Latest science news in Biology & Nature
'Dune' trailer introduces Timothee Chalamet as hero
Warner Bros. released the trailer for director Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune" on Wednesday.
An evolutionary roll of the dice explains why we're not perfect
If evolution selects for the fittest organisms, why do we still have imperfections? Scientists at the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath investigating this question have found...
In ancient giant viruses lies the truth behind evolution of nucleus in eukaryotic cells
Perhaps as far back as the history of research and philosophy goes, people have attempted to unearth how life on earth came to be. In the recent decades, with exponential...
Researchers solve decades old mitochondrial mystery that could lead to new disease treatments
Penn Medicine researchers have solved a decades old mystery around a key molecule fueling the power plant of cells that could be exploited to find new ways to treat diseases,...
National parks preserve more than species
National parks are safe havens for endangered and threatened species, but an analysis by Rice University data scientists finds parks and protected areas can preserve more than species.
Scientists discover new corals on most comprehensive deep-sea study of GBR
For the first time, scientists have viewed the deepest regions of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, discovered five undescribed species consisting of black corals and sponges, and recorded Australia's...
New role of arginine metabolism in plant morphogenesis identified
A research team found that arginine metabolism has a vital role in regulating gametophore shoot formation in the moss Physcomitrium patens.
Machine learning aids gene activation discovery
Scientists have long known that human genes spring into action through instructions delivered by the precise order of our DNA, directed by the four different types of individual links, or...
Mysterious cellular droplets come into focus
The world inside the human cell has grown a bit more interesting in recent years as the role of a new biological structure became clearer.
Sampling the gut microbiome with an ingestible pill
Gut microbes affect human health, but there is still much to learn, in part because they're not easy to collect. But researchers now report in ACS Nano that they have...
New role of arginine metabolism in plant morphogenesis identified
Arginine metabolism works to make a plant body complex, according to new research by a collaborative team from Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institute for...
More cats might be COVID-19 positive than first believed, study suggests
A newly published study looking at cats in Wuhan, where the first known outbreak of COVID-19 began, shows more cats might be contracting the disease than first believed.
Northern Quebec wildlife officials rely on Cree to provide crucial data on wildlife
The information collected from the 'Citizen Scientist' initiative will be used to help identify critical habitats, rare species, invasive species, as well as changes in population and migration of species...
Wild cousins may help crops battle climate change
Wild relatives of our domestic crops already cope with harsh conditions and resist disease. Can we use them to help our preferred crops adapt?
Why more municipalities are putting radio-frequency tags on garbage bins
Tiny tags are allowing Canadian municipalities to track residents' trash with increasing sophistication.
Engineered 'nanobodies' block SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells
Researchers have designed a molecule that sticks tightly to the coronavirus spike protein, preventing the virus from infecting cells. The molecule might someday be used in an aerosolized drug to...
Host-virus dynamics in a microbial mat in a hot spring microbial mat
In microbial mats, communities of microorganisms live among viruses that infect them. But what trends govern those virus-host interactions? Do generalist viruses run rampant, capable of infecting different host species?...
Researchers glimpse how virus particles assemble inside the cell
An international team of researchers were able visualize how orthoreovirus assembles inside infected cells, using cryo-electron tomography at the Electron Bio-Imaging Center (eBIC) at Diamond Light Source, the UK's national...
New gene regulation model provides insight into brain development
In every cell, RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) help tune gene expression and control biological processes by binding to RNA sequences. Researchers often assume that individual RBPs latch tightly to just one...
Hummingbird reduces its body temperature during nightly torpor
A team of researchers from the U.S. and South Africa has discovered that several species of hummingbirds living in the Andes drastically reduce their body temperatures during their nightly torpor....
'Frozen' to explore Olaf's origins in short 'Once Upon a Snowman'
Disney announced on Wednesday a new "Frozen" animated short that will dive into the origins of Olaf titled "Once Upon a Snowman."
Letters to the Editor: We call them 'essential workers,' but businesses call them 'expendable'
The low-paid workers kept on the job during the COVID-19 pandemic have always been treated as if they are easily replaced.
Brazil wetland fires threaten jaguar reserve
Fires raging in the Pantanal, the biggest tropical wetlands on Earth, are threatening a nature reserve known as the home to the world's largest jaguar population, Brazilian authorities said Tuesday.
Flipping light on-off turns bacteria into chemical factories
Researchers at Princeton University have created a new and improved way to more precisely control genetically engineered bacteria: by simply switching the lights on and off. Working in E. coli,...
Cell in zebrafish critical to brain assembly, function
New research documents the presence of astrocytes in zebrafish, a milestone that will open new avenues of research into a star-shaped type of glial cell in the brain that is...
Skeletal study suggests at least 11 fish species are capable of walking
An international team of scientists has identified at least 11 species of fish suspected to have land-walking abilities.
46-year-old surfer killed in shark attack at Australian beach
An Australian man died Tuesday after being attacked by a shark while surfing at a Gold Coast beach.
This hummingbird survives cold nights by nearly freezing itself solid
The high Andes mountains of Peru are a hummingbird’s paradise, rich in wildflower nectar and low in predators. But there’s one problem: the cold. Nighttime temperatures often dip below freezing in these rainy...