Latest science news in Biology & Nature

Some mice tails are secretly reinforced with bony scales, just like dinosaurs

42 weeks ago from Live Science

CT scans revealed a layer of bony scales, or osteoderms, hidden beneath the skin of the tails in spiny mice.

The world's worst animal disease is killing frogs worldwide—a testing breakthrough could help save them

42 weeks ago from Physorg

For the past 40 years, a devastating fungal disease has been ravaging frog populations around the world, wiping out 90 species. Unlike the global COVID-19 pandemic, you may not even...

New production process for therapeutic nanovesicles

42 weeks ago from Physorg

Particles known as extracellular vesicles play a vital role in communication between cells and in many cell functions. Released by cells into their environment, these "membrane particles" consist of a...

DNA facilitates escape from metastability in self-assembling systems

42 weeks ago from Physorg

Prof. Liang Haojun from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) proposed a new catalytic assembly approach to escape from metastable...

Decades-old question surrounding the start of the tree of life could finally be solved

42 weeks ago from Live Science

Scientists use a novel application of chromosomal analysis to finally answer a question that has challenged biologists for over a century.

Miami zoo's meet-a-kiwi scheme ruffles feathers in New Zealand

42 weeks ago from Physorg

New Zealand's prime minister on Wednesday joined a chorus of Kiwis complaining about the treatment of their national bird by a Miami zoo.

Scientists from the Global South innovate to track ongoing amphibian pandemic

42 weeks ago from Physorg

The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Center at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama partnered with the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in India to develop and...

Short-chain Fatty Acids Reduce Inflammation in the Lungs of Older Mice

42 weeks ago from Newswise - Scinews

The gut microbial community structure--communities of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in the intestines--influences the inflammatory response in the lungs of aging mice, according to researchers from the Institute...

Engineers create bacteria that can synthesize an unnatural amino acid

42 weeks ago from Newswise - Scinews

University of Delaware researchers in the lab of Aditya Kunjapur, assistant professor in the College of Engineering's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, have engineered bacteria to synthesize an amino...

Watch a great white shark devour a seal off the coast of Cape Cod, shocking nearby whale watchers

42 weeks ago from Live Science

A video that captures a shark attacking a gray seal is going viral and marks the first great white shark sighting of the season in Cape Cod.

Engineers create bacteria that can synthesize an unnatural amino acid

42 weeks ago from Physorg

In a study recently published in Nature Chemical Biology, researchers focused on para-nitro-L-phenylalanine (pN-Phe), a non-standard amino acid that is neither one of the twenty standard amino acids nor observed...

Long-term study shows tree species diversity increases likelihood of planting success

42 weeks ago from Physorg

Planting forests with diverse species can help ensure their success, according to a new study published May 18 from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and The Nature Conservancy. The...

How the body changes in space — usually, for the worse

42 weeks ago from Live Science

From causing muscle loss to raising the risk of blood clots, long-haul space missions can have a profound impact on the human body.

Look: Two foxes rescued from 10-foot deep concrete window well

42 weeks ago from UPI

Animal rescuers in California said a pair of gray foxes were returned to the wild after being found trapped in a 10-foot deep concrete window well.

New study challenges age-old conjecture that bilaterally symmetrical flowers increase pollination accuracy by animals

42 weeks ago from Physorg

In nature, flowers may share morphological features, even across distantly related species. Bilateral symmetry is one such feature found in flowers of various taxa, such as orchids and legumes. Animals...

Recent shark bites scary, but serious injuries remain vanishingly rare

42 weeks ago from Physorg

Recent shark bites in Florida and Hawaii and a suspected case in New Jersey have piqued interest in an age-old summer question for beachgoers—is it safe to go in the...

New orchid species found in Tibet

42 weeks ago from Physorg

Bulbophyllum is one of the largest genera in the orchid family, with about 2,200 species, and is widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics. In the course of botanical exploration...

Researchers clarify neuronal function that prevents insects from producing eggs in winter

42 weeks ago from Physorg

Dormancy is a survival strategy for many organisms that involves suppressing development and reproduction for a period of time to reduce energy consumption in unfavorable environments. In some insects, reproductive...

Grill smells attract black bear to Connecticut garage

42 weeks ago from UPI

Wildlife officials in Connecticut said a hungry bear attracted by the smell of a recently used grill wandered into a resident's garage.

Elephants particularly enjoy presence of zoo visitors, study shows

42 weeks ago from Physorg

Animal behavior experts at Nottingham Trent University and Harper Adams University investigated more than 100 previous research papers exploring the various ways in which visitors impacted behavior across more than...

Customs and Border Protection agents fatally shoot man in Arizona

42 weeks ago from UPI

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that three of their agents shot and killed a man in Arizona, after the man allegedly threw an object at them.

Watch: Lana Condor discovers her powers in 'Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken' trailer

42 weeks ago from UPI

"Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken," an animated film featuring the voices of Lana Condor and Jane Fonda, opens in theaters in June.

Drones and satellites among new tools to track biodiversity

42 weeks ago from Physorg

UC researchers believe remote sensing technologies such as satellites, planes, and drones will cause a paradigm shift in auditing Aotearoa's biodiversity.

Establishing Amazonian Morpho butterflies as a new eco-evolutionary model

42 weeks ago from Physorg

Morpho butterflies are emblematic species of the Amazonian rainforest known for their metallic shades of blue and green. Despite their conspicuous looks and fascinating biology, large-scale genome sequencing efforts have...

How a sniff test could make ‘sexing’ chicks more humane

42 weeks ago from PopSci

Demand has grown for technologies that can tell the sex of a chicken before it hatches. Deposit Photos One large part of managing egg-laying hens is a process called sexing, or determining the...

Leishmania parasite manipulates organism's defense system to continue replicating, study shows

42 weeks ago from Physorg

In an article published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil show how protozoans of the genus Leishmania that cause leishmaniasis manipulate...

A lab deep underground could hold the key to habitability on Mars

42 weeks ago from Physorg

Tunnels deep underground in North Yorkshire are providing a unique opportunity to study how humans might be able to live and operate on the moon or on Mars.

Fruits like apples, blackberries may prevent frailty

42 weeks ago from UPI

Apples and blackberries are among the fruits that contain a particular flavonoid called quercetin that may be the most important to prevent frailty, investigators said.