Borrowing a page from what we know about animal behavior, archaeologists say that we should reassess our understanding of the process of plant domestication.
This elephant’s self-taught banana peeling offers glimpse of elephants’ broader abilities
Elephants like to eat bananas, but they don't usually peel them first in the way humans do. A new report however, shows that one very special Asian elephant named Pang Pha picked up banana peeling all on her own while living at the Berlin Zoo. She reserves it for yellow-brown...
Shutting down nuclear power could increase air pollution
A new study shows that if U.S. nuclear power plants are retired, the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas to fill the energy gap could cause more than 5,000 premature deaths.
Scientists advocate for integration of biogeography and behavioral ecology to rapidly respond to biodiversity loss
An interdisciplinary team of researchers is advocating for convergent research that integrates the fields of biogeography and behavioral ecology to more rapidly respond to challenges associated with climate change and biodiversity loss.
Engineered plants produce sex perfume to trick pests and replace pesticides
Tobacco plants have been engineered to manufacture an alluring perfume of insect sex pheromones, which could be used to confuse would-be pests looking for love and reduce the need for harmful pesticides.
Here’s how a worm’s embryonic cells changed its development potential
Researchers have spotted how specific proteins within the chromosomes of roundworms enable their offspring to produce specialized cells generations later, a startling finding that upends classical thinking that hereditary information for cell differentiation is mostly ingrained within DNA and other genetic factors.
In Florida study, nonnative leaf-litter ants are replacing native ants
A new look at decades of data from museum collections and surveys of leaf-litter ants in Florida reveals a steady decline in native ants and simultaneous increase in nonnative ants -- even in protected natural areas of the state, researchers report.
Scientists discover a way Earth’s atmosphere cleans itself
Human activities emit many kinds of pollutants into the air, and without a molecule called hydroxide (OH), many of these pollutants would keep aggregating in the atmosphere.
Woolly mammoths evolved smaller ears and woolier coats over the 700,000 years that they roamed the Siberian steppes
A team of researchers compared the genomes of woolly mammoths with modern day elephants to find out what made woolly mammoths unique, both as individuals and as a species. The investigators report that many of the woolly mammoth's trademark features -- including their woolly coats and large fat deposits --...
Spike in major league home runs tied to climate change
A new study identifies the influence of climate change in the greater number of home runs in major league baseball in recent years. The researchers found that more than 500 home runs since 2010 can be attributed to warmer, thinner air caused by global warming, and that rising temperatures could...