A newly discovered snake species, Hibernophis breithaupti, provides rare insight into the social behavior of snakes and fills some gaps in our knowledge of the evolution of boas, or boidae. The quartet of fossilized snakes discovered in western Wyoming da

Effective pain relief without the debilitating side effects of traditional opioids is closer to becoming a reality thanks to a study by an all-RIKEN team into the structure and dynamics of a drug-bound opioid receptor.

Households caught and consumed a far more diverse array of fish than they sold at market, which has important implications for how loss of biodiversity might affect people's nutrition, especially for those with lower incomes. A Cornell study is one of th

New research from Rice University scientists is shedding light on how viruses ensure their survival by precisely timing the release of new viruses. The discovery offers a new theoretical framework for understanding these dynamic biological phenomena.

Brown University biologists who set out to better understand the effects of climate change on plant species in tropical mountain regions found that even small variations in temperature and moisture can have massive impacts, threatening not only plants tha

Okinawa's mangrove forests are home to many animal species, from crabs to kingfishers; they host a diverse ecosystem teeming with life. Among the quirkier residents living there is "Minami-Tobihaze"—the barred mudskipper.

Creating fertilizers from organic waste can help reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and promote sustainable production. One way of doing this is through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), which converts biomass into biocrude oil through a high-temperatu

A multitude of new genomic sequence data fills major gaps in the fruit fly tree of life, Bernard Kim from Stanford University, US, and colleagues report in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, publishing July 18.

By harnessing the power of machine learning, researchers have constructed a framework for analyzing what factors most significantly contribute to a species' genetic diversity.

The negative impact of human activity on Earth doesn't just affect our planet's atmosphere—it goes much deeper, into its soils. For instance, excessive application of manure or sewage sludge can increase heavy metal concentrations in agricultural land w

A new study shows that a native potato species was brought to southern Utah by Indigenous people in the distant past, making it a candidate for the only culturally significant plant species to have been domesticated in the southwestern U.S.

Imagine a small fruit that tastes like a cross between a tomato and a pineapple, wrapped in its own natural paper lantern. That's the groundcherry (Physalis grisea)—a little-known relative of tomatoes that's been quietly growing in gardens and small far