Team digs up more of Michigan farm’s ‘Bristle mammoth’
Paleontologists conducted a second excavation at the Michigan farm where the skull, tusks, and dozens of intact bones of an ice age mammoth were pulled from the ground in late 2015. Nothing that...
View ArticleTo fight drug resistance, make germs compete
Harnessing competition among pathogens inside a patient could help fight drug resistance, new research suggests. Researchers found that limiting a much-needed resource could pit pathogens against one...
View ArticleMassive database lists one-third of the world’s plants
Researchers have created the first complete list of all known vascular plant species in the Americas. The searchable database contains nearly 125,000 species representing one-third of all known...
View ArticleDust mites defend their genome in a unique way
As a consequence of their tumultuous evolutionary history, the house dust mite developed a novel way to protect its genome from internal disruptions, a new genetic study suggests. House dust mites are...
View ArticleOpossums don’t like snow but have invaded N. Dakota
New research documents ongoing northward range expansion of the common Virginia opossum—and one unlucky opossum in particular. This individual opossum was first spotted in a suburban Grand Forks, North...
View ArticleU.S. forests could be storing tons and tons more carbon
A new study estimates the total amount of carbon currently accumulating in the topsoil of US forests undergoing two types of reforestation: actively replanting trees after distances like wildfires, or...
View ArticleFor food-related emissions, this U.S. diet is the worst
On any given day, 20 percent of Americans account for nearly half of US diet-related greenhouse gas emissions, and eating lots of beef is largely responsible, according to a new study. To estimate the...
View ArticleWhy whooping cough is making a comeback
The resurgence of whooping cough is the result of factors—including a phenomenon known as the honeymoon period—that began in the middle of the last century, long before the latest vaccines were...
View ArticleEnergy-efficient light bulbs cost more in high-poverty areas
Energy-efficient light bulbs are more expensive and less available in high-poverty urban areas than in more affluent locations, according to a new study. Researchers explored disparities in the...
View ArticleGulf of Mexico’s 2018 ‘dead zone’ could be size of Connecticut
A new forecast says this summer’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone”—an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and other marine life—will be approximately 5,780 square miles, about the size of...
View ArticleJust 1 missing atom may lead to colon cancer
The development of an aggressive, early-onset form of colon cancer may come down to a single missing iron atom in a key DNA repair protein, according to new research. The findings, which will appear in...
View ArticlePolar oceans are hot spots for new fish species
The fastest rates of species formation have occurred at the highest latitudes and in the coldest ocean waters, according to a new analysis of the evolutionary relationships between more than 30,000...
View ArticleToo much CO2 robs milkweed of ‘medicine’ for monarchs
Mounting levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide lessen the medicinal properties of milkweed plants that protect monarch butterflies from disease, a new study shows. Milkweed leaves contain bitter toxins...
View ArticleThings aren’t looking good for the Amazon rainforest
The Amazon is likely to face continued warming in addition to possible multiyear droughts, according to a new study. The research suggests that primary ecosystem services—biodiversity, water cycling,...
View ArticleThis kind of RNA could contribute to fatty liver
Scientists have uncovered a potential new role for long noncoding RNA in obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease—an accumulation of too much fat in the liver that affects an estimated 64 million...
View ArticleU.S. forests could be storing tons and tons more carbon
A new study estimates the total amount of carbon currently accumulating in the topsoil of US forests undergoing two types of reforestation: actively replanting trees after distances like wildfires, or...
View ArticleMigrating monarchs face new infection threat
Migrating monarchs may face increased exposure to disease at sites where other monarchs no longer migrate to Mexico and instead breed year-round on patches of an exotic garden plant. With migration...
View ArticleHow single cells can shed light on ‘fungal dark matter’
Researchers have developed a way to generate genomes from single cells of uncultivated fungi. Fungi can be found on forest floors, in swamps, and in houses, ranging in size from smaller than the period...
View Article‘Optimal mating distance’ really does lead to super fit offspring
New research may confirm a long held evolutionary theory about the ideal amount of genetic difference between parents. The theory predicts that the fitness of an individual is maximized when the...
View ArticleWhich is worse: Food waste or emissions from refrigeration?
New research weighs the emissions trade-offs of creating an unbroken refrigerated supply chain, or “cold chain,” in sub-Saharan Africa Few inventions have had a greater impact on our daily lives, and...
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