Within an Antarctic sea squirt, scientists discover a bacterial species with promising anti-melanoma properties
There are few places farther from your medicine cabinet than the tissues of an ascidian, or "sea squirt," on the icy Antarctic sea floor—but this is precisely where scientists are looking to find a new treatment for melanoma, one of the most danger.....»»
Power of aesthetic species on social media boosts wildlife conservation efforts, say experts
Facebook and Instagram can boost wildlife conservation efforts through public awareness and engagement, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Communication......»»
The rise of color vision in animals: Study maps dramatic 100-million-year explosion in color signals
Colors are widely used in communication within and among animal species. For example, peacocks proudly display their vibrant tails, adorned with iridescent eyespots, to attract peahens for courtship. This is a classic example of sexual selection usin.....»»
Mountaineering mice shed light on evolutionary adaptation
Teams of mountaineering mice are helping advance understanding into how evolutionary adaptation to localized conditions can enable a single species to thrive across diverse environments......»»
Quasiperiodicity changes the ground-state properties of 1D narrow-band moiré systems, study demonstrates
Moiré materials, such as twisted bilayer graphene, are materials generally formed by stacking two or more layers of 2D materials on top of each other with a small lattice mismatch. This slight mismatch creates a unique pattern known as the moiré pa.....»»
Scientists reveal strigolactone perception mechanism and role in tillering responses to nitrogen
"How is plant growth controlled?" and "What is the basis of variation in stress tolerance in plants?" were among the 125 most challenging scientific questions, according to the journal Science in 2016......»»
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......»»
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......»»
Ancient unicellular organism indicates embryonic development might have existed prior to animals" evolution
Chromosphaera perkinsii is a single-celled species discovered in 2017 in marine sediments around Hawaii. The first signs of its presence on Earth have been dated at over a billion years, well before the appearance of the first animals......»»
Mysterious Sydney beach blobs: Scientists uncover their complex composition
A multi-disciplinary team of scientists have made significant progress in understanding the origins of the mysterious black balls washing ashore on Sydney beaches......»»
Scientists calculate predictions for meson measurements
Nuclear physics theorists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have demonstrated that complex calculations run on supercomputers can accurately predict the distribution of electric charges in mesons, particles made.....»»
Climate change is contributing to drought in the American West even without rainfall deficits, scientists find
Higher temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change made an ordinary drought into an exceptional drought that parched the American West from 2020–2022. A study by UCLA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate scientists ha.....»»
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.....»»
New research reveals how stormy conditions affect albatrosses" ability to feed
Albatrosses are exceptionally mobile and use the wind to travel hundreds of thousands of miles to feed on squid, fish, or other animals found near the water surface in the open ocean. In fact, some larger species of albatrosses are so reliant on the.....»»
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.....»»
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.....»»
Study identifies promising materials for fusion reactors
Nuclear fusion could be an ideal solution to mankind's energy problem, guaranteeing a virtually limitless source of power without greenhouse gas emissions. But there are still huge technological challenges to overcome before getting there, and some o.....»»