Scientists discover the genetics inside legumes that control the production of an oxygen-carrying molecule, crucial to the plant's close relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The finding offers the potential to give other plants the ability to produce ammonia from bacteria -- reducing the need for the fossil fuel-dependent and polluting practice...
Warming climate will increase number of harmful algae blooms
A new study shows how changes in light conditions have a significant influence on the growth and impact of harmful algae blooms. The bottom line: a warming climate looks good for the growth of toxic algae and may disrupt other organisms that are part of the food web -- whether...
Satellite images show positive impact of conservation efforts for China’s coastal wetlands
An international, interdisciplinary research team is using satellite images to measure the changes of coastal wetlands in China from the early 1980s to the present. The research team is also assessing the effects of conservation efforts on preserving and recovering these important ecosystems.
Sending up the bat signal on forest use by endangered species
Deep in an Indiana forest, a team of scientists skulked atop hillsides after dark. Carrying radios and antennas, they fanned out, positioning themselves on opposite ridges to wait and listen. Their quarry? Endangered Indiana bats and threatened northern long-eared bats.
New species of human ancestor named: Homo bodoensis
Palaeoanthropologists have announced the naming of a new species of human ancestor, Homo bodoensis. This species lived in Africa during the Middle Pleistocene, around half a million years ago, and was the direct ancestor of modern humans.
Creating a new ‘toehold’ for RNA therapeutics, cell therapies, and diagnostics
Synthetic biologists have developed eToeholds -- small versatile devices built into RNA that enable expression of a linked protein-encoding sequence only when a cell-specific or viral RNA is present. eToehold devices open up multiple opportunities for more targeted types of RNA therapy, in vitro cell and tissue engineering approaches, and...
These hips don’t lie: 3D imaging of a pelvis suggests social care for saber-tooths
A new study reveals saber-toothed cats suffered from hip dysplasia, an affliction common in pet cats and dogs, and points to supportive social structures for Smilodon.
After California’s 3rd-largest wildfire, deer returned home while trees were ‘still smoldering’
While many animals have adapted to live with wildfires of the past -- which were smaller, more frequent and kept ecosystems in balance across the West -- it's unclear to scientists how animals are coping with today's unprecedented megafires. A team of researchers tracked a population of black-tailed deer before,...
Infections from respiratory viruses follow a predictable seasonal pattern, researchers find
Viral infections peak in January and bottom out in June, with worse seasons every second year -- an ebb and flow that could help the health-care system plan ahead.
Promising new antimalarial compound discovered
A discovery opens the door to the development of new drugs targeting malaria, one of the deadliest infectious diseases on the planet. The researcher teams performed a screen of soil bacteria extracts for antimalarials and identified an extremely potent inhibitor of malaria development.