The origins of asymmetry: A protein that makes you do the twist
Asymmetry plays a major role in biology at every scale: think of DNA spirals, the fact that the human heart is positioned on the...
For ants, unity is strength — and health
When a pathogen enters their colony, ants change their behavior to avoid the outbreak of disease. In this way, they protect the queen, brood...
Crowdsourced field data shows importance of smallholder farms to global food production
A new global field size data set collected as part of a crowdsourcing citizen science project has shown that the proportion of smallholder farms...
Human ancestors not to blame for ancient mammal extinctions in Africa
New research disputes a long-held view that our earliest tool-bearing ancestors contributed to the demise of large mammals in Africa over the last several...
New ‘smart’ material with potential biomedical, environmental uses
By combining seaweed-derived alginate with the nanomaterial graphene oxide, researchers have developed a new material that's durable and can respond dynamically to its environment.
Scientists study puncture performance of cactus spines
The same traits that allow barbed cactus spines to readily penetrate animal flesh also make the spines more difficult to dislodge, a new study...
Wild coffee plants, Christmas trees and chocolate’s tree are surprisingly poorly protected
An indicator to measure plant conservation shows a wide range of wild plants used for food, medicine, shelter, fuel, livestock forage and other valuable...
Snails become risk-takers when hungry
Research demonstrates that snails take more risks when hungry, risking potentially harmful substances in order to survive.
Orange juice, leafy greens and berries may be tied to decreased memory loss in...
Eating leafy greens, dark orange and red vegetables and berry fruits, and drinking orange juice may be associated with a lower risk of memory...
Advancement in drug therapies may provide new treatment for Cutaneous leishmaniasis
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitic infection caused by Leishmania parasite. CL cases have increased dramatically in Syria and neighboring countries due to conflict-related...