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A challenge among three housemates to identify species around their inner-Brisbane home has resulted in an academic research paper, showcasing the rich biodiversity in urban landscapes.

Most ornamental crops can be classified as long-day, short-day, or day-neutral plants based on their flowering responses to the photoperiod (which is the day length), or the skotoperiod (which is the night length). Chrysanthemum is a common ornamental crop…

In the colorful world of avian courtship, the ruff (Calidris pugnax) is in a league of its own. Breeding in marshes and wet meadows across Eurasia, the males of this medium-sized sandpiper species are well-known for their distinctive mating strategies, which…

Chemicals—from antibiotics used to keep livestock healthy to pesticides that shield crops from insects and other pests—play an important role in modern agriculture. However, many of these substances accumulate in cow manure used as fertilizer, where they…

Paleontologists are getting a glimpse at life over a billion years in the past based on chemical traces in ancient rocks and the genetics of living animals. Research published in Nature Communications combines geology and genetics, showing how changes in the…

Sick and injured farmed salmon are a problem, but researchers have recently developed an implant that uses sensors to gather information about the welfare of individual fish.

Imperial College London researchers speak to us about their work exploring animal-free methods for the future of testing cosmetics safety.

Adequate food supply is a fundamental need and requirement for survival. To protect a species, it is often very helpful to know what that species prefers and frequently consumes. Through the analysis of DNA traces in the droppings of a Leisler's bat colony,…

Researchers from the University of Minnesota partnered with Mayo Clinic to conduct a groundbreaking study that could offer hope for dogs, and potentially humans, diagnosed with osteosarcoma— a devastating bone cancer predominantly affecting children,…

German farmers in the Lower Oder Valley National Park on the eastern border with Poland faced a dilemma: what to do with grass that was useless as animal feed.

In many parts of Africa, humans cooperate with a species of wax-eating bird called the greater honeyguide, Indicator indicator, which leads them to wild bees' nests with a chattering call. By using specialized sounds to communicate with each other, both…

This winter, tens of thousands of birders will survey winter bird populations for the National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count, part of an international bird census, powered by volunteers, that has taken place every year since 1900.

Headlines have been circulating about a "mystery" canine respiratory illness. How novel is this, and what should dog owners know? Penn Today spoke with Deborah Silverstein, professor of emergency and critical care at the School of Veterinary Medicine and…

Trees planted in urban areas can provide shade and contribute to a lower air temperature. For these services to be optimal, it is important to let asphalt give way to trees, according to research from the University of Gothenburg.

All 19 species of Anguillid eels migrate from the sea, where they are born, to the freshwater systems in which they grow. After a period of up to 20 years, they reach maturity and return to the sea to breed and die.

It's right under our feet. We barely notice as we go about our lives, yet it is nothing less than the largest carbon repository among all of Earth's ecosystems. This distinction is awarded neither to forests, nor to the atmosphere, but to our soils. There are…

Microalgae—which are major contributors to global photosynthesis and primary productivity—serve as promising chassis cells in synthetic biology.

In response to the escalating challenges posed by the high drug resistance of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM), a collaborative team from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Beijing…

Increasing urbanization worldwide is a growing threat to biodiversity. At the same time, flowering plants are often more diverse in cities than in the countryside. This is due to flowering plants and agricultural crops, which are increasingly being grown in…

Cabbage white butterflies—Pieris rapae—are one of the most common garden visitors across southern and eastern Australia. The butterfly looks elegant in white with black dots on its wings: females have a pair of black spots and males a single spot on each…

The concept of urbanization rests on the population distribution of human beings, more than 50% of whom now live near large, often densely packed groups of other people. But the consequences of that urbanization—shifts in vegetation, localized fluctuations…

A new study of paper wasps suggests social interactions may make animals smarter. The research offers behavioral evidence of an evolutionary link between the ability to recognize individuals and social cooperation.

Fluctuating sunlight poses a challenge for plants and green algae, which must quickly adjust their photosynthetic systems to remain efficient in changing conditions. Aiding in that response is a kind of rudimentary memory that allows these organisms to respond…

When farmers harvest their grain, they can choose to sell it right away or store it to obtain better prices later in the season. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores how Illinois corn and soybean producers make those decisions…

From the 1950s to the 1970s, a Colombian priest named Padre Gustavo Huertas collected rocks and fossils near a town called Villa de Levya. Two of the specimens he found were small, round rocks patterned with lines that looked like leaves; he classified them as…

Forests and the carbon they capture play a pivotal role in combating climate change, and a new report co-authored by NAU researchers is set to transform forest conservation efforts nationwide by providing new, more accurate models for calculating and…

For many of us, dogs are our best friends. But have you wondered what would happen to your dog if we suddenly disappeared? Can domestic dogs make do without people?

A trio of food scientists at Amano Enzyme Inc. Innovation Center, in Japan, has found that adding a protein-glutaminase treatment to plant-based meat alternatives can make the resulting product juicier. In their study, reported in PLOS ONE, Kiyota SakaiI,…

A new study published in The Lancet Microbe has found that the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes between different bacteria is considerably more widespread than previously thought. The study is titled "Interphylum dissemination of NDM-5-positive plasmids…

Rising global temperatures could lead to an increase in the nesting range of green turtles in the Mediterranean Sea, according to a modeling study published in Scientific Reports. Under the worst-case climate scenario, the nesting range could increase by over…