Doctors like to remind patients not to monkey around with their health, suggesting that a good diet and regular exercise improve longevity. A new study on health in chimpanzees, which are the closest species to humans genetically, showed the benefits in what they eat and how they can travel and climb. When chimpanzees have a…

Bioengineers have redesigned how harmless E. coli bacteria »talk» to each other. The new genetic circuit could become a useful new tool for synthetic biologists who, as a field, are looking for ways to better control the bacteria they engineer to perform all sorts of tasks, including drug delivery, bioproduction of valuable compounds, and environmental…

Researchers now report that kale and broccoli microgreens grown in either windowsills or under commercial growing conditions are rich in phytonutrients, though the levels of some compounds varied considerably between the two environments. As indoor gardening has taken off in recent years, microgreens have added a pop of color to the windowsills of many homes.…

By using two different transparent soil substitutes, scientists have shown that soil bacteria rely on fungi to help them survive dry periods, says a new study. The findings indicate that these soil-like substrates may enable researchers to observe the complex interactions of the myriad microscopic creatures that live in soil. This ability is crucial to…

Geologists know well how rock towers and arches shimmy, twist and sway in response to far-off earthquakes, wind and even ocean waves. Their latest research compiles a first-of-its-kind dataset to show that the dynamic properties, i.e. the frequencies at which the rocks vibrate and the ways they deform during that vibration, can be largely predicted…

Hyenas are frequently vilified and often feared. Hemingway once described the hyena as a stinking, foul devourer of the dead, with jaws that crack the bones the lion leaves. But a new study concludes that spotted hyena scavenging provides significant public health and economic benefits to the African cities they roam. In a study conducted…

The venomous krait that caused the death of famous herpetologist Joseph B. Slowinski turns out to be new to science, according to recent research. The new species, Bungarus suzhenae, was named after the character Bai Su Zhen from the Chinese myth the Legend of White Snake. The new krait species, found in Southwestern China and…

How do canopy insects react to the sudden disappearance of their host tree? A study in the floodplain forests along the river Elbe shows surprising results. This also affects insects and other animals in the canopy, which harbour a large proportion of biodiversity and perform many functions without which no forest can exist. In response…

Lungs and limbs have been thought of as key innovations that came with the vertebrate transition from water to land. But in fact, the genetic basis of air-breathing and limb movement was already established in our fish ancestor 50 million years earlier, according to a recent genome mapping of primitive fish. The new study changes…

A new study looking at the presence of pharmaceuticals in the world’s rivers found concentrations at potentially toxic levels in more than a quarter of the locations studied. The new study looked at 258 rivers across the globe, including the Thames in London and the Amazon in Brazil, to measure the presence of 61 pharmaceuticals,…