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Backward motion is easier to judge at walking speed

When we walk forward, the scene ahead spreads outward from a central point. Moving backward produces the opposite pattern, with the scene appearing to contract inward. These patterns, known as optic flow, help us judge our ...

Could ecological roles offer clues to how life began?

Producers, consumers, and decomposers play different roles in today's ecosystems. Thinking about these familiar roles led me to a question: Could their differences partly reflect the different physical and chemical environments ...

Open-source workflow makes spatial proteomics easier to use

Fabian Coscia and his team have published in Nature Methods an open-source workflow that makes Deep Visual Proteomics easier to use, adapt and scale. OpenDVP enables scientists to spatially map thousands of proteins inside ...

How rice coordinates signals to partner with beneficial soil fungi

Most plants do not gather nutrients from the soil entirely on their own. Many form partnerships with microscopic fungi that grow inside their roots and extend into the surrounding soil. These partnerships, known as arbuscular ...

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Biotechnology
Light-based method could offer first way to detect hypothetical 'mirror life'
Cell & Microbiology
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Molecular & Computational biology
Electronic nose puts police detection dogs to the test
Cell & Microbiology
Scientists discover migration-mediated mechanism enabling bacteria-virus coexistence
Cell & Microbiology
Scientists reveal how deadly Andes hantavirus attaches to human cells
Evolution
More current with less calcium: Computational models help solve longstanding ion channel evolution mystery
Cell & Microbiology
Chromosome anchors form hollow shells before cell division, imaging reveals
Biotechnology
Two-in-one tool tracks viral RNA inside live infected cells in real time
Cell & Microbiology
Bending a liquid: Liquid membranes flex 100 times more easily than cell membranes
Plants & Animals
Measuring regrowth: Erk gradients guide zebrafish fins back to their original size after injury
Cell & Microbiology
Unraveling DNA repair: How cells protect their genetic blueprint
Biotechnology
'Raman barcodes' distinguish 20 SARS-CoV-2 variants by their RNA architecture
Molecular & Computational biology
Keeping jumping genes in place: New role for protein complex discovered
Cell & Microbiology
Added receptor helps CAR T cells stay in bone marrow in cancer mouse models
Plants & Animals
Rolling without wheels: How dwarf reedsnakes coordinate their bodies for high-speed escapes
Evolution
Oldest animals on Earth found to share a common wormlike ancestor
Evolution
Ancient Hox code reveals the developmental roots of vertebrate hind fins and limbs
Cell & Microbiology
How enzymes locally block cell wall repair, allowing cells to fuse in an irreversible manner
Cell & Microbiology
How bacteria survive in a world full of killer bacteriophages
Biotechnology
Researchers unlock new way to map molecular structure on surfaces

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Earth Sciences
Ancient fault suggests earthquake heating may amplify tsunami-triggering slip
Astronomy
Webb links interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS to worlds beyond Neptune through similar ice signatures
Biochemistry
Anyone Can Dock: Molecular docking platform brings protein-binding predictions to smartphones, tablets and computers
Mathematics
The mathematics of growing a shell—recreating diverse mollusk shells with just three inputs
Environment
Greenhouse gas levels hit new record highs in 2025: UN
Optics & Photonics
New converter could bridge light wavelength gap in quantum communications
Plasma Physics
Radio waves drive a fusion plasma current that could help reactors run continuously
Bio & Medicine
Scientists reveal hidden world of living cells in human milk
Nanophysics
Mathematical puzzle from 1904 takes physical form in gold-studded helium droplets
Bio & Medicine
Nano-wrinkles and actuation break up infectious biofilms on implants
Education
Scientists produce less disruptive research as they age, but their breakthroughs are more likely to last
Paleontology & Fossils
Fossils from brickworks reveal new dinosaur species that roamed England's wetlands 125 million years ago
Evolution
False lingzhi unmasked: Scientists crack the 245-year mystery behind a medicinal mushroom mix-up
Astronomy
Laser-blasted plasma shows how instabilities could heat the sun's corona
Nanomaterials
Water into fuel: The new nanomaterial that could upgrade green hydrogen
Veterinary medicine
Can cats really thrive on vegan diets? Professor Andrew Knight responds to critics
Cell & Microbiology
New binary gene expression system enables independent control of multiple cell types
Evolution
Armored amphibian lived entirely at sea 237 million years ago, fossils suggest
Planetary Sciences
Clouds on a lava planet challenge what astronomers expected
Optics & Photonics
Metalens microscope switches focus with voltage, not moving optics

Mushroom behind 'tiny people' hallucinations identified

People in communities thousands of miles apart have described the same strange experience after eating a mysterious mushroom: vivid visions of tiny humans moving through and interacting with the physical world around them. ...

Improving oats for growers and consumers

Heart-healthy oats are finding their way into a wider variety of products and recipes as consumer demand grows. Although oats are grown on far fewer acres than other U.S. crops, farmers are able to keep up with demand through ...

Little-known protein helps the body restrain scar-forming signals

U.K. and U.S. scientists have uncovered an important piece of the puzzle in the signaling pathway that causes damaging scar tissue to build up in the body, raising hopes for future treatments. A team from the University of ...

A small molecular module helps time development of C. elegans

For an animal to develop normally, cells must not only become the right types but also do so at the right time. In the worm C. elegans, the protein LIN28 has long been known as an important regulator of this timing: It keeps ...