Scientists get dung beetles to collect DNA samples for biodiversity studies
Researchers are sequencing the DNA of wildlife using dung beetle stomach contents. Enlarge / The Manu area of Peru contains a number of ecological zones. (credit: Corey Spruit / Wikimedia Commons) Peru’s Manu Biosphere.....»»
Grocery stores are more reliable than sushi restaurants in labeling salmon properly, Seattle study finds
In a study of salmon samples from Seattle, Washington, grocery stores and sushi restaurants, DNA analysis revealed that 18% were mislabeled. Tracie Delgado and colleagues at Seattle Pacific University, WA, U.S., present these findings in the open-acc.....»»
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.....»»
Scientists use high-energy heavy ion collisions as a new tool to reveal subtleties of nuclear structure
Scientists have demonstrated a new way to use high-energy particle smashups at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)—a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility for nuclear physics research at DOE's Brookhaven National La.....»»
Bioinspired hydrogels harness sunlight: A step closer to artificial photosynthesis
Mimicking how plants convert sunlight into energy has long been a dream for scientists aiming to create renewable energy solutions. Artificial photosynthesis is a process that seeks to replicate nature's method, using sunlight to drive chemical react.....»»
Tracking biodiversity: Researchers outline strengths and challenges in new monitoring framework
As the UN COP16 on biodiversity meets in Calì, Colombia, experts from McGill University are on-site, providing important input into the global conversation. These experts have been instrumental in shaping the global biodiversity monitoring framework.....»»
New research may lead to potatoes that are less reliant on nitrogen fertilizers
Because nitrogen fertilizers contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions, scientists are looking for ways to modify agricultural plants so that they rely on less nitrogen. In research published in New Phytologist, investigators have found that bloc.....»»
Study assesses "gendered space" in financial institutions in Pakistan
In Islamic cultures, purdah, which literally means "curtain," is a practice that involves the seclusion of women from public observation and the enforcement of high standards of female modesty. Research published in the Journal of Management Studies.....»»
Braving sharks and hordes of urchins, scientists are growing kelp one forest at a time
The weathered UC Davis Marine Laboratory looms in thick fog on the edge of the ocean near Bodega Bay. Inside, an experiment is playing out that gives a badly-needed boost to Northern California's kelp forests—underwater cathedrals of green and gold.....»»
New framework uses games of chance to put "price" on intangible assets
A new statistical model could help to address the age-old question of how to price non-physical, intangible goods like data, say scientists......»»
Bach, Mozart or jazz: Scientists provide a quantitative measure of variability in music pieces
Physicists at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) have investigated to which extent a piece of music can evoke expectations about its progression. They were able to determine differences in how far compositions of dif.....»»
Scientists find key to engineering water-responsive biopolymers
Scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have developed a novel approach to better understand and predict the behaviors of water-responsive materials—solid matter that can change shape by absorbing.....»»
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.....»»
New modeling of complex biological systems could offer insights into genomic data and other huge datasets
Over the past two decades, new technologies have helped scientists generate a vast amount of biological data. Large-scale experiments in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and cytometry can produce enormous quantities of data from a given cellula.....»»
Scientists shed light on an arms race between barley and a fungal pathogen
Scientists from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB), together with partners from the University of Cologne, have discovered a new group of defense substances in barley that are effective against a broad spectrum of fungal pathogens. One.....»»
Q&A: How animal tracking data can help preserve biodiversity
Today's ecologists have more data than ever before to help monitor and understand the world's biodiversity. Yet researchers are still working to get more detailed information to better combat declining animal populations that can eventually lead to s.....»»
New plant bug species discovered in French Polynesia
Seventeen new species of plant bugs—a group of insects with a strawlike mouth used to feed on plant and animal matter—have been identified on the islands of French Polynesia, and their names honor scientists, actors, and Vice President Kamala Har.....»»
Scientists have figured out why Martian soil is so crusty
On November 26, 2018, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight) mission landed on Mars. This was a major milestone in Mars exploration since it was the first time a research station had been deplo.....»»
Another season of highs and lows as 2024 Australian humpback migration ends
Each year, the annual humpback whale migration up and down the East Australian Coastline brings with it a multitude of highs and lows for marine scientists such as Griffith University whale expert, Dr. Olaf Meynecke......»»
Space Innovation Lab experiment heads to International Space Station
The first human tissue samples from Oxford's Space Innovation Lab (SIL) have been launched and are on their way to the International Space Station, where they will be used to study the effects of space microgravity on the human aging process......»»
Multicomponent hydride designs could advance science of superconducting materials
New materials designed by a University of Illinois Chicago graduate student may help scientists meet one of today's biggest challenges: building superconductors that operate at normal temperatures and pressures......»»