Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Statistical models and ranger insights help identify patterns in elephant poaching
The illegal wildlife trade is one of the highest value illicit trade sectors globally, threatening both human well-being and biodiversity. A prominent example is ivory poaching, leading to an estimated...
Alpacas and antibodies: How scientists hope to stop coronavirus in its tracks
Efforts to design a safe vaccine for Covid-19 are moving forward at full throttle, yet experts agree that it’s likely to be a year, at least, before an immunisation is ready....
NYSE trading floor reopens to 25 percent capacity
The New York Stock Exchange floor reopened Tuesday after being closed for a little more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ignorance would be bliss: the family ties that grind
The ability to recognize relatives can make life more dangerous for the female of the species, new research carried out at the University of St Andrews, the Institute for Advanced...
Device simulates filtering and ion transport functions of human kidney
Chemical engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a device that simulates the blood filtering and ion transport functions of the human kidney. The technology could transform treatment...
New method allows cells to be sampled over time, offering window to responses that evolve
At any given moment, a variety of dynamic processes occur inside a cell, with many developing over time. Because current research methods for gene profiling or protein analysis destroy the...
Coronavirus: 'Baffling' observations from the front line
Doctors on the front lines are observing things that they have never encountered before - and it's a challenge.
Thailand: Elephants on 'great migration' to survive coronavirus starvation
With the collapse of the tourism industry because of the coronavirus, Thailand's captive elephants are now at risk of starvation.
Birds, bees and butter: New study shows biodiversity critical for shea crop in Africa
Shea yields are likely to benefit from a diversity of trees and shrubs in parkland habitats in West Africa, according to a new study led by scientists from Trinity College...
Researchers discover new sex hormone
When University of Ottawa biologists Kim Mitchell and Vance Trudeau began studying the effects of gene mutations in zebrafish, they uncovered new functions that regulate how males and females interact...
Scientists see through glass frogs' translucent camouflage
Glass frogs are well known for their see-through skin but, until now, the reason for this curious feature has received no experimental attention.
A new critically endangered frog named after 'the man from the floodplain full of frogs'
A new species of a criticallyendangered miniaturized stump-toed frog of the genus Stumpffia found in Madagascar is named Stumpffia froschaueri after ''the man from the floodplain full of frogs'', Christoph...
Problems with alcohol? 29 gene variants may explain why
A genome-wide analysis of more than 435,000 people has identified 29 genetic variants linked to problematic drinking, researchers report.
New double-contrast technique picks up small tumors on MRI
Early detection of tumors is extremely important in treating cancer. A new technique offers a significant advance in using magnetic resonance imaging to pick out even very small tumors from...
Study reveals first evidence inherited genetics can drive cancer's spread
Scientists have long struggled to understand what drives a tumor to seed itself elsewhere in the body. New research implicates own pre-existing genetics.
New double-contrast technique picks up small tumors on MRI
Early detection of tumors is extremely important in treating cancer. A new technique developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis offers a significant advance in using magnetic resonance...
Unique insight into development of the human brain: Model of the early embryonic brain
Stem cell researchers from the University of Copenhagen have designed a model of an early embryonic brain. The model will increase our understanding of how the human brain develops and...
Scientists find genes to save ash trees from deadly beetle
An international team of scientists have identified candidate resistance genes that could protect ash trees from the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), a deadly pest that is expected to kill billions...
RDE-3 found to add pUG tails to targets of RNA interference and to transposon RNAs
A team of researchers from Harvard Medical School, Nanjing Agricultural University and the University of Wisconsin has found that the protein RDE-3 in nematode worms adds pUG tails to targets...
Fast, accurate way to check peanut plants for healthy traits
The lengthy process of breeding better peanut plants can be sped up by using a biophysics technique, Raman spectroscopy.
An under-researched mechanism in the fast-moving field of epigenetics
A key epigenetic mark can block the binding of an important gene regulatory protein, and therefore prohibit the gene from being turned off, a new UNSW study in CRISPR-modified mice—published...
Australia's life expectancy stagnates, inequality widens
Growing socioeconomic and geographical inequalities are contributing to a stagnation of Australian life expectancy, new research published in Australian Population Studies shows.
Toxin family binds to sugar receptors on human cells to cause damage
New Griffith University research has found that sugars decorating human cells allow toxins, produced by disease-causing bacteria, to bind to human cells and cause damage or death.
New database reveals plants' secret relationships with fungi
Leiden researchers have compiled information collected by scientists over the past 120 years into a database of plant-fungal interactions. This important biological data is now freely available for researchers and...
Genetic discovery sheds light on sodium accumulation in barley crops
An international team of scientists have identified a naturally occurring gene variation that influences sodium content in barley crops. The finding could help to advance the development of barley varieties...
Virus stalls work to keep alive a rare rhino subspecies
It's not quite a case of coitus interruptus, but efforts to create a very special baby are definitely on hold. Blame the pandemic.
Study decodes the complex autotetraploid cultivated alfalfa genome
Improvement of cultivated alfalfa (Medicago sativa), a perennial herbaceous legume and one of the most important forage crops, might be accelerated if agronomically beneficial mutations could be easily incorporated into...
U of Manitoba leads global effort to study effect of decreased human activity on wildlife
A University of Manitoba professor is leading a global effort to study the impact that the scaling back of human activity due to COVID-19 has had on wildlife.