Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Changes in land evaporation shape the climate
Accurate estimation of how much water is evaporated from the vegetated land surface is a challenging task. A physical-based method—such as the complementary relationship (CR) of evaporation, which explicitly accounts...
How thoughts could one day control electronic prostheses, wirelessly
The current generation of neural implants record enormous amounts of neural activity, then transmit these brain signals through wires to a computer. But, so far, when researchers have tried to...
When rehoming wildlife, Indigenous leadership delivers the best results
Whakapapa [genealogy] binds tākata whenua [people of the land] to the mountains, rivers, coasts and other landscapes, linking the health of the people with that of the environment. Like humans,...
Is noise pollution killing whales and dolphins?
Dr Maria Morell studies their ears to discover if hearing damage led to their death.
Why do humans prefer to mate in private?
Yitzchak Ben Mocha, an anthropologist with Zürich University, has conducted a study of human procreation habits as part of an effort to understand why humans prefer to mate in private....
The complicated history of environmental racism
Many people understand the environment as a force of nature that cannot favor or disfavor different populations. However, similar to all things on Earth, the environment is subject to human...
Bumblebee larval growth impaired by insecticide
Researchers from Royal Holloway have found that an insecticide used in more than 81 countries, including within the EU, could contribute to a global decline in bumblebees.
Discovery could lead to more potent garlic, boosting flavor and bad breath
For centuries, people around the world have used garlic as a spice, natural remedy, and pest deterrent—but they didn't know how powerful or pungent the heads of garlic were until...
Study sheds new light on cell migration
The 3-D structure of the ELMO / DOCK2 complex, an important molecular machine that plays a crucial role in cell migration in the body, is now better understood thanks to new...
Weird Mystery Seeds Arriving by Mail Sprout Biodiversity Concerns
An invasive plant expert explains what could happen if enigmatic seeds shipped from China are released -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
30 years ago, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait
This week marks the 30th anniversary of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990.
Scientists discover new penguin colonies from space
A new study using satellite mapping technology reveals there are nearly 20% more emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica than was previously thought. The results provide an important benchmark for monitoring...
Tracking humanity's latest toxins in stranded whales and dolphins
As humanity develops new types of plastics and chemicals, researchers are constantly trying to keep up with understanding how these contaminants affect the environment and wildlife. A new study gives...
Small trees offer hope for rainforests
Small trees that grow up in drought conditions could form the basis of more drought-resistant rainforests, new research suggests.
Are vultures spreaders of microbes that put human health at risk?
A new analysis published in IBIS examines whether bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that are present in wild vultures cause disease in the birds, and whether vultures play a role...
Bird nests attract flying insects and parasites due to higher levels of carbon dioxide
Flying insects and parasites are often vectors for disease, but a mosquito needs to first find someone before they can bite them. In a recent study published in Frontiers in...
Scientists discover new penguin colonies from space
A new study using satellite mapping technology reveals there are nearly 20% more emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica than was previously thought. The results provide an important benchmark for monitoring...
Climate change: Satellites find new colonies of Emperor penguins
A search from space discovers new colonies of the Antarctic bird that has an uncertain future.
Angels in disguise: Angelfishes hybridize more than any other coral reef species
Renowned journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B has a new front cover fish: the marine angelfish. It commands star power due to a new study highlighting the remarkably high...
Monarchs raised in captivity may be worse at migrating than wild monarchs raised outdoors
A hallmark of summer, monarch butterflies are a familiar sight in the Midwest, and many butterfly enthusiasts are eager to do what they can to support the declining monarch population....
New molecule reverses Alzheimer's-like memory decline
A drug candidate previously shown to slow aging in brain cells, successfully reversed memory loss in a mouse model of inherited Alzheimer's disease. The new research also revealed that the...
To read, humans 'recycled' a brain region meant for recognizing objects
Humans began reading just a few thousand years ago, a relatively recent phenomena -- too recent to be supported by brain regions specifically evolved for the activity.
AI may offer a better way to ID drug-resistant superbugs
Biomedical engineers at Duke University have shown that different strains of the same bacterial pathogen can be distinguished by a machine learning analysis of their growth dynamics alone, which can...
Size of fly's eyes and nose reflect its behavior during mating and habitat preferences, says study
The size of a fly's eyes and nose reflect both its behavior during mating and its habitat preferences, according to a new study published today in eLife.
Exposure to common cold coronaviruses can teach the immune system to recognize SARS-CoV-2
A new study shows that memory helper T cells that recognize common cold coronaviruses also recognize matching sites on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The wrong track: How papillomaviruses trick the immune system
Specific antibodies protect us against viral infections - or do they not? Researchers studied the immune response to papillomaviruses in mice and discovered a hitherto unknown mechanism by which the...
AI may offer a better way to ID drug-resistant superbugs
Biomedical engineers have shown that different strains of the same bacterial pathogen can be distinguished by a machine learning analysis of their growth dynamics alone, which can then also accurately...
Studies shed new light on how biodiversity influences plant decay
Scientists have provided new insights on the relationship between plant diversity in forests and the diversity of organisms involved in their decay, such as bacteria and fungi.