Soil's secret language: Researchers decode plant-to-fungi communication
Researchers have cracked the code of plant-to-fungi communication in a new study. Using baker's yeast, the researchers discovered that the plant hormone strigolactone (SL) activates fungal genes and...
View ArticleEvolution in action: How ethnic Tibetan women thrive in thin oxygen at high...
New study reveals link between oxygen delivery and reproductive success among women living on the high Tibetan Plateau.
View ArticleResearchers use the sounds of healthy coral reefs to encourage growth of a...
Healthy coral reefs echo with a chorus of grunts and purrs from fish feeding, looking for mates, or defending their territories, underscored by the persistent crackling of snapping shrimp. Larval...
View ArticleWith 'electro-agriculture,' plants can produce food in the dark and with 94%...
Photosynthesis, the chemical reaction that enables almost all life on Earth, is extremely inefficient at capturing energy -- only around 1% of light energy that a plant absorbs is converted into...
View ArticlePaleontologists discover Colorado 'swamp dweller' that lived alongside dinosaurs
The new mammal lived in Colorado 70 to 75 million years ago -- a time when a vast inland sea covered large portions of the state, and animals like sharks, turtles and giant crocodiles abounded.
View Article'Paleo-robots' to help scientists understand how fish started to walk on land
The transition from water to land is one of the most significant events in the history of life on Earth. Now, a team of roboticists, palaeontologists and biologists is using robots to study how the...
View ArticleGut bacteria transfer genes to disable weapons of their competitors
New research shows that a large, ubiquitous mobile genetic element changes the antagonistic weaponry of Bacteroides fragilis, a common bacterium of the human gut.
View ArticleHuman actions likely cause insect color change
New Zealand's native stoneflies have changed colour in response to human-driven environmental changes, new research shows. The study provides arguably the world's most clear-cut case of animal...
View ArticleMove along, moose: Study reveals the 'most Canadian' animals
What is the 'most Canadian' animal? Spoiler: it's not the beaver, or the moose. A new study ranks species of terrestrial vertebrates in Canada by their level of Canadian evolutionary distinctness: the...
View ArticleDinosaurs thrived after ice, not fire, says a new study of ancient volcanism
The Triassic-Jurassic Extinction, 201.6 million years ago, has been considered by some to have been a fairly slow-burn event, driven by rising temperatures and ocean acidification. A new study says it...
View ArticleWeddell seals in the Antarctic strategically time their most extreme dives to...
Weddell seals in Erebus Bay, Antarctica, may look like couch potatoes when they are resting on ice. However, these seals, which are the southernmost population of the southernmost living mammals, are...
View ArticleBeehive fences are highly effective in reducing human-elephant conflict, but...
A groundbreaking, nine-year study has revealed that elephants approaching small-scale farms in Kenya avoid beehive fences housing live honey bees up to 86% of the time during peak crop seasons, helping...
View ArticleOceanographers record the largest predation event ever observed in the ocean
In the largest predation event ever recorded, researchers observed capelin shoaling off the coast of Norway, where a swarm of cod overtook them, consuming over 10 million fish in a few hours. The team...
View ArticleHave we found all the major Maya cities? Not even close, new research suggests
Researchers used laser-guided imaging to uncover vast unexplored Maya settlements in Campeche, Mexico, revealing more than 6,500 pre-Hispanic structures, including a previously unknown large city with...
View ArticleSolar-powered animal cells
Energy-making chloroplasts from algae have been inserted into hamster cells, enabling the cells to photosynthesize light, according to new research in Japan. It was previously thought that combining...
View ArticleAlcohol consumption among non-human animals may not be as rare as previously...
Anecdotes abound of wildlife behaving 'drunk' after eating fermented fruits, but despite this, nonhuman consumption of ethanol has been assumed to be rare and accidental. Ecologists now challenge this...
View ArticleEcholocating bats use an acoustic cognitive map for navigation
Echolocating bats have been found to possess an acoustic cognitive map of their home range, enabling them to navigate over kilometer-scale distances using echolocation alone.
View ArticleResearchers develop artificial plants that purify indoor air, generate...
Scientists are repurposing their research about bacteria-powered biobatteries into a new idea for artificial plants that can feed off carbon dioxide, give off oxygen and even generate a little power.
View ArticleThe secrets of baseball's magic mud
The unique properties of baseball's famed 'magic' mud, which MLB equipment managers applied to every ball in the World Series, have never been scientifically quantified -- until now. Researchers now...
View ArticleHow gophers brought Mount St. Helens back to life in one day
When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, lava incinerated anything living for miles around. As an experiment, scientists dropped gophers onto parts of the scorched mountain for only 24 hours. The...
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