Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Engineering team images tiny quasicrystals as they form
What makes quasicrystals so interesting? Their unusual structure. Now scientists are actively pursuing this relatively new area of study.
'Shark Week:' How to watch, what to expect
Shark Week starts Sunday on Discovery and Discovery+. Among the nearly two dozen new programs are "Dancing with Sharks" and "How to Survive a Shark Attack."
Federal judge halts project in Chico, Calif., cites risk to 3 threatened species
A federal judge overturned the approval of a mixed-use project in Chico, Calif., because of threatened species of flower and snake.
Arms trafficking in Colombia threatens Petro’s 'Total Peace' strategy
Arms trafficking in Colombia threatens Petro's 'Total Peace' strategy.
Is it really Lyme? Researchers developing a new test to tell
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Diagnosing if a tick bite caused Lyme or another disease can be difficult but scientists are developing a new way...
Science Says: DNA test results may not change health habits
NEW YORK (AP) -- If you learned your DNA made you more susceptible to getting a disease, wouldn't you work to stay healthy?...
In some genetic cases of microcephaly, stem cells fail to launch
In a very severe, genetic form of microcephaly, stem cells in the brain fail to divide, according to a new Columbia University Medical Center study that may provide important clues...
Purest yet liver-like cells generated from induced pluripotent stem cells
This image shows induced pluripotent stem cells expressing a characteristic cell surface protein called SSEA4 (green). A research team including developmental biologist Stephen A. Duncan, D. Phil., SmartStateTM Chair...
Study finds shark fins & meat contain high levels of neurotoxins linked to Alzheimer's disease
Cyanobacterial neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) and Mercury are detected in sharks from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In a new study, University of Miami (UM) scientists found high concentrations of...
More tomatoes, faster: Accelerating tomato engineering
A researcher transfers tomato plantlets from a plate of regeneration medium. Tomatoes are already an ideal model species for plant research, but scientists at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI)...
New genus of bacteria found living inside hydraulic fracturing wells
Ohio State University researchers and their colleagues have identified a new genus of bacteria living inside hydraulic fracturing wells. Researchers analyzing the genomes of microorganisms living in shale oil...
Brain circuit that drives sleep-wake states, sleep-preparation behavior is identified
Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have identified a brain circuit that's indispensable to the sleep-wake cycle. This same circuit is also a key component of the reward system, an...
Giraffes more speciose than expected
Scientists from the Senckenberg and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation have analysed the genetic relationships of all major populations of giraffe in the wild. The large study on the genetic makeup...
Study reveals how ionising radiation damages DNA and causes cancer
For the first time, researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators have been able to identify in human cancers two characteristic patterns of DNA damage caused by...
The proteins that domesticated our genomes
EPFL scientists have carried out a genomic and evolutionary study of a large and enigmatic family of human proteins, to demonstrate that it is responsible for harnessing the millions of...
Scientists create safer pig organs with goal of transplants for humans
(Reuters) - Scientists at a Massachusetts company seeking to make pig organs safe enough to be transplanted into humans have used gene-editing technology to clone piglets that lack a potentially...
On the Origins of Life: Recreating Cellular Metabolism
Today, scientists work to develop synthetic cells that mimic living cells, hoping to uncover clues that will help answer the question: how did life on Earth begin? In the past,...
Don't Feed the Animals: Researchers Warn of Risks Tied to Wildlife Interactions
A study led by a UC San Diego scientist offers new warnings on the dangers of human interactions with wildlife. The new report, which focuses on elephants, indicates that human...
WCS to Push for Protections for the Okapi, African Hornbills, Galapagos Iguanas, and Other Threatened and Endangered Species at CITES CoP20
WCS to Push for Protections for the Okapi, African Hornbills, Galapagos Iguanas, and Other Threatened and Endangered Species at CITES CoP20
Theory for Aerosol Droplets From Contaminated Bubbles Bursting Gives Insight Into Spread of Pollution, Microplastics, Infectious Disease
A systematic study of aerosol jets from contaminated bubbles bursting has resulted in a theoretical model predicting the influence of contaminants on spray size, illustrating an important mechanism for airborne...
Majority of fruit fly immunity studies can be replicated, huge analysis finds
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Paleontologist to lead U.S. national academy
Neil Shubin, an evolutionary biologist best known for discovering an important fish fossil, has been nominated to head the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS). He will take over next year with the...
Molecular fossils offer first glimpse of how life survived Snowball Earth
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A mushroom that escaped from kitchens could be harming North American wildlife
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How a string of deadly shark attacks made a remote island a hub of lifesaving research
Related podcast Studying a shark-haunted island, and upgrading our microbiomes with engineered bacteria ...
A taste for microbes
Science & Tech A taste for microbes A video of a brooding octopus mother interacting with a fake egg that was doped with a microbial molecule isolated from rejected octopus egg bacteria....
Stealing a ‘superpower’
Corey Allard in his lab at Harvard Medical School.Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer Science & Tech Stealing a ‘superpower’ Study finds some sea slugs consume algae, incorporate photosynthetic parts into their own bodies to...
Forecasting the next variant
Health Forecasting the next variant Professor Eugene Shakhnovich (from left), Dianzhuo (John) Wang, and Vaibhav Mohanty worked together on the studies.Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer Yahya Chaudhry Harvard Correspondent July 3, 2025 5 min read Harvard...