A brown ale or hoppy lager? Even fruit flies have a preference
It's no secret fruit flies are attracted to beer. Setting aside a glass of beer is a common practice to lure pesky insects away from a summer barbeque. Research by Belgian and German scientists now shows that not all fruit fly species like the same b.....»»
"e-Drive": New gene drive reverses insecticide resistance in pests... then disappears
Insecticides have been used for centuries to counteract widespread pest damage to valuable food crops. Eventually, over time, beetles, moths, flies and other insects develop genetic mutations that render the insecticide chemicals ineffective......»»
Why was a piece of fruit floating inside Starship on its sixth test flight?
A banana — albeit a toy one — made an appearance inside the Starship spacecraft during SpaceX's sixth test flight on Tuesday. But what was it doing there?.....»»
Light-altering paint for greenhouses could help lengthen the fruit growing season in less sunny countries
Researchers in the UK have developed a new spray coating for greenhouses that optimizes the wavelength of light shining onto the plants, improving their growth and yield. The technology could in the future help extend the growing seasons in less sunn.....»»
Flies carry bacteria, and some are resistant to antibiotics—evidence from three South African hospices
Houseflies live close to humans and domesticated animals and because they are so mobile they can easily spread bacteria that make people sick......»»
Sterling K. Brown is accused of murdering the president in tense trailer for Hulu’s Paradise
Sterling K. Brown is accused of killing the president in the trailer for Hulu's Paradise, an upcoming thriller series from Dan Fogelman......»»
Smart surveillance system improves tomato plant monitoring with high-speed disease detection, fruit counting
Tomatoes are a critical source of nutrients and remain one of the most widely cultivated fruits globally. However, intensive greenhouse practices increase susceptibility to diseases, which can reduce yields by up to 30% and degrade fruit quality......»»
Heat hardiness: Scientists identify key phase for tomato heat tolerance
By studying tomato varieties that produce fruit in exceptionally hot growing seasons, biologists at Brown University identified the growth cycle phase when tomatoes are most vulnerable to extreme heat, as well as the molecular mechanisms that make th.....»»
How do brains coordinate activity? From fruit flies to monkeys, scientists discover a universal principle
The brain is a marvel of efficiency, honed by thousands of years of evolution so it can adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. Yet, despite decades of research, the mystery of how the brain achieves this has remained elusive......»»
Svalbard Global Seed Vault evokes epic imagery and controversy because of the symbolic value of seeds
Two-thirds of the world's food comes today from just nine plants: sugar cane, maize (corn), rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, oil-palm fruit, sugar beet and cassava. In the past, farmers grew tens of thousands of crop varieties around the world. This.....»»
US flies long-range bomber in drill with South Korea, Japan in reaction to the North"s missile test
US flies long-range bomber in drill with South Korea, Japan in reaction to the North"s missile test.....»»
"Wing spreading" adaptation in fruit flies offers insights into female courtship behavior
In the game of evolution, key behavioral adaptations that confer fitness in survival and reproduction, paying tremendous dividends for an individual's progeny, may seemingly arise from thin air—so much so, even familiar species like the humble frui.....»»
Government interventions can reduce deadly air pollution in South Asia, study finds
Air pollution, driven in large part by practices like crop burning, contributes to 2 million deaths a year in South Asia and persists as a public health emergency. But a new study co-led by Brown University researcher Gemma Dipoppa found that governm.....»»
In Hawaii, parasites and viruses team up in the battle against fruit flies—implications for global pest control
Take a stroll along one of the beaches on Hawaii Island in late summer, and you'll likely stumble upon almond-shaped fruits lying in the sand. Known as false kamani nuts, or tropical almonds, they fall from tall, shady Terminalia catappa trees that l.....»»
NASA telescopes discover brown dwarf protoplanetary disks in the Orion Nebula
Newborn stars are surrounded by disks of gas and dust within which planets are born, known as protoplanetary disks. In the Orion Nebula, the brightest and most massive stars emit intense ultraviolet radiation that illuminates protoplanetary disks, al.....»»
The Surprising Story of How Peaches Became an Icon of the U.S. Southeast
The Spanish brought peaches to the U.S., but Indigenous peoples spread the fruit across the eastern half of the U.S......»»
Study: DNA corroborates “Well-man” tale from Norse saga
The "Well-man" likely had blue eyes, blond or light-brown hair, and hailed from southern Norway. A 12th-century Norse saga tells of an invading army from the south razing a castl.....»»
Invisible anatomy in the fruit fly uterus: New discoveries could have implications for fertility and pest control
You have likely not spent much time thinking about the uterus of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. But then, neither have most scientists, even though Drosophila is one of the most thoroughly studied lab animals. Now a team of biologists at the.....»»
Hourglass model of complex multicellularity found in brown algae
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology, Germany, have discovered a conserved developmental pattern known as the hourglass model in brown algae, providing more evidence that the phenomenon may be a universal feature of complex multicellul.....»»
Compost produced from organic solid waste could replace 21% of industrial fertilizers in urban agriculture
The organic solid waste that citizens deposit in brown recycling bins could currently produce the amount of compost needed to satisfy 8% of the nutrients demanded by urban and peri-urban agriculture, reducing environmental impacts such as soil eutrop.....»»
Huge volumes of whey go to waste. We could do much more with this nutrient-rich liquid
Every year, 7.6 million tons of food is lost or wasted in Australia. When we think about this, we might picture moldy fruit, stale bread and overly full fridges. But in fact, almost half of this waste happens before food ever gets to us. Waste is com.....»»