Pollinators are less likely to land on flowers sprayed with fertilizers or pesticides as they can detect electric field changes around the flower, researchers have found.
Surprisingly, these microRNAs boost — rather than dampen — protein expression
microRNAs can play a role in cancer development and are thought to exclusively suppress protein expression in dividing cells, such as tumor cells. But new research shows that some of these tiny molecules can elevate the expression of a particular gene in dividing human cells and in cancer cells, challenging...
Scientists reveal an unexpected gene in transparent worms
Scientists reveal the homolog of a well-known human protein, Nucleolin, in the tiny, transparent roundworm, C. elegans. Nucleolin is linked to human neurodegenerative disease and cancer. The new research challenges recent theories of the role structures inside the nucleus may play in such disorders -- and surfaces a powerful new...
Old bone links lost American parrot to ancient Indigenous bird trade
For centuries, Indigenous communities in the American Southwest imported colorful parrots from Mexico. But according to a recent study, some parrots may have been captured locally and not brought from afar. The research challenges the assumption that all parrot remains found in American Southwest archaeological sites have their origins in...
Ultrathin solar cells promise improved satellite performance
As low Earth orbit becomes more cluttered, it becomes increasingly necessary to use middle Earth orbits, and radiation-tolerant cell designs will be needed. Making photovoltaics thinner should increase their longevity because the charge carriers have less far to go during their shortened lifetimes. Scientists propose a radiation-tolerant photovoltaic cell design...
Diet high in saturated fat can reprogram immune cells in mice
A new study shows that eating a diet exclusively high in saturated fats can reprogram the mouse immune system, making it better able to fight off infection but more susceptible to systemic inflammatory conditions, including sepsis.
Rare ‘fossil’ clam discovered alive
Discovering a new species is always exciting, but so is finding one alive that everyone assumed had been lost to the passage of time. A small clam, previously known only from fossils, has recently been found living at Naples Point, near Santa Barbara.
In ironic twist, CRISPR system used to befuddle bacteria
Researchers flip nature's script by engineering a virus to carry a CRISPR system to change a bacterium's genes.
Geobiologists shine new light on Earth’s first known mass extinction event 550 million years ago
A new study by geobiologists traces the cause of the first known mass extinction of animals to decreased global oxygen availability, leading to the loss of a majority of animals present near the end of the Ediacaran Period some 550 million years ago.
Rethinking mountain water security
Water security in mountain regions relies on a broader understanding of the complex interlinks of water supply and demand that goes far beyond the study of glacier melt.