Malaria didn’t just kill early humans, it shaped who we became
Malaria shaped human evolution and migration patterns across Africa long before written history. New research reveals that the disease didn't just kil…
Evolution isn’t random. Scientists find the same genes used for 120 million years
Evolution follows predictable patterns more often than scientists realized. Researchers discovered that butterflies and moths separated by 120 million…
Human heads have changed shape a lot in the past 100 years
Human skulls have transformed dramatically over the past century. Researchers found that people's heads have become rounder while their jaws have wide…
Novel wheat hybrids increase resistance to major fungal disease by up to 70%
Scientists bred wheat plants with a genetic defense borrowed from a common agricultural weed. The gene, extracted from Elymus repens, confers up to 70…
New imaging method maps reversed DNA replication forks in single cells
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center created RF-SIRF, a new imaging technique that detects and maps reversed DNA replicati…
Spaceflight is hard on the heart, yet artificial ones grow better in space than on Earth
Researchers discovered that lab-grown mini-hearts develop faster in microgravity than on Earth, even as human hearts physically shrink during spacefli…
Oak trees use delaying tactics to thwart hungry caterpillars
Oak trees delay leaf emergence by approximately three days after caterpillar infestations, a defensive strategy that disrupts the insects' life cycles…
Synthetic biology promised to rewrite life—with the death of its pioneer, J. Craig Venter, how close are scientists?
J. Craig Venter, the pioneering synthetic biologist who died recently, transformed our understanding of life itself. In 2010, Venter's team created th…
City birds appear to like men more than women, but experts have no idea why
Researchers analyzing 37 urban bird species discovered that birds tolerate closer approach from men than from women. The finding reveals that these an…
A new interface to study RNA biology
Researchers at Université de Montréal created RIMap-RISC, a new database that maps how microRNAs and messenger RNAs interact at the molecular level. P…
What's the difference between a lion and a tiger?
# Lions and Tigers: More Than Stripes Lions and tigers differ in far more than their coats. The big cats evolved on separate continents and developed…
Oak trees use delaying tactics to thwart hungry caterpillars
Oak trees deploy a sophisticated survival strategy against caterpillar infestations. When caterpillars attack, the trees delay leaf emergence by appro…
A new interface to study RNA biology
Scientists at Université de Montréal have created RIMap-RISC, a new database that maps how microRNAs and messenger RNAs interact with each other at th…
Deadly feline coronavirus variant has been present in the US for more than a decade
Cornell researchers identified a deadly feline coronavirus variant in the United States that has circulated for over a decade. Scientists previously l…
What's the difference between a lion and a tiger?
# Summary Lions and tigers diverge far beyond their obvious visual differences. While stripes distinguish tigers from maned lions, researchers have i…
City birds appear to like men more than women, but experts have no idea why
Researchers analyzed 37 urban bird species and discovered that male humans can approach birds more closely than female humans can. The birds tolerate …
Parrot uses his broken beak to become a dominant male
# Parrot's Broken Beak Becomes a Weapon A kea parrot with half a beak has become the dominant male in a captive colony, using his injury as a weapon …
City birds appear to like men more than women, but experts have no idea why
Researchers analyzing 37 urban bird species discovered that birds allow men to approach closer than women before flying away. This distance difference…
Doubts cast over 'wild' claim that magnetic control can turn on genes
South Korean researchers claim to have activated genes using electromagnetic signals, but the scientific community questions the validity of their fin…
How oak trees outwit their predators
Oak trees deploy a clever defense against caterpillar infestations by delaying their leaf emergence. When caterpillars heavily damage an oak tree's fo…
Buried in soil, a 100-million-year-old bacterial toxin could reshape pest control and antibiotic dis
Streptomyces bacteria, among Earth's most abundant organisms, live in soil everywhere and produce far more than the pleasant earthy smell after rain. …
First-of-its-kind map of the mouse nose reveals surprises about the sense of smell
Neuroscientists created the first detailed map of smell receptors in the mouse nose and discovered they organize into distinct bands, each housing rec…
Do birds have accents? The fascinating regional differences in birdsong
Birds sing most intensely about an hour before sunrise, when still air allows their songs to travel up to 20 times farther than midday singing. This t…