New research provides clues to falling fast asleep -- or lying wide awake. Studying fruit flies, researchers found that brain neurons adapt to help the flies stay awake despite tiredness in dangerous situations and help them fall asleep after an intense day. The findings could lead to new approaches to...
Learning about the first animals on Earth from life at the poles
The amazing survival strategies of polar marine creatures might help to explain how the first animals on Earth could have evolved earlier than the oldest fossils suggest according to new research. These first, simple and now extinct, animals might have lived through some of the most extreme, cold and icy...
Greener trucking would benefit disadvantaged Californians more than greener buildings
As Californians work toward a publicly stated goal of carbon neutrality by 2045, residents of the Golden State stand to reap such additional benefits as cleaner air, widespread improvements in public health and related cost savings, according to researchers. But the extent to which these pluses will be shared by...
Toward a fully edible sensor showing if frozen food has previously thawed
When you're standing in the frozen food aisle, it's nearly impossible to know whether that Salisbury steak has thawed and refrozen -- a process with potentially harmful consequences. So, researchers have now designed a food-grade device from edible materials, including table salt, red cabbage and beeswax, that lets you know....
Vast ice sheet facing climate fight on two fronts
The Greenland ice sheet may be more vulnerable to climate change than previously thought, new research suggests.
Threatened Aldabra giant tortoise genome decoded
They can live for more than 100 years and weigh up to 250 kilograms -- Aldabra giant tortoises. Researchers have now decoded the genome of Aldabrachelys gigantea, one of only two remaining giant tortoise species worldwide. The findings will help to ensure the long-term survival of the threatened species.
Study of ancient invasive species can improve modern conservation strategies
Non-native species that invade and firmly establish themselves in new regions have staggering economic and ecological consequences. Recent studies estimate that, in the United States alone, invasive species now cause more than US$120 billion in monetary damages per year and have contributed to 70 percent of extinctions of native aquatic...
Could South American volcanoes have triggered whale extinctions?
Today, increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are warming up the planet. Climate change can disrupt the balance of ecosystems and contribute to endangerment and extinction of some species. New research suggests that a period of intense volcanism in the Central Andes may be the missing link in...
Getting it to stick: Grabbing CO2 out of the air
Direct air capture is hard to do. Researchers are now designing new materials that selectively catch carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The new compound that destroys the MRSA superbug
A compound that both inhibits the MRSA superbug and renders it more vulnerable to antibiotics in lab experiments has been discovered.