hanging out in parks to getting groceries, how can you navigate day-to-day risks of COVID-19?
Living life during a pandemic can be confusing. But experts say you can navigate how to approach different settings and activities once you know the risks.
Pesticides disrupt honeybee nursing behavior and larval development
A newly developed video technique has allowed scientists at Goethe University Frankfurt at the Bee Research Institute of the Polytechnical Society to record the complete development of a honeybee in...
Scientists analyze structure, mechanism of phage protein that steals electrons
Beneath the ocean's surface, a virus is hijacking the metabolism of the most abundant organism on Earth. That may be of interest to those of us above who breathe.
It's a trap! Study finds effects of weather, time on wildlife sightings
Since the early 1900s, ecologists and conservationists have glimpsed wildlife via camera traps: temporary photo stations that capture evidence of whatever animals wander by. As a low-investment and unobtrusive technique,...
Stem Cell study offers clues on how to potentially restore hearing
It turns out that to hear a person yapping, you need a protein called Yap. Working as part of what is known as the Yap/Tead complex, this important protein sends...
U.S. stocks surge as NYSE reopens trading floor
The New York Stock Exchange floor reopened Tuesday to surging U.S. stocks after being closed for a little more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Researchers develop the 'ultimate cell sorter'
In medicine and biology, there is great interest in efficient and inexpensive methods for identifying and separating different cell types, for example for medical diagnostics or for regenerative therapies using...
Scientists synthesize tick spit protein for first time
Using the properties of naturally occurring proteins offers huge potential for new medicines. Charlotte Franck in Professor Richard Payne's lab has for the first time made the anti-inflammatory evasin proteins...
International researchers discover ongoing and future tropical diversity decline
How can patterns in the marine biodiversity of the past help us to understand how it may change in the future? A recent research by Drs Moriaki Yasuhara and Timothy...
New method reveals where DNA is at risk in the cell
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a new sequencing method that makes it possible to map how DNA is spatially organized in the cell nucleus—revealing which genomic regions are at...
Protected areas' location may hinder conservation efforts of refugee species
The tendency to place protected areas in habitats that are less attractive to humans because they are not very productive may be the reason why many species remain threatened and...
Termite fishing techniques in wild chimpanzees show some elements of cultural diversity
An international team of researchers has found evidence of what appears to be cultural diversity between wild chimpanzee communities. In their paper published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, the...