Environment

Researchers have proposed that some wild plant species possess certain attributes which make them more suitable for human cultivation than others. Researchers at the University of Southampton have proposed that some wild plant species possess certain attributes which make them more suitable for human cultivation than others. The scientists, investigating the origins of domesticated plants

A new study of hemp microbes may lead to more sustainable farming methods, using nature to boost the growth of the plant which has become increasingly popular for its versatile uses: CBD-rich varieties are in high demand for pharmaceutical products, while fiber-rich varieties are valued for industrial applications like textiles. Hemp has become increasingly popular

Hepatitis E, a potentially serious viral liver disease, is transmitted through contaminated water. The risk is particularly high in populations with limited access to safe water and sanitation. In South Sudan, outbreaks have regularly ravaged camps for internally displaced persons and their host populations. Although a vaccine has been available since 2011, its 3-dose regimen

Life on the Great Barrier Reef is undergoing big changes in the face of climate change and other human-caused pressures, a new study reveals. From food security to controlling seaweed and even making sand for beaches, reef fish are a hugely important part of marine ecosystems providing a range of benefits to humans and coral

Researchers have uncovered new insights into the evolution of bird behavior, revealing why certain mating systems persist while others disappear over time. Researchers at Rice University have uncovered new insights into the evolution of bird behavior, revealing why certain mating systems persist while others disappear over time. In a recent paper published in the journal

Researchers have discovered what may be the world's oldest three-dimensional map, located within a quartzitic sandstone megaclast in the Paris Basin. Researchers have discovered what may be the world's oldest three-dimensional map, located within a quartzitic sandstone megaclast in the Paris Basin. The Ségognole 3 rock shelter, known since the 1980s for its artistic engravings

The invasive emerald ash borer, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was first found in the United States in southeast Michigan in 2002. In the decades since, the wood-boring beetle has spread east and west across the U.S. and Canada, killing tens of millions of ash trees, causing one of the costliest forest insect

The use of plastic has skyrocketed over the past decade. Recent statistics reveal that in 2021, each person in the European Union (EU) generated an average of 36 kg of plastic packaging waste. "Microplastic particles are currently found almost everywhere -- in water, food, fish, and even breast milk," says Artūras Torkelis, a PhD student

Scientists have adapted a sensing platform to detect and even measure chemicals at low enough concentrations to have use outside the lab. The system, which is 10 times more sensitive than previous sensors built by the team, opens the door for the system to be applied to disease detection and monitoring in the human body

Bats depend on open bodies of water such as small ponds and lakes for foraging and drinking. Access to water is particularly important for survival in the increasingly hot and dry summers caused by climate change, the time when female bats are pregnant and rear their young. A scientific team has now shown that access

An international team of scientists has uncovered a fascinating piece of the evolutionary puzzle: how the ventral nerve cord, a key component of the central nervous system, evolved in ecdysozoan animals, a group that includes insects, nematodes, and priapulid worms. Their findings provide valuable insights into the origins of these structures in the basal Cambrian

Scientists have mapped the amount of water stored beneath volcanic rocks at the crest of the central Oregon Cascades and found an aquifer many times larger than previously estimated -- at least 81 cubic kilometers. The finding has implications for the way scientists and policymakers think about water in the region -- an increasingly urgent