Environment

Settlements in northern Arabia were in a transitional stage of urbanization during the third to second millennium BCE, according to a new study. Settlements in northern Arabia were in a transitional stage of urbanization during the third to second millennium BCE, according to a study published October 30, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE

Large herbivores like bison or elk have continuously lived in the Yellowstone National Park region for about 2,300 years, according to a new analysis of chemicals preserved in lake sediments. Large herbivores like bison or elk have continuously lived in the Yellowstone National Park region for about 2,300 years according to a new analysis of

A new study sheds light on how the blood-borne parasite that causes African sleeping sickness in humans and related diseases in cattle and other animals establishes long-term infections in hosts. Using a mouse model, the researchers showed that Trypanosoma brucei essentially plays a game of hide-and-seek by setting up shop in its hosts' tissues, allowing

A team has clarified how in plants the boric acid channels, the conduits for the necessary element boron, are transported to the plasma membrane. Botanists have come to understand the channels and transporters involved in the uptake and transport of nutrients, yet how are they positioned where they need to be? For example, plants need

A new study finds that up to 215 million hectares of land (an area larger than Mexico) in humid tropical regions around the world has the potential to naturally regrow. That much forest could store 23.4 gigatons of carbon over 30 years and also have a significant impact on concerns like biodiversity loss and water

Paleobiologists have found that the sinuses of ocean dwelling relatives of modern-day crocodiles prevented them from evolving into deep divers like whales and dolphins. An international team of paleobiologists have found that the sinuses of ocean dwelling relatives of modern-day crocodiles prevented them from evolving into deep divers like whales and dolphins. A new paper

A groundbreaking, nine-year study has revealed that elephants approaching small-scale farms in Kenya avoid beehive fences housing live honey bees up to 86% of the time during peak crop seasons, helping to reduce human-elephant conflict for local farmers and boost income. The study, published in the Journal Conservation Science and Practice, offers promising insights into

Anecdotes abound of wildlife behaving 'drunk' after eating fermented fruits, but despite this, nonhuman consumption of ethanol has been assumed to be rare and accidental. Ecologists now challenge this assumption. They argue that since ethanol is naturally present in nearly every ecosystem, it is likely consumed on a regular basis by most fruit- and nectar-eating

Energy-making chloroplasts from algae have been inserted into hamster cells, enabling the cells to photosynthesize light, according to new research in Japan. It was previously thought that combining chloroplasts (chlorophyll containing structures in the cells of plants and algae) with animal cells was not possible, and that the chloroplasts would not survive or function. However

Geneticists have deciphered the prehistory of aurochs -- the animals that were the focus of some of the most iconic early human art -- by analyzing 38 genomes harvested from bones dating across 50 millennia and stretching from Siberia to Britain. The aurochs roamed in Europe, Asia and Africa for hundreds of thousands of years.

More and more regions around the globe combine economic growth with reducing carbon emissions, researchers found. Their study highlights the vital role of national climate actions in decoupling economic growth from CO2 emissions. The analysis of data from 1,500 regions over the past 30 years showed that 30 percent have managed to lower their carbon

Researchers have developed an electrochemical reactor that has the potential to drastically reduce energy consumption and cost for direct air capture. Rice University researchers have developed an electrochemical reactor that has the potential to drastically reduce energy consumption for direct air capture, the removal of carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. The new reactor design