Latest science news in Biology & Nature
How will we know whether the coronavirus will come back stronger in the winter?
Is a second wave of the coronavirus outbreak inevitable? Scientists say that depends on the nature of the virus itself as well as our own behavior.
Here is the latest list of Orange County communities with coronavirus cases
Orange County continues to see an increase in coronavirus infections. Here's the latest city-by-city breakdown.
Land-dwelling insects drop in population but freshwater bugs doing better
The world's ants, bees, butterflies, grasshoppers, fireflies and other land-dwelling insects have been suffering population drops of about 9% per decade but freshwater bugs such as dragonflies and mosquitoes have...
Novel coronavirus detected, monitored in wastewater
A new approach to monitoring the novel coronavirus (as well as other dangerous pathogens and chemical agents) is being developed and refined. Known as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), the method mines...
Watch: Dog breaks Australian record with litter of 21 puppies
An Australian animal hospital said a dog broke a national record by giving birth a litter of 21 puppies.
Nature crisis: 'Insect apocalypse' more complicated than thought
The health of insect populations globally is far more varied than previous research suggested.
DNA may not be life's instruction book -- just a jumbled list of ingredients
The common view of heredity is that all information passed down from one generation to the next is stored in an organism's DNA. But one research suggests this might not...
Key nose cells identified as likely COVID-19 virus entry points
Two specific nose cell types have been identified as likely initial infection points for COVID-19 coronavirus. Scientists discovered that goblet and ciliated cells in the nose have high levels of...
Reopening the economy vs. keeping it shut longer. What's more costly?
Economists and experts weigh the difficult trade-off in fighting the coronavirus.
Coronaviruses and bats have been evolving together for millions of years
Scientists compared the different kinds of coronaviruses living in 36 bat species from the western Indian Ocean and nearby areas of Africa. They found that different groups of bats have...
Giant teenage shark from the Dinosaur-era
Scientists examined parts of a vertebral column, which was found in northern Spain in 1996, and assigned it to the extinct shark group Ptychodontidae. In contrast to teeth, shark vertebrae...
Structural basis of ER-associated protein degradation mediated by the Hrd1 ubiquitin ligase complex
Misfolded luminal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteins undergo ER-associated degradation (ERAD-L): They are retrotranslocated into the cytosol, polyubiquitinated, and degraded by the proteasome. ERAD-L is mediated by the Hrd1 complex (composed...
Structure of a trapped radical transfer pathway within a ribonucleotide reductase holocomplex
Ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) are a diverse family of enzymes that are alone capable of generating 2'-deoxynucleotides de novo and are thus critical in DNA biosynthesis and repair. The nucleotide reduction...
Meta-analysis reveals declines in terrestrial but increases in freshwater insect abundances
Recent case studies showing substantial declines of insect abundances have raised alarm, but how widespread such patterns are remains unclear. We compiled data from 166 long-term surveys of insect assemblages...
Structural basis for transcriptional start site control of HIV-1 RNA fate
Heterogeneous transcriptional start site usage by HIV-1 produces 5'-capped RNAs beginning with one, two, or three 5'-guanosines (Cap1G, Cap2G, or Cap3G, respectively) that are either selected for packaging as genomes...
Crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 main protease provides a basis for design of improved {alpha}-ketoamide inhibitors
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a global health emergency. An attractive drug target among coronaviruses is the main protease (Mpro,...
Selective targeting of BD1 and BD2 of the BET proteins in cancer and immunoinflammation
The two tandem bromodomains of the BET (bromodomain and extraterminal domain) proteins enable chromatin binding to facilitate transcription. Drugs that inhibit both bromodomains equally have shown efficacy in certain malignant...
Ocean biodiversity has not increased substantially for hundreds of millions of years: study
A new way of looking at marine evolution over the past 540 million years has shown that levels of biodiversity in our oceans have remained fairly constant, rather than increasing...
When iron is limited, microalgae that live in coral cells may compensate with other metals
When iron is limited, the tiny algae that live within coral cells—which can provide the majority of a coral's nutritional needs—change how they take in other trace metals, which could...
Multi-functionalization of graphene for molecular targeted cancer therapy
Three functional molecules (near-infrared fluorescent probe, tumor targeting molecule, and an anticancer drug) are successfully decollated onto the surface of a graphene molecule. This multi-functional graphene allows effective cancer cell...
Gene-editing protocol for whitefly pest opens door to control
Whiteflies are among the most important agricultural pests in the world, yet they have been difficult to genetically manipulate and control, in part, because of their small size. An international...
The basis of glyphosate resistance in amaranth
William T. Molin (U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Stoneville, MS) teamed up with Allison Yaguchi, Mark Blenner, and Christopher A. Saski (Clemson University, SC) to sequence and dissect the...
Watch: Jerry Seinfeld plays secret agent in trailer for Netflix special
"23 Hours to Kill," Jerry Seinfeld's first original standup comedy special in 22 years, will premiere May 5 on Netflix.
Police officer called to wrangle loose dog finds white fox instead
A Minnesota police officer who responded to a report of a small dog running loose through a neighborhood ended up capturing something more unusual -- a white fox.
Surviving the Shutdown: Brodard Restaurant keeps feeding Little Saigon
Sales are down at one of Orange County's most famous Vietnamese restaurants, but Brodard is adapting to survive
Tegu monitor lizard captured after months on the loose in Texas
A pest control expert who captured a more then 3-foot-long tegu monitor lizard in Texas said he believes the exotic reptile was on the loose for several months.
Can you get a refund for a flight? A credit? A guide to what airlines are doing
Because of the coronavirus lockdown, airlines have canceled flights and reduced schedules. Know your rights and what you are entitled to.
Specialized nerve cells increase the appetite for high-fat foods
Fat activates nociceptin neurons in the hypothalamus of mice.