Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Artificial night sky poses serious threat to coastal species
A study shows the presence of artificial light originating from cities several kilometers away (also known as artificial skyglow) disrupts the lunar compass species use when covering long distances.
The First Gene on Earth May Have Been a Hybrid
A new experiment suggests DNA and RNA may have formed together before the origin of life -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
300-million-year-old fish resembles a sturgeon but took a different evolutionary path
A re-examination of a 300-million-year-old fish, Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri, revealed that its lifestyle more closely resembled that of the bottom-dwelling sturgeon, rather than the stealthy pike, as was previously believed.
Are protected areas effective at maintaining large carnivore populations?
A recent study, led by the University of Helsinki, used a novel combination of statistical methods and an exceptional data set collected by hunters to assess the role of protected...
Super-resolution microscopy reveals a twist inside of cells
If you want to understand the underlying mechanisms of cellular motility and division, then the centriole is the organelle of interest. Each cell has a pair of centrioles which help...
Click... Resistant bacteria caught in the act
As humanity fights against the coronavirus, the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria continues. Scientists at UCLouvain have succeeded in capturing unique images of protein soldiers that help bacteria resist drugs. This...
Experimental peptide targets Covid-19
The research described in this article has been published on a preprint server but has not yet been peer-reviewed by scientific or medical experts. Using computational models of protein interactions, researchers at the...
Parallel evolution in three-spined sticklebacks
A group of researchers from the University of Helsinki used novel and powerful methods to disentangle the patterns of parallel evolution of freshwater three-spined sticklebacks at different geographic scales across...
Student discovers 18 new species of aquatic beetle in South America
It would be striking for a seasoned entomologist with decades of fieldwork to discover such a large number of species unknown to science. But for University of Kansas student Rachel...
Tsetse flytraps: Biotechnology for Africa's rural population
The tsetse fly occurs in large regions of sub-Saharan Africa. The flies feed on human and animal blood, transmitting trypanosoma in the process—small, single-cell organisms that use the flies as...
COVID-19 lockdown reveals human impact on wildlife
In an article published in Nature Ecology & Evolution today, the leaders of a new global initiative explain how research during this devastating health crisis can inspire innovative strategies for...
Bread mould avoids infection by mutating its own DNA
Whilst most organisms try to stop their DNA from mutating, scientists from the UK and China have discovered that a common fungus found on bread actively mutates its own DNA...
Helping to protect the most illegally trafficked mammals in the world
As China upgrades pangolins to the highest protected status level, an alternative approach to using long standing forensic methods is helping wildlife crime investigators disrupt poachers and animal traffickers in...
Uncovering the genetic basis of hermaphroditism in grapes, the trait that allowed domestication
Plant experts at UC Davis have defined the genetic basis of sex determination in grapevines, one of the oldest and most valuable crops worldwide.
Changing environment at home genetically primes invasive species to take over abroad
University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have found that a constantly fluctuating environment can enable some species to invade new areas by helping them maintain the genetic diversity they need to settle...
Artificial night sky poses serious threat to coastal species
The artificial lighting which lines the world's coastlines could be having a significant impact on species that rely on the moon and stars to find food, new research suggests.
'Robotic soft matter' bends, rotates and crawls when hit with light
Northwestern University researchers have developed a family of soft materials that imitates living creatures.
An experiment in recreating primordial proteins solves a long-standing riddle
What did the very first proteins look like -- those that appeared on Earth around 3.7 billion years ago? Prof. Scientists have reconstructed protein sequences that may well resemble those...
Food-grade wheatgrass variety released for public use
Wheatgrass is packed with beneficial nutrients, which makes the crop a popular superfood. And now, more farmers will have access to growing this beneficial crop.
Probing DNA damage repair
Cells missing the protein HMCES are hypersensitive to DNA-damaging agents that cause a common type of DNA lesion—an "abasic" site. But the agents also generate other types of lesions associated...
Which came first? An experiment in reconstructing primordial proteins solves a long-standing riddle
What did the very first proteins look like—those that appeared on Earth around 3.7 billion years ago? Prof. Dan Tawfik of the Weizmann Institute of Science and Prof. Norman Metanis...
Protecting natural forest in oil palm plantations crucial for conservation
Forest conservation areas in oil palm plantations play a vital role in storing carbon and boosting rainforest biodiversity, a new study on palm oil agriculture in Borneo has revealed.
Why It Would Be Hard to Link a Coronavirus Spike to Recent Protests
Large crowds, tear gas and jail cells could contribute to transmission of the virus. But it would not be easy to separate that danger from the risks of states reopening...
Biologists unravel tangled mystery of plant cell growth
When cells don't divide into proper copies of themselves, living things fail to grow as they should. For the first time, scientists now understand how a protein called TANGLED1 can...
Mass die-offs in marine mammals are accelerating, and climate change will only make it worse
There have been many cases in the past several decades where large numbers of marine mammals have perished in infectious disease outbreaks—and climate change is likely to make these events even more frequent....
Researchers decode jellyfish genomes and unveil its ecological roles
A research team led by Professor Jerome Hui Ho Lam from the School of Life Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has decoded for the first time...
Cell removal as the result of a mechanical instability
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in the Biophysical Journal that the process of cell removal from an epithelial layer follows from an inherent mechanical instability. Moreover, the forces generated by...
Citizen scientists fan out to identify, photograph local butterflies
Approximately 200 volunteer "butterflyway rangers" will be deploying to backyards and parks to document and photograph B.C. butterflies.