Australasian genetic influence spread wider in South America than previously thought
A team of researchers from Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul and Universitat Pompeu Fabra, has found evidence of a genetic Australasian influence in more parts of South America than just the Amazon. In their paper.....»»
Plastics pollution worsens the impacts of all planetary boundaries, new study says
Plastics are not as safe and inert as previously thought. A new research study written by an international team of researchers uses the planetary boundaries framework to structure the rapidly mounting evidence of the effects of plastics on the enviro.....»»
Researchers discover genetic reason for the red, yellow and orange bills of Australian finches
What gives an Australian finch its brilliantly colored red, yellow or orange bill? A major new study has uncovered the genetic switches controlling these distinctive colors, revealing a key piece in the puzzle of how animals develop their coloration......»»
MacBook Air with OLED reportedly delayed until 2028
A new supply chain report claims that Apple has pushed back adding an OLED screen to the MacBook Air, previously rumored to arrive in 2027.Apple's current MacBook AirIt's been expected that Apple would bring an OLED screen to the MacBook Air for some.....»»
Record drought in Amazon impacts 420,000 children: UNICEF
More than 420,000 children in the Amazon basin are being badly affected by a drought parching much of South America that is impacting water supplies and river transport, UNICEF said Wednesday......»»
Coyotes are thriving despite human and predator pressures, large-scale study finds
Research led by the University of New Hampshire sheds light on how coyotes, North America's most successful predators, are responding to various environmental pressures, including human development, hunting and competition with larger carnivores. Sur.....»»
Biologists discover how plants evolved multiple ways to override genetic instructions
Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered the origin of a curious duplication that gives plants multiple ways to override instructions that are coded into their DNA. This research could help scientists exploit a plant's existin.....»»
Public pressure found to influence whether companies reduce their environmental impact
The effectiveness of national voluntary programs asking companies to pledge to lower their pollution and greenhouse gas emissions depends on pressure from the public, according to a new study led by a Penn State researcher......»»
How honeybees can help us monitor pollution across Canada
Canada has more than 13,000 beekeepers with almost 1,000,000 beehives spread across every province. Together, they produce about 40,000,000 kilograms of honey each year. That is enough for roughly one kilogram of honey for every Canadian......»»
Genetic repair via CRISPR can inadvertently introduce other defects, researchers show
The CRISPR molecular scissors have the potential to revolutionize the treatment of genetic diseases. This is because they can be used to correct specific defective sections of the genome. Unfortunately, however, there is a catch: under certain condit.....»»
Volcanic ash as a source of nutrients: How the Hunga Tonga eruption affected ecosystems in the South Pacific
The eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) in January 2022 ejected about 2.9 billion tons of volcanic material into the atmosphere and across the South Pacific. In early 2022, a scientific expedition (GEOTRACES GP21) investigated the impact of.....»»
The frozen carbon of the northern permafrost is on the move—we estimated by how much
Among the most rapidly changing parts of our planet are the coldest landscapes near the top of the globe, just south of the Arctic. This region is warming two to four times faster than the global average......»»
Study shows commercial ties influence ESG ratings and highlights need for regulation
An analysis published in the Journal of Accounting Research uncovers evidence that conflicts of interest arising from commercial ties lead to bias in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings......»»
Downward mobility from top backgrounds in the UK is even rarer than previously thought
Only a tiny fraction of children from the most privileged backgrounds will end up in working class jobs, suggesting that social mobility in the UK may be even more limited than previously thought......»»
Testing thousands of RNA enzymes helps find first "twister ribozyme" in mammals
The "RNA world" hypothesis proposes that the earliest life on Earth may have been based on RNA—a single-stranded molecule similar in many ways to DNA—like some modern viruses. This is because, like DNA, RNA can carry genetic information, but, lik.....»»
Cells have more mini "organs" than once thought—these rogue organelles challenge biology"s fundamentals
Think back to that basic biology class you took in high school. You probably learned about organelles, those little "organs" inside cells that form compartments with individual functions. For example, mitochondria produce energy, lysosomes recycle wa.....»»
New policy aims to introduce bilingual education in South Africa
Language has always been used as a political football in South Africa. This can be traced back to the competing English and Dutch colonizers, from the 17th to the early 20th centuries, each group trying to assert linguistic as well as economic and so.....»»
Study investigates the gendered focus on the Japanese language-learning boom in postcolonial Korea
In the 1960s, Japanese books became immensely popular in South Korea. Interestingly, Korean newspapers often wrote about this trend as if mainly women were interested in learning Japanese......»»
Globular cluster Gran 5 hosts two stellar populations, study finds
Using the Gemini-South telescope, astronomers have performed high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy of stars in a Galactic globular cluster known as Gran 5. They found that this cluster harbors two stellar populations with different metallicities.....»»
Misinformation really does spread like a virus, according to mathematical models drawn from epidemiology
We're increasingly aware of how misinformation can influence elections. About 73% of Americans report seeing misleading election news, and about half struggle to discern what is true or false......»»
Biologists reveal the genetic "switch" behind parrot color diversity
From the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro to the shoulders of pirates: parrots are synonymous with color for people across the world. In a study published in the journal Science, scientists from The University of Hong Kong, together with an international t.....»»