Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Biologists trace plants' steady mitochondrial genomes to a gene found in viruses, bacteria
Biologists have traced the stability of plant mitochondrial genomes to a particular gene - MSH1 - that plants have but animals don't. Their experiments could lend insight into why animal...
A complex gene program initiates brain changes in response to cocaine
Researchers used single-nucleus RNA sequencing to compare transcriptional responses to acute cocaine in 16 unique cell populations from the brain nucleus accumbens. The atlas is part of a major study...
No NELL2, no sperm motility; novel protein is essential for male fertility
An international team of researchers has identified a chain of events that matures the sperm and triggers their motility. The findings have implications for diagnostic and therapeutic research in male...
A new role for a tiny linker in transmembrane ion channels
In the molecular-level world of ion channels—passageways through membranes that carry signals in a cell's environment and allow it to respond—researchers have debated about the role of a small piece...
Endangered California condors in Sequoia National Park for the first time in 50 years
For the first time in nearly 50 years, California condors have been spotted at Sequoia National Park, wildlife officials announced.
Discovery reveals how plants make cellulose for strength and growth
New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine reveals how plants create the load-bearing structures that let them grow—much like how building crews frame a house.
Bats offer clues to treating COVID-19
Bats are often considered patient zero for many deadly viruses affecting humans, including Ebola, rabies, and, most recently, the SARS-CoV-2 strain of virus that causes coronavirus.
Watch: Florida family finds alligator swimming in backyard pool
Experts from a Florida reptile sanctuary were summoned to the home of a family who found a baby alligator swimming around their backyard pool.
Structural analysis of COVID-19 spike protein provides insight into its evolution
Researchers have characterized the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as well as its most similar relative in a bat coronavirus. The structures provide clues about how the spike evolved...
Unraveling the mystery of wheat herbicide tolerance
In a new study, scientists take advantage of wheat's flexible genetic makeup to identify chromosomal regions that help detoxify synthetic auxin herbicides.
Our itch to share helps spread COVID-19 misinformation
A study contains bad news and good news about Covid-19 misinformation -- and a new insight that may help reduce the problem.
Native bees also facing novel pandemic
There is growing evidence that another 'pandemic' has been infecting bees around the world for the past two decades, and is spreading: a fungal pathogen known as Nosema.
Bats offer clues to treating COVID-19
Bats carry many viruses, including COVID-19, without becoming ill. Biologists are studying the immune system of bats to find potential ways to 'mimic' that system in humans.
What happens when food first touches your tongue
A new study might explain why humans register some tastes more quickly than others, potentially due to each flavor's molecular size. The research also provided explanation as to why humans...
Global wildlife surveillance could provide early warning for next pandemic
Researchers propose a decentralized, global wildlife biosurveillance system to identify -- before the next pandemic emerges -- animal viruses that have the potential to cause human disease.
Safer CRISPR gene editing with fewer off-target hits
The CRISPR system is a powerful tool for the targeted editing of genomes, with significant therapeutic potential, but runs the risk of inappropriately editing ''off-target'' sites. However, a new study...
Discovery reveals how plants make cellulose for strength and growth
The discovery unveils the molecular machinery that plants use to weave cellulose chains into cable-like structures called 'microfibrils.'
Contact area-dependent cell communication and the morphological invariance of ascidian embryogenesis
Marine invertebrate ascidians display embryonic reproducibility: Their early embryonic cell lineages are considered invariant and are conserved between distantly related species, despite rapid genomic divergence. Here, we address the drivers...
Human CNS barrier-forming organoids with cerebrospinal fluid production
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a vital liquid, providing nutrients and signaling molecules and clearing out toxic by-products from the brain. The CSF is produced by the choroid plexus (ChP), a...
HEM1 deficiency disrupts mTORC2 and F-actin control in inherited immunodysregulatory disease
Immunodeficiency often coincides with hyperactive immune disorders such as autoimmunity, lymphoproliferation, or atopy, but this coincidence is rarely understood on a molecular level. We describe five patients from four families...
The ontogeny of a mammalian cognitive map in the real world
How animals navigate over large-scale environments remains a riddle. Specifically, it is debated whether animals have cognitive maps. The hallmark of map-based navigation is the ability to perform shortcuts, i.e.,...
Cognitive map-based navigation in wild bats revealed by a new high-throughput tracking system
Seven decades of research on the "cognitive map," the allocentric representation of space, have yielded key neurobiological insights, yet field evidence from free-ranging wild animals is still lacking. Using a...
Structure and selectivity engineering of the M1 muscarinic receptor toxin complex
Muscarinic toxins (MTs) are natural toxins produced by mamba snakes that primarily bind to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (MAChRs) and modulate their function. Despite their similar primary and tertiary structures, MTs...
Safer CRISPR gene editing with fewer off-target hits
The CRISPR system is a powerful tool for the targeted editing of genomes, with significant therapeutic potential, but runs the risk of inappropriately editing "off-target" sites. However, a new study...
Dissecting fruit flies' varying responses to life-extension diet
Changes in a few small molecules involved in a cell's metabolism seem to indicate whether a restricted "life extension" diet will actually extend, shorten, or have no effect on lifespan,...
Movement ecology bears fruits: ATLAS supports map-based navigation of wild bats
When wild Egyptian fruit bats set out at night to forage in Israel's Hula Valley, they do so using advanced spatial memory and a flexible cognitive mapping of the fruit...
Report: More migrants detained at U.S-Mexico border in June, but down form 2019
About 40 percent more migrants were detained at the Mexico-U.S. border in June than the month before, but that number is down significantly from the same time in 2019, a...
HBO Max renews 'Legendary' for a second season
Ballroom competition series "Legendary" has been renewed for a second season by HBO Max.