Candida albicans is a fungus that occurs naturally in the digestive tract of most people. However, the fungus is not always harmless. It can cause mild to severe infections throughout the body. A toxin, candidalysin, is involved in these infections. It ap

In a new study published in the journal Papers in Palaeontology, an international team of scientists led by paleobiologist Julia Türtscher from the University of Vienna has explored the puzzling world of rays that lived 150 million years ago and

In order for plants to grow, they absorb water and nutrients through their roots. In doing so, they rely on tiny helpers: bacteria and fungi in particular are found in a thin layer around the roots. These microbes also ward off organisms that are harmful

Plant leaves need a large surface area to capture sunlight for photosynthesis. Dr. Emanuele Scacchi and Professor Marja Timmermans from the Center for Plant Molecular Biology at the University of Tübingen, together with an international team, have now dis

A gene associated with courtship behavior in fruit flies does not operate the same way in two different fruit fly species, a new study finds. The work demonstrates that conserved genes—the same genes found across species—do not necessarily have the same f

Scientists have uncovered the fossilized skull of a 270-million-year-old ancient amphibian ancestor in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. In a paper published today, March 21, in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean

What maintains stability within an ecosystem and prevents a single best competitor from displacing other species from a community? Does ecosystem stability depend upon the presence of a wide variety of species, as early ecologists believed, or does divers

Blood vessels engineered from stem cells could help solve several research and clinical problems, from potentially providing a more comprehensive platform to screen if drug candidates can cross from the blood stream into the brain to developing lab-grown

A researcher from The University of Queensland has discovered a remarkable new genus of fluffy longhorn beetle while camping within a rainforest in the Gold Coast hinterland.

When you are reading this article, there are multiple hormones working diligently inside your body to stabilize your health status. Just as in human beings, it is impossible for plants to grow and reproduce without being regulated by phytohormones. One of

Tropical Heliconius butterflies are well known for the bright color patterns on their wings. These striking color patterns not only scare off predators—the butterflies are poisonous and are distasteful to birds—but are also important signals during mate s

Many important medicines, such as antibiotics and anticancer drugs, are derived from natural products of bacteria. The enzyme complexes that produce these active ingredients have a modular design that makes them ideal tools for synthetic biology. By explo