Researchers have developed a new mechanical model that simulates how whiskers bend within a follicle in response to an external force, paving the way toward better understanding of how whiskers contribute to mammals' sense of touch.

American farmers are using smaller amounts of better targeted pesticides, but these are harming pollinators, aquatic insects and some plants far more than decades ago, a new study finds.

We know your cat's whiskers are handsome—but you can't even see the cool part.

A new, detailed model of the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein reveals previously unknown vulnerabilities that could inform development of vaccines. Mateusz Sikora of the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt, Germany, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Computational Biology.

Six genetic variants add up to determine the risk of several blood cancers in pre-disposed dog breeds, according to a study by Benoît Hédan at the University of Rennes and colleagues, publishing April 8th in the open-access journal PLOS Genetics. The results confirm a known tumour-suppressor gene as a risk factor for histiocytic sarcoma—a rare and aggressive blood cancer that affects both dogs and humans—as well as identifying four new genetic loci associated with the disease.

Despite the fact that our planet is mostly ocean and human maritime activity is more intense than it has ever been, we know remarkably little about the state of the ocean's biodiversity—the variety and balance of species that support healthy and productive ecosystems. And it's no surprise—marine biodiversity is complex, human impacts are uneven, and species respond differently to different stressors.

Plant inducible defense starts with the recognition of microbes, which leads to the activation of a complex set of cellular responses. There are many ways to recognize a microbe, and recognition of microbial features by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) outside the cell was long thought to activate the first line of defense: Pattern Triggered Immunity, or PTI. To avoid these defense responses, microbes of all kinds evolved the ability to deliver effector molecules to the plant cell, either directly into the cytoplasm or into the area just outside the cell, where they are taken up into the cytoplasm. Response to these effector molecules was thought to be mediated exclusively by intracellular nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) which induce Effector Triggered Immunity, or ETI. These two signaling pathways are often thought of as two distinct branches of the plant immune response, with each contributing differently to overall immunity. However, the dichotomy between PTI and ETI has become blurred due to recent discoveries, indicating that responses to PRR receptor signaling and NLR signaling extensively overlap.

A possible explanation for why many cancer drugs that kill tumor cells in mouse models won't work in human trials has been found.

A new study shows that the similarly smooth, nearly hairless skin of whales and hippopotamuses evolved independently. The work suggests that their last common ancestor was likely a land-dwelling mammal, uprooting current thinking that the skin came fine-tuned for life in the water from a shared amphibious ancestor.

Researchers have demonstrated the success of a vaccine against Zika virus. The vaccine was generated using a novel platform technology.

Many wildlife species are threatened by shrinking habitat. But according to new research, the potential range of African elephants could be more than five times larger than its current extent.

A new study shows that the similarly smooth, nearly hairless skin of whales and hippopotamuses evolved independently. The work suggests that their last common ancestor was likely a land-dwelling mammal, uprooting current thinking that the skin came fine-tuned for life in the water from a shared amphibious ancestor. The study is published today in the journal Current Biology and was led by researchers at the American Museum of Natural History; University of California, Irvine; University of California, Riverside; Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics; and the LOEWE-Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (Germany).

The risk is low that scientists could pass coronavirus to North American bats during winter research, according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey. Scientists find the overall risk to be 1 in 1,000 if no protective measures are taken, and the risk falls lower, to 1 in 3,333 or less, with proper use of personal protective equipment or if scientists test negative for COVID-19 before beginning research.

The number of bears in the Pyrenees mountains separating France and Spain rose to 64 last year, including 16 cubs, animal rights activists said Thursday, heralding the strong revival of a population that had been threatened with extinction.

You've probably heard that fish have a three-second memory, or that they're incapable of feeling pain. Neither of these statements is true, but it's telling that these misconceptions don't crop up for other vertebrates.

Contrary to popular belief, the number of Egyptian vultures dying in Eastern Europe and the Middle East is greater than in sub-Saharan Africa; and half of these disappear due to threats of human origin: electrocution, collision with energy infrastructures, direct persecution or poisoning. This is shown in an article published in the Journal of Animal Ecology with the participation of the Cavanilles Institute of the University of Valencia.

Whether baked as chips into a cookie, melted into a sweet warm drink or molded into the shape of a smiling bunny, chocolate is one of the world's most universally consumed foods.

The resurgence in humpback whale populations over the past five decades is hailed as one of the great success stories of global conservation. And right now, the federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment is considering removing the species from Australia's threatened list.

An international research team has investigated why dolphins and whales perform record-breaking dives to several kilometers deep. For the first time they were able to match hunting behavior to the prey present in the hunting zones. The study of researchers from the Netherlands and Germany is now published in the scientific journal Science Advances.

Sugars make up about 95% of honey, explaining how the substance became synonymous with sweetness and a food staple of bee colonies, which repeatedly digest and regurgitate flower nectar to produce it.

New research, led by scientists at the University of Nottingham, suggests that the environment in which men live may affect their reproductive health.

Canada's health agency announced Wednesday restrictions on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides in agriculture to protect aquatic insects, backtracking on a proposed outright ban prompted by a massive bee die-off.

With wavy horns and a sturdy build, the Istrian goat stands proudly on Croatia's national flag. But in the pastures where the white-furred animal hails from, the breed is almost nowhere to be seen.

In part two of The Age of Extinction takeover of Science Weekly, Patrick Greenfield and Phoebe Weston explore a relatively new and controversial technology called DNA barcoding that is helping scientists to differentiate between species – including fungi, which we heard about in part one. As the catastrophic loss of biodiversity around the world continues, could DNA barcoding at least allow us to accurately record the species that are perishing? Continue reading...