Latest science news in Biology & Nature
New genetic cause of a form of inherited neuropathy
Inherited mutations in a gene that keeps nerve cells intact was shown, for the first time, to be a driver of a neuropathy known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. This finding presents...
Why is stroke so deadly for people of African descent?
An international team of scientists has completed the largest analysis of stroke-risk genes ever undertaken in people of African descent.
AI and single-cell genomics
The study of cellular dynamics is crucial to understand how cells develop and how diseases progress. Scientist have now created 'scVelo' - a machine learning method and open source software...
Virologists identify potential COVID-19 treatment
New research reveals how small molecule protease inhibitors show potency against human coronaviruses.
AI and single-cell genomics: New software predicts cell fate
Traditional single-cell sequencing methods help to reveal insights about cellular differences and functions—but they do this with static snapshots only rather than time-lapse films. This limitation makes it difficult to...
Researchers discover how chlamydiae multiply in human cells
Chlamydia are bacteria that cause venereal diseases. In humans, they can only survive if they enter the cells. This is the only place where they find the necessary metabolites for...
Study: Saving pandas led to downfall of other animals
Efforts to save the giant panda from extinction have come at the expense of other large mammals, a new study released Monday by the science journal Nature Ecology and Evolution...
Scientists discover secret behind Earth's biodiversity hotspots
The research suggests that biodiversity hotspots—such as the Daintree Rainforest in Australia and the Cloud Forests of Ecuador—are teeming with species because they have been ecologically stable for long periods...
Your hair knows what you eat and how much your haircut costs
Millimeter by millimeter, your hair is building a record of your diet. As hair strands are built from amino acids that come from your food, they preserve the chemical traces...
New species in an urban ecosystem (read: solar panel)
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. The new...
Drug discovery: First rational strategy to find molecular glue degraders
Targeted protein degradation (TPD) represents a novel paradigm in drug discovery that could lead to more efficient medicines to treat diseases such as cancer. 'Molecular glue degrader'are an emerging but...
Study calls for urgent plan to manage invasive weed which threatens livelihoods in Africa
CABI scientists have conducted research which is calling for an urgent integrated management strategy, including biological control, to fight the invasive weed Mimosa diplotricha which is threatening livelihoods in eastern...
Leopards, wolves vanishing from panda conservation areas: study
It may be one of the most recognisable symbols of conservation, but efforts to protect the giant panda have failed to safeguard large mammals sharing its habitats, according to research...
Diverse amyloid structures and dynamics revealed by high-speed atomic force microscopy
In the human body, proteins sometimes occur in fibrillar aggregates called amyloids. Although certain amyloids are known to have a biological function, amyloid formation is often associated with pathologies, including...
Drug discovery: First rational strategy to find molecular glue degraders
Despite enormous efforts to advance traditional pharmacology approaches, more than three quarters of all human proteins remain beyond the reach of therapeutic development. Targeted protein degradation (TPD) is a novel...
How a gooey slime helps bacteria survive
Researchers found that the bacterium C. perfringens modulates the structure of its biofilm at different temperatures by regulating the expression of the novel extracellular protein BsaA. They showed the number...
Novel approach improves graphene-based supercapacitors
An efficient in situ pathway to generate and attach oxygen functional groups to graphitic electrodes for supercapacitors by inducing hydrolysis of water molecules within the gel electrolyte.
Conservation dilemma over saving the giant panda
Other species have almost disappeared from areas set up to protect giant pandas.
Water beetles can live on after being eaten and excreted by a frog
For most insects, the sticky, slingshot ride straight into a frog’s mouth spells the end. But not for one stubborn water beetle. Instead of succumbing to the frog’s digestive juices, an eaten Regimbartia...
New species of fungus sticking out of beetles named after the COVID-19 quarantine
A major comprehensive study on Herpomycetales and Laboulbeniales, two orders of unique ectoparasitic fungi associated with insects and other arthropods (class Laboulbeniomycetes) in Belgium and the Netherlands was published in...
Studying the genome of mountain goats shows us how they adapted to their environment
Seeing a mountain goat in the wild of southeast Alaska for the first time, with its stark white coat and graceful posture against a lush green mountain landscape, is an...
Iron-mediated cancer cell activity: A new regulation mechanism
CNRS researchers at the Institut Curie have recently shown that cancer cells use a membrane protein that has been known for several decades to internalize iron. Published in Nature Chemistry,...
An insect species can actively escape from the vents of predators via the digestive system
Prey can evade predators and also avoid attacks. However, some can escape from inside a predator after being swallowed. For example, some animals that can survive predators' digestive systems are...
Cells relax their membrane to control protein sorting
The tension in the outer membrane of cells plays an important role in a number of biological processes. A localized drop in tension, for example, makes it easier for the...
How to Evaluate COVID-19 News without Freaking Out
Disinformation expert Carl Bergstrom gives tips on how to stay calm and make sense pandemic news -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Cold-sensitive staphylococci reveal a weakness
Staphylococcus aureus—also known as "golden staph"—has the ability to develop in highly variable environmental conditions (on the skin, in the nose, on sterile surfaces, and so forth). Its great adaptability...
Neanderthal DNA contributes to genetic diversity, bringing more understanding to human evolution
The advent of DNA sequencing has given scientists a clearer insight into the interconnectedness of evolution and the web-like path that different organisms take, splitting apart and coming back together....
How a gooey slime helps bacteria survive
Bacteria have the ability to adapt to their environment to survive the host's immune defense. One such survival strategy includes the formation of a biofilm that prevents the immune system...