Latest science news in Biology & Nature
Polymer-protected DNA sensors enable two-month storage for 50-cent disease diagnostics
Using an inexpensive electrode coated with DNA, MIT researchers have designed disposable diagnostics that could be adapted to detect a variety of diseases, including cancer or infectious diseases such as...
New 'gene gun' design boosts efficiency of plant genetic modification
Plant scientists have used a standard "gene gun" since 1988 to genetically modify crops for better yield, nutrition, pest resistance and other valuable traits.
Built-in protein sensors allow noninvasive tracking of molecular assemblies in living cells
Cornell researchers have found a new and potentially more accurate way to see what proteins are doing inside living cells—using the cells' own components as built-in sensors.
Being an adult moth is no picnic, research finds
Age is just a number, or is it? A new study by UTEP researchers shows that adult moths are more vulnerable to attack than when they are young.
Novel cross-linker streamlines protein complex analysis in living cells
Proteins have specific biological functions in cells through conformational changes and interactions. Therefore, precise, in situ analysis of protein complex changes is essential for understanding cellular functions, uncovering disease mechanisms,...
How sugar serves as a hidden thermostat in plants
For a decade, scientists have believed that plants sense temperature mainly through specialized proteins, and mainly at night when the air is cool. New research suggests that during the day,...
Structural differences in Nasonia wasps linked to evolution, behavior and disease
What can a tiny wasp with a rather gruesome parasitic life cycle teach us about evolution, behavior and human developmental diseases? In a new paper, researchers led by István Mikó...
Gray whales are dying off the Pacific Coast again, and scientists aren't sure why
Gray whales are dying in large numbers, again.
Mystery deepens as another dead whale washes ashore in Southern California
A 50-foot gray whale washed ashore in Huntington Beach on Friday. Nonprofit workers say the young adult female showed no signs of physical injury.
Mosquitoes are breeding in pools in the Eaton fire area. Officials may not be able to control them much longer
Unmaintained swimming pools where mosquito breeding has occurred will get a first treatment, but there's currently no money for additional treatments, according to vector control officials.
Lethal algae bloom is over, but sickened marine mammals aren't safe yet
It was one of the longest and deadliest ever recorded in Southern California.
Union presses California's key bird flu testing lab for records
The union representing workers at a UC Davis lab key to California's efforts to test and track bird flu infections in livestock has sued the university,
The numbers of gray whales migrating along the California coast continue to plummet
Federal officials are reporting the lowest numbers of gray whales counted since the 1970s. More than 20 have died in S.F. Bay this year.
Hardcore birders and casual sparrow spotters: Science needs you
Ornithologists are seeking volunteers in California, Oregon and Washington for Project Phoenix, a multiyear project exploring birds' response to wildfire.
Are salmon sperm facials really good for your skin?
Med spas all over Los Angeles now offer what they call salmon DNA facials. Does the trendy social media-approved treatment actually work?
Called to the threshold, a death doula learns from the dying
Transitions and transformations can be fraught, even torturous. As a death doula, a big part of the work is sitting in that liminal space.
Inside Nike's all-women half-marathon in L.A.: the good, the bad and the surprising
From long lines to a delayed start time and a finale concert with Doechii, here's everything that happened at the Nike After Dark tour at SoFi Stadium.
What is a mushroom really? Two titans of the wellness world duke it out
Paul Stamets and Jeff Chilton began as friends, their collaboration leading to the rise of medicinal mushroom supplements. Until they disagreed on one important thing: the definition of mushroom.
Measles on the rise in California: More cases so far this year than all of 2024
California has already reported more measles cases this year than in all of 2024, a worrisome development that comes as the nation is suffering its largest outbreak of the super-infectious...
Indigenous funeral urns discovered on human-made islands in Amazon rainforest
Giant ceramic pots made centuries to millennia ago were found to hold human bones, while others held a mixture of seeds and the remains of fish, frogs and turtles.
'It is our obligation to future generations': Scientists want thousands of human poop samples for microbe 'doomsday vault'
The founders of the Microbiota Vault, a project that aims to preserve microbial diversity, have announced that they are ready to grow their frozen microbe collection to 10,000 samples by...
Orcas filmed making out in the wild for first time
Footage captures a pair of orcas nibbling each other's tongues in the Kvænangen fjords in northern Norway. Scientists think this rarely seen behavior could play a role in social bonding.
Science news this week: A unique new blood type and 'spiderwebs' on Mars
June 28, 2025: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.
Are cats the only animals that purr?
Everyone knows what a happy cat sounds like. But are they the only animals that purr?
Dwarf sperm whale: The 'pint-size whales' that gush gallons of intestinal fluid when surprised
The smallest species of whale tricks its predators by gushing red gallons of red fluid into the water when under attack
Which animals can count and understand simple math?
Many animals have a sense of quantity, but they don't count or do math the way humans do.
New viruses identified in bats in China
Bats found near orchards harbor pathogens that could be passed to livestock or humans.
Scientists discover never-before-seen part of human cells — and it looks like a snowman wearing a scarf
Scientists say they captured 3D images of a new organelle they're calling a "hemifusome," which may be a recycling center in human cells.