Why do some species, including humans and killer whales, stop reproducing long before the end of their lives? A new study from Exeter University suggests that older females may gain adaptive advantages by helping to raise their daughters’ calves instead of raising their own.
Researchers from Penn State have found that a class of chemicals formerly thought to be inert may actually be accelerating honeybee mortality.
Deceptively flimsy, sea sponges may just be the key to stronger and more effective material design. Michael Monn and Haneesh Kesari investigated the structure properties of the rod-like spicules that give the sponges their shape and found that their tapered shape makes them 33% less likely to buckle under pressure.
Knots have proven useful since the dawn of mankind. Drawing on this as inspiration, Professor David A. Leigh, along with his team at the University of Manchester’s School of Chemistry, synthesized the most complex chemical knot yet, and believe that it holds many promising applications.
It was once thought fruit flies can process more alcohol than their sister species because of a difference in their genome. Now, a collaboration between evolutionary and molecular biologists is challenging this hypothesis by putting ancient genes in modern fruit flies
As a possible solution to exploding batteries, the Yicui lab at Stanford has developed a new microfiber safety mechanism contained inside the battery.
In Black Hole Blues, Janna Levin, eminent astrophysicist, describes the decades-long project to detect gravitational waves and prove Einstein’s theories of general relativity.
Yale researchers are using fractals to decode the signals planets leave in their star’s light. The answer to life, the universe, and everything? Might well be hidden in the noise.
Tabetha’s star uses the power of citizen science to solve new astronomical mysteries.
Dr. Bo Chen and his team of researchers at Yale University have figured out a way to activate the stem cell ability of MGs, a special group of glial cells in the retina. Their discovery could someday help restore eyesight to patients whose retinas have been damaged by disease.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are an ever-increasing global health concern, but one team of scientists from Melbourne have brought us closer to a solution with tiny, star-shaped polymers that may prove more effective at killing bacteria than any antibiotic drug ever has.
A marine study at the University of Oxford illuminates the extent of plastic pollution in our oceans by probing deep-sea organisms instead of organisms from more-commonly-studied aquatic environments.