When Mark Abbott and his team pulled a 300-foot-long core of mud from a lakebed high in the Peruvian Andes, he hoped it might provide a long-sought-after glimpse of the past 160,000 years of climate change.
When natural disaster strikes, these Americans may not be ready
A new national study shows which Americans are least likely to be prepared to take necessary actions when faced with disasters such as hurricanes, floods and wildfires.
Insects harbor over a thousand genes from microbes, which help them survive
Hundreds of millions of years ago, microbes and plants might have given insects an evolutionary advantage by passing genes to them through horizontal gene transfer. Researchers now report that more than 1,400 genes across 218 insect species, including butterflies and moths, originated from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and plants. The study...
Bees boost crops and could steady food prices
More than 200 experiments comparing yields of crop plants with an without insect pollination analyzed, revealing 32% less variability in yields of plants visited by pollinators. The study suggests that supporting and conserving pollinators like bees could stabilize food supply, with the potential to prevent future spikes in food food...
How Nemo fits in his anemone: Study reveals how clown anemonefish adjust their growth to their environments
Research has shown how clown anemonefish control their growth to match the size of their anemone host.
Synthetic tools conduct messages from station to station in DNA
Bioengineers used deactivated Cas9 fusion proteins to synthetically control gene expression and reveal new details about natural processes in human cells.
Amid climate change and conflict, more resilient food systems a must, report shows
A new study ranks the top 32 threats to food security over the next two decades, pointing to climate change and conflict as top culprits and calling for more coordination in building resilient food systems around the globe.
Protein parts must indeed wiggle and jiggle to work right, new research suggests
Scientists report they have probed the atomic structure of proteins to add to evidence that the wobbles, shakes and quivers of proteins play a critical role in their ability to function. The findings of the research may help scientists design new drugs that can modify or disrupt the intricate 'dances'...
Competing cells: Cleaning up after yourself brings benefits
When different cell types compete in a confined space, those which remove debris faster have a better chance to dominate their environment. Researchers showed in a new model that not only a higher net proliferation rate, but also the swift removal of dead cells provides a competitive advantage. They mixed...
Urban agriculture can promote bee communities in tropical megacities
Urbanization is a primary threat to biodiversity. However, scientists know little about how urbanization affects biodiversity and ecosystem services in tropical regions of the Global South. An international research team has investigated the effects of urbanization on bee communities in smallholder farms in and around Bangalore -- a South Indian...