Latest science news in Biology & Nature
U.S., Canada, Mexico extend border restrictions during pandemic
The United States announced Friday that it's extending its border closures with Canada and Mexico for another month.
Watching changes in plant metabolism -- live
Almost all life on Earth, e.g. our food and health, depend on metabolism in plants. To understand how these metabolic processes function, researchers are studying key mechanisms in the regulation...
Hypothesis underlying the sensitivity of mammalian auditory system overturned
A new study challenges a decades-old hypothesis on adaptation, a key feature in how sensory cells of the inner ear (hair cells) detect sound.
Source of pathogen that causes bitter rot disease
Fungal spores responsible for bitter rot disease, a common and devastating infection in fruit, do not encounter their host plants by chance. Turns out, they have a symbiotic association with...
Decline in US bird biodiversity related to neonicotinoids, study shows
Bird biodiversity is rapidly declining in the US. The overall bird population decreased by 29% since 1970, while grassland birds declined by an alarming 53%. A new study points to...
Native trees thrive in teak plantations and may protect the Panama Canal
Native to India, teak is the go-to species for reforestation in Central America. But teak often underperforms in the nutrient poor soils that dominate tropical landscapes. To discover if the...
Firefighters free dog with head stuck in cinder block wall
Firefighters and animal protection officers in Arizona came to the rescue of a dog with its head stuck in a cinder block wall.
200,000 years ago, humans preferred to kip cozy
Researchers in South Africa's Border Cave have found evidence that people have been using grass bedding to create comfortable areas for sleeping and working on at least 200,000 years ago.
Becoming a nerve cell: Timing is of the essence
Researchers find that mitochondria regulate a key event during brain development: how neural stem cells become nerve cells. Mitochondria influence this cell fate switch during a precise period that is...
Newly identified gut cells nurture lymph capillaries
IBS research team has identified new subsets of gut connective cells, which are crucial for lymphatic growth.The findings imply a crucial link between the physiology of intestinal environment and biological...
Will 2020 Be the Hottest Year on Record?
It will certainly place in the top five—a marker of how much the world has warmed -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Measuring microplastics in seafood
Analysis reveals the types of polymers and concentrations of microplastics in oysters, prawns, crabs, squid, and sardines
Bad Bunny wins big at Premios Juventud 2020
Bad Bunny took home a leading eight awards at the 2020 Premios Juventud awards show.
The search for molecular glue in targeted disease control
In cells, there are proteins that do the work and proteins that regulate them. The latter inhibit or enhance activity, depending on the need. However, in many diseases—for example cancer—there...
Research helps explain source of pathogen that causes bitter rot disease
Fungal spores responsible for bitter rot disease, a common and devastating infection in fruit, do not encounter their host plants by chance. Turns out, they have a symbiotic association with...
A reader asks about coronavirus mutations
Viral heritage Lab experiments are needed to see if mutations in the new coronavirus change how the virus infects cells, Erin Garcia de Jesus reported in “The new coronavirus is mutating” (SN: 6/20/20,...
Cheese: New insights into an age-old food
The most detailed study to date of the microbes in cheese was published today in Nature Food by a team of researchers at Teagasc and APC Microbiome Ireland SFI Research...
A three-decade 'moving picture' of young Australians' study, work, and life
The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) unpack the lives of young Australians as they leave school, enter further study or the workforce and make the transition into adulthood.
Exponential scaling of frictional forces in cells
AMOLF researchers have presented a theory that describes the friction between biological filaments that are crosslinked by proteins. Surprisingly, their theory predicts that the friction force scales highly nonlinearly with...
Drones driving community conservation of the sea cow
Dr. Christophe Cleguer is on a mission to save the dugong. In doing so, he's saving a critical habitat for a host of other marine species.
Watching changes in plant metabolism—live
Researchers at Münster University with the participation of the University of Bonn are studying key mechanisms in the regulation of energy metabolism in plants and, using a new method of...
22 Australian freshwater fish on path to extinction
Twenty-two native freshwater fish have been identified as likely to become extinct within the next twenty years, unless there is new conservation action, according to new research.
Lethal bacterial disease found in bighorn sheep herd in B.C.'s South Okanagan
A B.C. conservation group is worried about a herd of California bighorn sheep after a lethal bacterial disease was identified in two lambs in the South Okanagan.
Light Pollution from Coastal Cities Reaches Seafloor
The artificial night sky brightness could harm creatures that dwell in the ocean depths -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Team discovers a new role for a well-known molecule as a plant hormone
Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have discovered an entirely new role for a well-known plant molecule called ACC, providing the first clear example of ACC acting on its own as...
Robots go their own way deep in the ocean
Firms are building robots that can survey the seabed and underwater structures without human help.
Genetics part of reason stroke a bigger threat to Black people
Stroke is more deadly among Black people than Whites, and the reason may come down to genetics.
'Back to school, but doing it in a safe way': 2 Sask. First Nations detail plans for fall
Back to school will be anything but status quo on two Saskatchewan First Nations, where community members have come together to form unique guidelines.