Latest science news in Biology & Nature
An easier way to go veggie: Vitamin B12 can be produced during dough fermentation
Vitamin B12 is an essential micronutrient that is needed for functions such as maintaining the nervous system and forming blood cells. However, B12 is mainly found in food of animal...
Why aren't sea trout thriving anymore?
Sea trout get no peace. They're constantly exposed to new diseases and ailments, many of which are due to climate change and human activity.
Column: California is still showing how to make Obamacare work, even with COVID-19
California's Obamacare exchange will have minimal rate increases next year, despite COVID
Look: Alligator traps residents in elevator at apartment complex
Authorities responded to an apartment complex in Florida when an alligator wandered into a building and trapped some residents inside an elevator.
A normal DNA repair process can become a major source of mutations in cancer
The mechanism unveiled triggers a mutation fog, causing hundreds of mutations in each tumor, which spread through the genome of lung, head-and-neck and breast cancers. Researchers have identified the antiviral...
Key brain region was “recycled” as humans developed the ability to read
Humans began to develop systems of reading and writing only within the past few thousand years. Our reading abilities set us apart from other animal species, but a few thousand years is...
Svalbard Global Seed Vault commences seed experiment that will last 100 years
How long can seeds stay alive? That question is crucial for seed gene banks and research institutes working with plants and seeds. Therefore, a new seed longevity experiment has started...
Humans and flies employ very similar mechanisms for brain development and function
A new study has shown that humans, mice and flies share the same fundamental genetic mechanisms that regulate the formation and function of brain areas involved in attention and movement...
Between shark and ray: The evolutionary advantage of the sea angels
The general picture of a shark is that of a fast and large ocean predator. Some species, however, question this image—for example angel sharks. They have adapted to a life...
Plant size and habitat traits influence cycad susceptibility to invasive species
When humans bring a non-native herbivore to an isolated island, the native trees do not possess traits to craft an operative defense to the new threat, and the results can...
Dolphin calf entangled in fishing line only lived two years following rescue
More than 1,000 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) live in the Indian River Lagoon year-round. The estuary system along the central east coast of Florida stretches about 250 kilometers and provides...
Tracking and forecasting outbreak risk of dengue, Zika and other Aedes-transmitted diseases
Researchers led by Columbia University's International Research Institute for Climate and Society and the Pan-American Health Organization have developed a system to monitor and forecast the environmental suitability of transmission...
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.
Between shark and ray: The evolutionary advantage of the sea angels
Angel sharks are sharks, but with their peculiarly flat body they rather resemble rays. An international research team has now investigated the origin of this body shape. The results illustrate...
Energy demands limit our brains' information processing capacity
Our brains have an upper limit on how much they can process at once due to a constant but limited energy supply, according to a new study using a brain...
Your hair knows what you eat and how much your haircut costs
Researchers find that stable isotopes in hair reveal a divergence in diet according to socioeconomic status (SES), with lower-SES areas displaying higher proportions of protein coming from cornfed animals.
A 40-year journey leads to a new truffle species
Forty years after Dan Luoma found an unsual truffle collection, scientists confirmed it is a new species and named it after Luoma.
A 40-year journey leads to a new truffle species
As a first-year graduate student studying truffle ecology at Oregon State University, Dan Luoma attended a scientific meeting in 1981 on Orcas Island in Washington. Having recently learned how to...
Never-before-seen bacterium found at Arnold Arboretum
Researchers have discovered new life—a never-before-seen bacterium—in a novel environment, one created by humans and spreading rapidly around the globe, at Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum.
Investigators identify molecular switch allowing parasites to survive without oxygen inside host
Around 1 billion people on the planet are infected with parasitic helminths, round worms that live in soil and colonize human guts through dirty water. The helminths owe their ability...
An overview of the parasitic plant Langsdorffia
A pair of researchers, one with Oxford University Botanic Garden, the other Universidade Federal de Sergipe, has conducted an overview of Langsdorffia, a parasitic flowering plant. In their paper published...
Study finds diseases in N.C. otters, an important species for tracking river health
North American river otters are known for their playful swimming, but they are also an important species for helping scientists understand the health of river systems. A new study from...
Reports: Tayshia Adams replaces Clare Crawley on 'Bachelorette'
Tayshia Adams will replace Clare Crawley on "The Bachelorette" Season 16, according to multiple reports.
Conservation groups raise concerns about Ontario hunt of cormorants this fall
Conservation groups say they are concerned about an Ontario government decision to allow a hunt of double-crested cormorants across the province this fall.
James Lovelock: Gaia theory creator on coronavirus and turning 101
British scientist James Lovelock says population growth means something like the virus is "almost inevitable".
California has the most coronavirus cases of any state, but there are signs of hope, Newsom says
California has seen an average of 121 deaths per day over the last two weeks, Newsom says. Still, there are reasons for hope.
How Dozens of Languages Help Build Gender Stereotypes
Usage patterns shape biases worldwide, whether in Japanese, Persian or English -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
New species of fungus sticking out of beetles
A comprehensive study on a group of unique ectoparasitic fungi associated with insects and other arthropods in Belgium and the Netherlands has been published. The paper provides identification details about...