Potatoes are a staple food for over 1.3 billion people. But despite their importance for global food security, breeding successes have been modest. Some of the most popular potato cultivars were bred many decades ago. The reason for this limited success i

A recently published paper reveals that soil scratching by gorillas in Congo's Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park is a foraging strategy to access a species of deer truffle, identified as Elaphomyces labyrinthinus, and not insects, as long assumed.

Climate change may significantly impact arsenic levels in paddy rice, a staple food for millions across Asia, reveals a new study from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The research shows that increased temperatures above 2°C, couple

Wherever there's dirt there's bound to be ants, but one particular group is so adept at blending in with the ground that they hold the name "dirt ant" (Basiceros) all to themselves.

Plants know how to defend themselves against pathogenic microorganisms. In turn, pathogens have sensors to detect such defense mechanisms. What happens when plant and pathogen are locked in that duel?

Newly published research from UNC Greensboro biology professor Dr. Bryan McLean and colleagues shows that the masked shrew, a small, mole-like mammal found in the Appalachian Mountains, shrinks its body and braincase to conserve energy during winter month

Inside cells, two important enzymes act like small central regulatory hubs: dipeptidyl peptidase 8 and 9—DPP8/9 for short. Among other things, they regulate inflammatory reactions and influence whether a cell survives or dies. These mechanisms are especia

There are two species of streamertail hummingbirds on the island of Jamaica, West Indies—one with red-billed males (Trochilus polytmus) and the other with black-billed males (T. scitulus). This is a puzzling situation, as many evolutionary biologists have

Ubiquinone, a metabolite critical to generating energy in cells, has long been thought to be the only mitochondrial electron transport chain carrier in mammals. Although other electron transporters have been identified in bacteria, nematodes and other org

A new study conducted by animal behavior and mammalian cognition experts at the Universities of Lincoln and Sussex, and Jean Monnet University, reveals that dogs may be far better at understanding human speech than previously understood.

A new study from Umeå University has revealed that trees' circadian clocks guide their growth and the timing of seasonal events like the appearance of leaves in spring. The researchers investigated the growth of genetically modified poplars in greenhouse

Researchers at Pitt have produced the most detailed image to date of a bacteriophage–phage for short–that has allowed them to see for the first time the structural makeup of the part of the phage that directly attaches to its target Mycobacterium cell.