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Thanksgiving may be uniquely American, but its core spirit was exported from harvest festivals stretching back for millennia. Its essence is being grateful for what one has, while noting a duty to share one's good fortune.

Scientists from Japanese institutions among Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), Picchio Wildlife Research Center, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, and Tokyo University of Agriculture have discovered that width of surface…

Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a mathematical model that sheds new light on the fundamental processes of gene expression in cells.

An aquatic parasitic fungus causes lethal infections in amphibians and is thought to be one of the reasons for a global decline in toad and frog populations. A new study by researchers from Uppsala University shows a wide variation among different species in…

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have uncovered some unexpected 'foreign' genes in the tiny itch-inducing chigger mite and its more benign but enormous cousin, the giant velvet mite.

Plant speed breeding could be part of the solution to minimise the devastating effects of drought and climate change on crops in the future, according to a University of Queensland researcher.

Elizabeth Sibert is rewriting the story of how the asteroid impact that killed off the dinosaurs affected fish, and she's doing it one tooth at a time.

Regulation of gene expression—turning genes on or off, increasing or decreasing their expression—is critical for defining cell identity during development and coordinating cellular activity throughout the cell's lifetime. The common model of gene…

Crickets that are exposed to human drugs that alter serotonin levels in the brain are less active and less aggressive than crickets that have had no drug exposure, according to a new study led by researchers from Linköping University. The findings have been…

Working in cooperation with international colleagues, researchers from the University of Freiburg have described how water-insoluble membrane proteins are transported through the aqueous space between the mitochondrial membranes with the aid of chaperone…

Bridgett vonHoldt is best known for her work with dogs and wolves, so she was surprised when a bird biologist pulled her aside and said, "I really think you can help me solve this problem." So she turned to a mystery he'd been wrestling with for more than 20…

Until recently, scientists thought of viruses as mostly small infectious agents, tiny compared to typical bacteria and human cells. So imagine the surprise when biologist Jeff Blanchard and Ph.D. student Lauren Alteio at the University of Massachusetts…

A Sumatran elephant has been found dead with its tusks removed in an apparent poaching case targeting the critically endangered animal, an Indonesian conservation official said Friday.

A rare Sumatran tiger that was trapped beneath the floor of a shop for three days has been rescued, an Indonesian official said Saturday.

These days, mammals can use their forelimbs to swim, jump, fly, climb, dig and just about everything in between, but the question of how all that diversity evolved has remained a vexing one for scientists.

With many disease-causing bacteria ratcheting up their shields against current drugs, new tactics are vital to protect people from treatment-resistant infections.

A first-of-its-kind study out of Kansas State University examined the the untapped market for selling plants online by horticultural businesses.

Research by scientists at the University of Liverpool suggests that being raised communally makes mice more competitive when they're older.

The Republican-controlled House has passed a bill to drop legal protections for gray wolves across the lower 48 states, reopening a lengthy battle over the predator species.

Technology first used by NASA to grow plants extra-terrestrially is fast tracking improvements in a range of crops. Scientists at John Innes Centre and the University of Queensland have improved the technique, known as speed breeding, adapting it to work in…

"Add 'skull-collecting ant' to the list of strange creatures in Florida," says Adrian Smith a scientist at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University. His new research describes the behavioral and chemical strategies of a…

New research from The University of Queensland has found non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals can significantly promote the spread of antibiotic resistance via bacterial mating.

In optogenetics, researchers use light to control protein activity. This technique allows them to alter the shape of embryonic tissue and to inhibit the development of abnormalities. Now, scientists in EMBL's De Renzis group have enhanced the technique to stop…

Population geneticists at Bielefeld University and the British Antarctic Survey have found that eleven seal species only narrowly escaped extinction. Their study has been published today in Nature Communications.

Cells replicate by dividing, but scientists still don't know exactly how they decide when to split. Deciding the right time and the right size to divide is critical for cells – if something goes wrong it can have a big impact, such as with cancer, which is…

Scientists have predicted that within two years a viral disease outbreak will likely hit European wheat harvests, leading to a hike in food prices across the continent.

How would you move through a space when you can't see the obstacles ahead? For example, how would you find your way out of a maze if you were blindfolded? You could either use your other senses, such as touch, to find your way out – or better yet, you could…

New analysis of the structure and function of the naturally-occurring antimicrobial agent tunicamycin has revealed ways to produce new, safe antibiotics for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other disease-causing bacteria.

Bigger and bigger, with a puff and a blow, the orca surfaces, supreme in his kingdom of green.

About 15 years ago, UNC Lineberger's Dale Ramsden, Ph.D., was looking through a textbook with one of his students when they stumbled upon a scientific mystery.