These were days, months and years that many will come to remember: the drought from 2018 to 2020. An international team of researchers has succeeded in categorizing the historical dimensions of this event. Based on their findings, no drought covering such a large area for an extended period and coinciding...
‘Growing end’ of inflammation discovered
Redness, swelling, pain -- these are signs of inflammation. It serves to protect the body from pathogens or foreign substances. Researchers were able to show that inflammatory reactions of an important sensor protein proceed in a specific spatial direction. This finding has the potential to conceivably stop inflammation at the...
Remote sensing research improves hurricane response
Researchers are investigating better ways to predict where road-clogging debris will be most severe after tropical cyclones.
Malaria parasites form vortices
Researchers managed to set larger groups of malaria parasites into motion and to analyze the acquired image data. The collectively moving pathogens form vortex systems that are largely determined by physical principles. Computer simulations helped identify the mechanisms underlying these rotating movements.
Understanding the genomic modifications in transgenic papaya
The transgenic papaya 'SunUp' was developed in the 1990s and was widely publicized because of its ability to resist the papaya ringspot virus. A new study has now identified the genomic changes involved and how they influence the transgenic plants.
Our cells take their ease in the curves
How do our cells organize themselves to give their final shape to our organs? The answer lies in morphogenesis, the set of mechanisms that regulate their distribution in space during embryonic development. A team has just made a surprising discovery in this field: when a tissue curves, the volume of...
Microbes help orchestrate how the gut uses its genes
The microbes that help break down food actually tell the gut how to do its job better, according to a new study in mice. The researchers said it appears that the microbes are able to influence which of the gut's genes are being called into action, and in turn, that...
Smaller female North Atlantic right whales have fewer calves: Declining body size may contribute to low birth rates
The declining body size of North Atlantic right whales may have critical consequences for the future of the species. New research shows that smaller females produce fewer calves.
Large-scale ocean sanctuaries could protect coral reefs from climate change
Earth's oceans are home to some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, but warming temperatures are causing many marine animals, including coral, to die out.
Discovered: 150-year-old platypus and echidna specimens that proved some mammals lay eggs
Jars of tiny platypus and echidna specimens, collected in the late 1800s by the scientist William Caldwell, have been discovered in the stores of Cambridge's University Museum of Zoology.