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Once considered cellular junk, non-coding RNAs are emerging as key players in everything from brain development to cancer — with much still to be discovered
In its quest to feed, avoid nasty substances and just generally live its life, the brainless, one-celled Physarum polycephalum performs some impressive tricks of learning and memory
In a year of funding chaos, ongoing climate change and pollution perils, we also saw the most powerful telescope yet, personalized gene therapy, and the next-best-thing to an HIV vaccine — not to mention a brand-new color
A push to move away from petroleum products — plus the perception that natural is gentler — has scientists lathering up new ingredients, from wood and fungus extracts to engineered proteins
Early in evolution, we animals lost the ability to manufacture nine of the 20 building blocks needed to make proteins. Herbivores evolved an impressive array of tricks to ensure their dietary needs are met.
It’s not an open-and-shut case. But researchers are finding out plenty by genetically altering the numbers of these openings, as well as simulating future atmospheres, and more.
Arabidopsis thaliana was always an unlikely candidate for the limelight. But 25 years ago, the diminutive thale cress launched the botanical world into the molecular era.
Doctors and scientists are waging a shadow war in the besieged nation: bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics. The deadly bugs are now knocking on western Europe’s door.
In polar bears, dolphins, baboons and more, molecular signatures of aging are changing how conservationists assess population health, resilience and risk
Mexican tetras that got swept into pitch-black caverns had no use for the energetically costly organs. They lost their eyes in multiple ways — and gained some nifty traits too.
Cranes, sandpipers, ducks, geese and many other waterbirds have lost essential rest stops along their seasonal migration routes. Bird-friendly agriculture can assist in filling the gaps.
Some scientists propose that in the beginning, geochemistry gave way to biochemistry — with no genetic material necessary. Only later did RNA and DNA appear.
UCLA’s Susan Perry has devoted decades to studying the fast-motion life of these New World primates and learning how the young acquire the skills they need to thrive
North America’s largest bird disappeared from the wild in the late 1980s. Reintroduction work in the United States and Mexico has brought this huge vulture back to the skies. This is the story of its comeback.
The mycorrhizae that live among and in plant roots can boost the health of certain species, and even whole ecosystems — but scientists warn against a one-size-fits-all approach
Picture your body: It’s a collection of cells carrying thousands of DNA errors accrued over a lifetime — many harmless, some bad, and at least a few that may be good for you.
Short sleepers cruise by on four to six hours a night and don’t seem to suffer ill effects. Turns out they’re genetically built to require less sleep than the rest of us.
Scientists are seeing signs of resistance to the infections that have been wiping out the world’s amphibian populations — and developing strategies to aid in the fight Down Under
Unusual variations in the cellular protein factory can skew development, help cancer spread and more. But ribosome variety may also play biological roles, scientists say.
Cuckoos, cowbirds and other species outsource their parental duties. Scientists are uncovering new twists in this sneaky — and often treacherous — game of survival.
To understand the origins of multicelled life, researchers are studying a motley assortment of simpler animal relatives. The commonalities they’re unearthing offer a trove of clues about our mutual past.
Soldiering through nightly suspended animation, a (nearly) all-sugar diet, backwards flight and long migrations, the birds’ tiny physiques prove mighty
Some people of West African descent face a higher risk of renal failure. New drugs based on gene research may help right the ship — if they can reach everyone who needs them.
It’s clear that genes, receptors and neurons all play a role in detecting odors. But much of how we make sense of what we sniff remains mysterious. A neuroscientist explains.
I bought a glowing plant. It led me down a rabbit hole of radiant mushrooms, 19th century experiments and a modern rivalry between scientists in Russia and the Americas.
Jenny Graves has spent her life mapping genes and comparing genomes. Now she’s created a musical opus about evolution of life on this planet — bringing the same drive and experimentalism she brought to the study of marsupial chromosomes.
Scientists on both sides of the border are working to understand how the barrier is affecting the area’s biodiversity. Meanwhile, communities try to save animals left without access to water.
Australia’s iconic marsupial has been viewed as a food source, pest, mascot and, now, a conservation concern. Scientists are breaking down myths — using genetics, robots and citizen science — and finding new ways to protect the animals.
Despite increasing protection measures, these fish are among the world’s most endangered animals. New tests to detect species being traded, as well as population studies, aim to help save them.
From Burmese pythons and Asian swamp eels to Old World climbing ferns, South Florida hosts hordes of non-native animals and plants. What can be done about the ecological havoc they are wreaking?
An invasive yellow-legged wasp has been decimating beehives in Europe — and bedeviling Georgia since last summer. Researchers are working nest by nest to limit the threat while developing better eradication methods.
More than 70 years ago, mathematician Alan Turing proposed a mechanism that explained how patterns could emerge from bland uniformity. Scientists are still using his model — and adding new twists — to gain a deeper understanding of animal markings.
Though studies are still mixed, and products often inconsistent, many scientists have hope that cannabidiol can help canines and other furry patients suffering from arthritis, allergies and anxiety
Some make nests inside seashells, others tote bubbles of air on their backs. The spiders that went back to water evolved lots of slick survival strategies.
A prion sickness similar to mad cow is spreading rapidly through North America’s deer and elk populations. A veterinary microbiologist discusses the options for keeping it in check.
Delegates from 175 nations are working on an international agreement that would tackle the vast amounts of plastic waste in the environment. A marine scientist specializing in plastic pollution discusses the problem and her hopes for the proceedings.
As the world warms, trees in forests such as those in Minnesota will no longer be adapted to their local climates. That’s where assisted migration comes in.
The South American country, where the biodiversity of the Andes meets that of the Amazon, is losing the great natural wealth of some 1,500 square kilometers of forest each year, mainly in areas formerly under guerrilla control
The blood-sucking insects now show up in two varieties and are resistant to many pesticides. New eradication strategies include fungal spores and nasty human odors.
Peoples who live close to nature have a rich lore of plants, animals and landscapes embedded in their mother tongues — which may hold vital clues to protecting biodiversity
OPINION: International commerce and travel bring ecological destruction to the world’s most cherished natural places. We need to do more to stop the assault.
With the first medical therapy approved and systems like CRISPR-Cas showing up in complex cells, there’s a lot going on in the genome editing field. Here’s our primer.
Polygenic risk scores — a patient’s chance, based on tiny DNA variants, of developing cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and more — are coming to clinics. But there are kinks to iron out and accuracy remains an issue.
Growing evidence suggests a link between the debilitating neurological illness and the microbes that live in our intestines. The vagus nerve may be a pathway.
New research suggests that to maintain a healthy brain, we should tend our gut microbiome. The best way to do that right now is not through pills and supplements, but better food.
They have held our fascination ever since we first identified their remains. Today, thanks to new artifacts and technologies, findings about our closest relatives are coming thick and fast.
After turning up hundreds of genes with hard-to-predict effects, some scientists are now probing the grander developmental processes that shape face geometry
Lots of them depend on fruit-eating birds and mammals to spread their seeds. But it’s debatable whether the animals — many in trouble themselves — can disperse seeds far and fast enough to keep pace with a warming world.
Our collective arachnid aversion could be causing us to overlook something even scarier: Spiders may be disappearing.
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