Evolutionary leap from fins to legs was surprisingly simple
The authors found that fish and early tetrapods developed similar levels of anatomical diversity within their fins and limbs, despite the fact that their skeletons were constructed i...
ESA congratulations on gravitational wave discovery
The discovery was announced today by scientists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration. LISA Pathfinder in space “This is tremendous news f...
100% Renewable Energy: Fact Or Fantasy?
Three big things: Only build wind, solar, or hydro power plants after 2020 Reduce energy use compared to business as usual by 40% Electrify everything It’s the last that may be the...
Gravitational waves: 6 cosmic questions they can tackle
The announcement vindicates Albert Einstein’s prediction of gravitational waves, which he made almost exactly 100 years ago1 as part of his general theory of relativity — but it also...
The evolution of tyrannosaurs
But there were actually a lot of other dinosaurs similar to T. rex, together forming a group known as tyrannosauroids. Forming hypotheses of relationships like this forms the basis f...
Shedding light on the evolution of whale vision
Researchers from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto used a combination of statistical and experimental methods to determine how the gene ...
New strategies, tools offered for genome editing: Bioengineer Gang Bao and team explore CRISPR-Cas9 alternatives
CRISPR-Cas9, a naturally occurring defense system in bacteria, allows researchers to design a short sequence of RNA called guide RNA that targets a specific section of genetic code (...
Neanderthal DNA has subtle but significant impact on human traits
Our main finding is that Neanderthal DNA does influence clinical traits in modern humans: We discovered associations between Neanderthal DNA and a wide range of traits, including imm...
EU decision process hinders use of genetically modified trees
The researchers state that Europe is lagging behind in worldwide GM developments and call for a more scientifically substantiated decision process. Politicized decision process The ...
World Wetlands Day
Wetlands are land areas that are permanently or seasonally saturated with water. They play an important role in the local environment and associated plant and animal life. On 2 Febru...
Two dynamos drive Jupiter’s magnetic field
But how does the dynamo inside of Jupiter work? Thus, no computation correctly reproduced the strength and the form of the magnetic field as determined by space probes. The main part...
The phylogeny and evolutionary history of tyrannosauroid dinosaurs
Differences between parsimony and Bayesian topologies In comparing our parsimony and Bayesian phylogenies, the most striking finding is that the two methods produce extremely simila...
Plants can ‘switch off’ virus DNA
Therefore antiviral RNAi defence to these viruses has to happen somewhat different. TYLCV is one of the most economically important plant viruses in the world; for this virus a numbe...
Pharmaceutical residues increasingly disrupt aquatic life: A hidden global change
Residues of medicines in water can kill aquatic animals and play havoc with their food web and reproductive cycle. An international team of researchers led by the Netherlands Institu...
New tool for efficiently validating the accuracy of CRISPR-Cas9 reactions
First author Daesik Kim explains that Digenome-seq differs from other cell-based methods in that it detects DNA cleavages in vitro, rather than in cells, using cell-free genomic DNA....
New research replicates a folding human brain in 3-D
This simple evolutionary innovation, with iterations and variations, allows for a large cortex to be packed into a small volume, and is likely the dominant cause behind brain folding...
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope primary mirror fully assembled
The 18th and final primary mirror segment is installed on what will be the biggest and most powerful space telescope ever launched. The final mirror installation Wednesday at NASA’s ...
Modelling how the brain makes complex decisions
The mathematical model, developed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, is the first biologically realistic account of the process, and is able to predict not only behavio...
Inside Rosetta’s comet
Pätzold’s team made their discovery by using the Radio Science Experiment (RSI) to study the way the Rosetta orbiter is pulled by the gravity of the comet, which is generated by its ...
How lizards regenerate their tails: Researchers discover genetic ‘recipe’
Researchers have discovered the genetic ‘recipe’ as to how this happens. Other animals, such as salamanders, frog tadpoles and fish, can also regenerate their tails, with growth most...
Forest losses increase local temperatures
These effects are most obvious in arid zones, followed by temperate, tropical and boreal zones. Forests affect climate in two ways: by absorbing carbon dioxide and storing large carb...
For the first time scientists map elevation changes of Greenlandic and Antarctic glaciers
This is 500,000 square kilometres more than any previous elevation model from altimetry, says lead-author Dr. Veit Helm, glaciologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven. ...
Celebrating 100 years of crystallography
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of a revolutionary technique that underpins much of modern science, Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) magazine last week released a spec...
What is dark energy?
One way to do this is to measure weak lensing, an effect where the light from distant galaxies is distorted by matter on its way to us, which unveils the scaffolding of matter in the...
US Forest Service releases findings on the effects of drought for forests and rangelands
The U.S. Forest Service today released a new report, Effects of Drought on Forests and Rangelands in the United States: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis, that provides a national as...