Plants convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis; however, most crops on the planet are plagued by a photosynthetic glitch, and to deal with it, evolved an energy-expensive process called photorespiration that drastically ...
Biotechnology
Jan 3, 2019
44
25878
Move over, trap-jaw ants and mantis shrimp: There's a faster appendage in town. According to a new study, the Dracula ant, Mystrium camillae, can snap its mandibles at speeds of up to 90 meters per second (more than 200 mph), ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 11, 2018
1
549
The insects known as Hemiptera are not a particularly glamorous bunch. This group includes stink bugs, bed bugs, litter bugs, scale insects and aphids. Their closest relatives are thrips, bark lice and parasitic lice. But ...
Evolution
Nov 26, 2018
0
266
A previously unappreciated interaction in the genome turns out to have possibly been one of the driving forces in the emergence of advanced life, billions of years ago.
Evolution
Nov 19, 2018
1
203
Somatic stem cells are microscopic workhorses, constantly regenerating cells throughout the body: skin and the lining of the intestine, for example. And to University of Illinois neuroscientists, they represent untapped potential.
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 17, 2018
4
1544
A study of 3,588 square kilometers of privately owned land in central Kenya offers evidence that humans and their livestock can, in the right circumstances, share territory with zebras, giraffes, elephants and other wild ...
Environment
Oct 15, 2018
0
69
Topological insulators (TIs) host exotic physics that could shed new light on the fundamental laws of nature. What's more, the unusual properties of TIs hold tremendous promise for technological applications, including in ...
Quantum Physics
Oct 11, 2018
0
67
Wind and solar farms are known to have local effects on heat, humidity and other factors that may be beneficial—or detrimental—to the regions in which they are situated. A new climate-modeling study finds that a massive ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 6, 2018
44
1270
A recent flood of research scholarship on electronic transport in low-dimensional (2-D or 1D) materials like graphene or carbon nanotubes reflects the tremendous potential of these materials to unveil a deeper understanding ...
General Physics
Aug 21, 2018
1
173
What can scientists learn about human neurodegenerative disease from a major soybean pest? It's not a trick question; the answer lies in the soybean cyst nematode, one of two classes of microscopic roundworms known to lose ...
Biotechnology
Aug 16, 2018
1
83
