Latest science news in Biology & Nature
New global study reveals 'time tree' of Earth's flowering plants
New research published today in Nature Ecology & Evolution by scientists from Australia and Mexico reveals the world's first complete angiosperm "time tree"—a reconstruction of the evolution of the Earth's...
The impact of climate change on marmot survival differs between seasons
Many animals have evolved life cycles and strategies (patterns of survival and reproduction) in line with predictable seasonal variation in environmental conditions. Short and mild summers produce bursts of vegetation...
Seeking ancestral commonalities with modern human body type, researchers find stockier answer
An ancestor to modern humans had a stockier build than previously thought—one that is quite different from today's human body—a team of paleoanthropologists has discovered. This newly established distinction suggests...
Scientists reveal mechanism of dioxygen activation
Metalloenzyme can couple dioxygen activation to substrate functionalization, which often exhibits unrivaled efficiency, even at ambient conditions.
How Human Brains Are Different: It Has a Lot to Do with the Connections
Different mammals demonstrate common patterns in brain connections. But our own species has a few twists of its own -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Multisample technique to analyze cell adhesion
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology researchers have developed a robust and efficient method of examining the interactions between cells using fluorescent tagging, simultaneously analyzing multiple cell populations, and...
Team discovers first effective treatment for citrus-destroying disease
UC Riverside scientists have found the first substance capable of controlling Citrus Greening Disease, which has devastated citrus farms in Florida and also threatens California.
Coronavirus: Spanish study casts doubt on herd immunity feasibility
A Lancet study estimates that around just 5% of the Spanish population has developed antibodies.
Microplastic pollution harms lobster larvae, study finds
Microplastic fiber pollution in the ocean impacts larval lobsters at each stage of their development, according to new research. A study published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin reports that the...
Endangered gorilla in New Orleans expecting 1st baby
One of the critically endangered gorillas in the New Orleans' zoo is expecting her first baby, and already is being trained with a "doll" to hold her future offspring.
Top medical officer for California prisons ousted amid worsening coronavirus outbreak
The move comes amid criticism over the transfer of hundreds of inmates to prisons from a Chino facility reeling from coronavirus infections.
Neurobiology: How much oxygen does the brain need?
The brain has a high energy demand and reacts very sensitively to oxygen deficiency. Neurobiologists have now succeeded for the first time in directly correlating oxygen consumption with the activity...
Biological factories: How do bacteria build up natural products?
The active agents of many drugs are natural products, so called because often only microorganisms are able to produce the complex structures. Similar to the production line in a factory,...
Running in Tarahumara culture
"Running in Tarahumara (Rarámuri) Culture," just published in Current Anthropology (v61, no. 3 (June 2020): 356-379) studies the Tarahumara Native Americans of northern Mexico.
Why it's no last orders for the Tequila bat
Scientists studying the 'near threatened' tequila bat, best known for its role in pollinating the Blue Agave plant from which the drink of the same name is made from, have...
Newly discovered pathogen in NY apples causes bitter rot disease
In a study of New York state apple orchards, plant pathologists have identified a new fungal pathogen that causes bitter rot disease in apples.
Newly discovered pathogen in NY apples causes bitter rot disease
In a study of New York state apple orchards, Cornell plant pathologists have identified a new fungal pathogen that causes bitter rot disease in apples. Also, a second related fungus...
Yellow pond-lily prefers cyclic flowers to spiral ones
Biologists from Lomonosov Moscow State University and HSE University have studied the patterns of flower development in yellow water-lily (Nuphar lutea). They found out that all the floral organs are...
Sorting and secreting insulin by expiration date
A study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry describes a new way to determine the age of insulin-storage parcels, known as granules, and sheds light on how their age affects...
Plant study challenges tropics' reputation as site of modern evolutionary innovation
In a surprise twist, a major group of flowering plants is evolving twice as quickly in temperate zones as the tropics. The finding runs counter to a long-held hypothesis that...
Study shows great specificity of action by enzymes to correct double-strand DNA breaks
Our cells are constantly dividing, and as they do, the DNA molecule—our genetic code—sometimes gets broken. DNA has twin strands, and a break in both is considered especially dangerous. This...
Order from noise: How randomness and collective dynamics define a stem cell
Without stem cells, human life would not exist. Due to them, a lump of cells becomes an organ, and a fertilized egg develops into a baby. But what actually makes...
Compounds halt SARS-CoV-2 replication by targeting key viral enzyme
New research identifies several existing compounds that block replication of the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) within human cells grown in the laboratory. The inhibitors all demonstrated potent chemical and structural interactions...
Physics: Bubbling and burping droplets of DNA
Liquid droplets formed from DNA display a peculiar response to enzymes. An international collaboration has now been able to explain the mechanisms behind bubble formation.
Group genomics drive aggression in honey bees
Researchers often study the genomes of individual organisms to try to tease out the relationship between genes and behavior. A new study of Africanized honey bees reveals, however, that the...
Plant study challenges tropics' reputation as site of modern evolutionary innovation
In a surprise twist, a major group of flowering plants is evolving twice as quickly in temperate zones as the tropics.
How grizzly bears have learned to live with humans
Grizzly bears had better survival rates when they gradually shifted their behaviour to become more nocturnal and were less likely to come into contact with people, a new study found.
Frog stows away from Colombia to Wales in shipment of bananas
Animal rescuers in Wales said an exotic frog hitched a ride with a shipment of bananas and was found at a grocery store 5,000 miles from its home in Colombia.