Latest science news in Biology & Nature
'One Day at a Time' goes animated for new special featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda
The sitcom "One Day at a Time" will return June 16 as an animated special and feature guest stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gloria Estefan and Melissa Fumero.
Microscopic feather features reveal fossil birds' colors and explain why cassowaries shine
Some birds are iridescent because of the physical make-up of their feathers, but scientists had never found evidence of this structural color in the group of birds containing ostriches and...
De novo protein design enables the precise induction of RSV-neutralizing antibodies
De novo protein design has been successful in expanding the natural protein repertoire. However, most de novo proteins lack biological function, presenting a major methodological challenge. In vaccinology, the induction...
An intrinsic oscillator drives the blood stage cycle of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
The blood stage of the infection of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum exhibits a 48-hour developmental cycle that culminates in the synchronous release of parasites from red blood cells, which...
The malaria parasite has an intrinsic clock
Malarial rhythmic fevers are the consequence of the synchronous bursting of red blood cells (RBCs) on completion of the malaria parasite asexual cell cycle. Here, we hypothesized that an intrinsic...
Effective containment explains subexponential growth in recent confirmed COVID-19 cases in China
The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in mainland China was characterized by a distinctive subexponential increase of confirmed cases during the early phase of the epidemic, contrasting with...
Natural hybridization reveals incompatible alleles that cause melanoma in swordtail fish
The establishment of reproductive barriers between populations can fuel the evolution of new species. A genetic framework for this process posits that "incompatible" interactions between genes can evolve that result...
Ir catalyst attacks strong C–H bonds without directing group
New chemistry could modify more complex molecules than previous C–H activation reactions
How range residency and long-range perception change encounter rates
From vast herds of wildebeest thundering across the Serengeti to a malaria-laden mosquito silently stalking a human host, the movement of animals has effects that reverberate throughout the biosphere. The...
Ancient DNA unveils important missing piece of human history
Newly released genomes from Neolithic East Asia have unveiled a missing piece of human prehistory, according to a study conducted by Prof. Fu Qiaomei's team from the Institute of Vertebrate...
Lin-Manuel Miranda joins 'One Day at a Time' animated special
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gloria Estefan and Melissa Fumero will guest star on Pop TV's animated episode of "One Day at a Time."
Watch: Kangaroo on the loose following Norwegian zoo escape
The owner of a Norwegian zoo is asking the public not to attempt to capture a young kangaroo that escaped from the facility.
Reptile poaching in Balochistan (Pakistan) is on a decreasing trend but still troublesome
Since 2013, following strict enforcement of provincial wildlife legislation in the less studied regions of Asia, the overall trend of illegal reptile poaching is steadily decreasing. But it's too early...
How plants forget: New work uncovers how epigenetic marks are specifically reset in sperm
Although they do it differently than humans, plants also have memories. For example, many plants can sense and remember prolonged cold in the Winter to ensure they flower at the right time...
Blind people can ‘see’ letters traced directly onto their brains
Scientists have developed a new way to create “sights” for blind people. It’s like skywriting, but instead of blue sky, the letters are written on the brain itself. The new approach, described...
New functions of a protein may improve biocontrol methods in sustainable agriculture
The laboratory of the UMA "BacBio" has proved that Bacillus subtilis cells, when deprived of an amyloid protein (TasA), exhibit a range of cytological anomalies and dysfunctions leading to their...
The Environmental Crisis is far more Urgent Today
According to Serge Morand, an ecologist and evolutionary biologist at the CNRS and CIRAD, researchers in ecology and the environmental sciences are more politically-minded than they were 20 or 30...
Cahokia’s rise parallels onset of corn agriculture
Corn cultivation spread from Mesoamerica to what is now the American Southwest by about 4000 B.C., but how and when the crop made it to other parts of North America...
Old equations, new methods help decode gut microbiome
For something that has evolved with us over millions of years, and remains part of our physiology over our entire lives, our gut microbiome, oddly, remains somewhat of a mystery....
Researchers discover new and harmful copper-protein complexes
Copper is important for many processes in our body. It supports the production of red blood cells, metabolism, and the formation of connective tissue and bones, among other things. Copper...
Lock up your pet, it's a killing machine
We know feral cats are an enormous problem for wildlife—across Australia, feral cats collectively kill more than three billion animals per year.
Novel system reveals mechanisms of pluripotency transition
In a study published online in Nature Cell Biology on May 11, scientists from Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences established a novel...
Scientists develop tool to sequence circular DNA
A new tool invented by University of Alberta biologists to sequence circular DNA will provide scientists with richer, more accurate data that could help advance research on viruses, agriculture and...
What limits the ability of plants to draw water from dry soil?
What limits the ability of plants to draw water from dry soil? That's the question California State University, Fullerton plant biologist H. Jochen Schenk and his collaborators addressed in a...
Dark-shaded body surface the key to animals avoiding predators
Animals that have a darker pigmented surface on the upper side of their body compared to those that have the same shade all over can reduce the impact of their...
First survey of California's bees in 50 years will look for effects of habitat destruction
When you think of California in the 1970s, maybe you think of hippies, Fleetwood Mac or skateboards. But if you're an entomologist, you might think of all the natural spaces...
Researchers identify romaine lettuces that last longer
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have identified five Romaine lettuce varieties that both brown less quickly after fresh-cut processing and are slower to deteriorate postharvest.
From Hamsters to Baboons: The Animals Helping Scientists Understand the Coronavirus
Different species are helping answer different questions about COVID-19 in humans in order to develop vaccines and treatments -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com