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An image illustrating how the Cas9 protein rearranges itself (indicated by the arrow) to enable the ‘scissoring’ action for cutting DNA. Image credit: Zhu et al, doi: 10.1038/s41594-019-0258-2.

Researchers Capture High-Resolution Images of Active Cas9 Enzyme

Jul 11, 2019 by News Staff

Using a technique called cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), a team of scientists from the United States and Canada has captured atomic-level, 3D...

Snowball, a male sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita eleonora). Image credit: Patel et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.03.038.

Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo Knows 14 Dance Moves, Study Reveals

Jul 9, 2019 by News Staff

Snowball is a male sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita eleonora). In 2007, he garnered YouTube fame for his uncanny ability to dance — including...

The yellow-spotted barbet (Buccanodon duchaillui). Image credit: Romain Risso / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Two New Bird Species Discovered in West Africa

Jul 9, 2019 by Natali Anderson

An international team of ornithologists has identified two new, cryptic species of birds — a long-tailed cuckoo and a barbet — living in West...

Yu et al report a method to translate amino acid sequences into audible sound, use the representation in the musical space to train a neural network, and then apply it to generate protein designs using artificial intelligence. Image credit: Yu et al, doi: 10.1021/acsnano.9b02180.

Researchers Translate Proteins into Musical Compositions, and Back

Jul 8, 2019 by News Staff

A team of scientists at MIT has developed a system for converting protein sequences into audible sound that resembles musical passages. Then, reversing...

World’s Largest Macroalgal Bloom Discovered

Jul 5, 2019 by News Staff

Free-floating mats of brown macroalgae called Sargassum in the center of the North Atlantic were first reported by Christopher Columbus in the 15th century...

According to Taiz et al, plants don’t think, they grow. Image credit: Johannes Plenio.

Plants Neither Possess Nor Require Consciousness, Biologists Say

Jul 5, 2019 by News Staff

In a review paper published this week in the journal Trends in Plant Science, University of California, Santa Cruz’s Professor Lincoln Taiz and colleagues...

This scanning electron microscopic (SEM) image depicts a close up of Aspergillus sp. fungal fruiting body. This reproductive structure is composed of a septate filament known as a conidiophore, which is topped by chains of conidiospores. Image credit: Janice Haney Carr & Robert Simmons, CDC.

Fungal Spores Can Withstand High Doses of Cosmic Radiation, Microbiologists Find

Jul 4, 2019 by News Staff

According to new research, spores of the fungus Aspergillus niger are able to withstand higher doses of radiation than previously thought, which can have...

An adult female bonobo retrieving water lillies (Nymphea lotus) from a back water. Image credit: Zana Clay, LuiKotale Bonobo Project.

Bonobos Consume Iodine-Rich Aquatic Plants, Study Says

Jul 3, 2019 by News Staff

Scientists have for the first time observed wild bonobos (Pan paniscus), a hominoid species endemic to the central Congo basin, searching for and eating...

Scheiman et al found Veillonella bacteria in the microbiome of elite athletes. Image credit: Composita.

Researchers Find Performance-Enhancing Bacteria in Gut Microbiome of Marathon Runners

Jul 3, 2019 by News Staff

In a study published online in the journal Nature Medicine, an international team of researchers identified a link between members of the bacterial genus...

Hospital insects present a potential to contribute to persistence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant pathogenic bacteria in the hospital environment. Image credit: Virvoreanu Laurentiu.

Hospital Insects Harbor Potentially Harmful Bacteria, Finds New Study

Jun 28, 2019 by News Staff

In a new study published this month in the Journal of Medical Entomology, researchers from Aston University collected and analyzed 19,937 flying insects...

A giant squid, at least 10-12 feet in length, approaches the Medusa’s e-jelly lure before realizing the e-jelly is not food and retreating. Image credit: Edie Widder & Nathan Robinson.

Elusive Giant Squid Caught on Video for First Time in U.S. Waters

Jun 25, 2019 by News Staff

On June 19, 2019, marine biologists on the Journey into Midnight research mission captured footage of the living giant squid Architeuthis dux about 100...

A group of gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) on sands at Stiffkey, Norfolk, UK. Image credit: Duncan Harris / CC BY 2.0.

Study: Gray Seals Can Copy Human Speech and Songs

Jun 25, 2019 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Current Biology, gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) can copy human speech and songs using the same sound...

The North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica). Image credit: NOAA.

Researchers Record Songs of North Pacific Right Whale for First Time

Jun 21, 2019 by News Staff

The North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) is a very large, thickset baleen whale species that is extremely rare and endangered. It ranges from...

Marine Biologists Identify First Narwhal-Beluga Hybrid

Jun 21, 2019 by News Staff

Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) and beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are medium-sized toothed whales and the sole representatives of the Monodontidae...

Rock-boring and rock-ingesting Lithoredo abatanica shipworms live in carbonate limestone bedrock in the Abatan River on the Philippine Island of Bohol. Image credit: Dan Distel.

Rock-Eating Shipworm Discovered in Philippines

Jun 20, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international research team led by Northeastern University marine biologists has discovered a new genus and species of shipworm burrowing into the bedrock...

Mycobacterium vaccae. Image credit: Christopher Lowry, University of Colorado, Boulder.

Novel Anti-Inflammatory Molecule Isolated from Soil-Dwelling Bacterium

Jun 19, 2019 by News Staff

About three decades after scientists coined the term ‘hygiene hypothesis’ to suggest that increased exposure to microorganisms could benefit health,...

Choanocyte-derived archaeocytes are capable of generating new choanocyte chambers (dotted line). Scale bar - 10 μm. Image credit: Sogabe et al, doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1290-4.

First Multicellular Organisms Were Collections of Stem Cell-Like Cells, Research Suggests

Jun 19, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the University of Queensland and the University of Alabama has found that the first multicellular organisms probably weren’t...

Perry et al provide evidence for stimulation of a glucocorticoid-AgRP neuron axis that promotes food intake and suggest that AgRP neurons may be an attractive therapeutic target to suppress hyperphagia under conditions of leptin deficiency or glucocorticoid excess including Cushing’s disease. Image credit: N.R. Voss / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Study Provides New Insights into Biology of ‘Satiety Hormone’ Leptin

Jun 18, 2019 by News Staff

Leptin, a hormone secreted by fat cells, informs the brain about sufficiency of fuel stores. When insufficient, leptin levels fall, triggering increases...

Kaminski et al show that, in only 33,000 years, domestication transformed the facial muscle anatomy of dogs specifically for facial communication with humans; dogs with expressive eyebrows had a selection advantage and ‘puppy dog eyes’ are the result of selection based on humans’ preferences. Image credit: JacLou DL.

Dogs Evolved New Muscles around Eyes to Better Communicate with Humans, Study Says

Jun 18, 2019 by News Staff

Domestication shaped wolves (Canis lupus) into dogs (Canis familiaris) and transformed both their behavior and their anatomy. A new study, published in...