A new study of ancient DNA from horse fossils found in North America and Eurasia shows that horse populations on the two continents remained connected through the Bering Land Bridge, moving back and forth and interbreeding multiple times over hundreds of thousands of years.

Prompted by a recent alarming rise in cases of colorectal cancer in people younger than 50, an independent expert panel has recommended that individuals of average risk for the disease begin screening exams at 45 years of age instead of the traditional 50.

Researchers have developed a highly sensitive blood test that can find traces of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) in infants a year before they develop the deadly disease, according to a new study.

Researchers say topographic templates' can help forest conservation managers develop strategies for protecting and restoring the most fire-resistant parts of vulnerable forests across a range of ecosystems.

Scientists examining the remains of 36 bubonic plague victims from a 16th century mass grave in Germany have found the first evidence that evolutionary adaptive processes, driven by the disease, may have conferred immunity on later generations of people from the region.

Not all embryo transfers succeed, which gives rise to the practice of freezing extra embryos from an IVF cycle for future transfers. This allows those with at-risk fertility, due to age or treatments such as chemotherapy, to delay their transfer. Researchers introduce a standalone microfluidics system to automate the process of embryo vitrification of replacing water with cryoprotectants, which...

Photodynamic therapy, or using light to inactivate viruses, bacteria, and other microbes, has garnered promising results in recent decades for treating respiratory tract infections and some types of cancer. Researchers review the existing approaches and propose adding antibodies to enhance PDT efficacy. They provide a model to help expedite overall PDT development as a rapid response to emergent...

Scientists have discovered genetic data that will help food crops like tomatoes and rice survive longer, more intense periods of drought on our warming planet.

Wake steering is a strategy employed at wind power plants involving misaligning upstream turbines with the wind direction to deflect wakes away from downstream turbines, which consequently increases the net production of wind power at a plant. Researchers illustrate how wake steering can increase energy production for a large sampling of commercial land-based U.S. wind power plants. Several were...

In the insect world, there are rare instances of ants shrugging off their societal duties to become free-loading parasites amongst their free-living relatives. Now, in a new study, an international collaboration of researchers teamed up to discover and collect these rare ant social parasites. Together, they have obtained and analyzed the full DNA genome sequences of three rare 'social parasite'...

When neuroscientists analyzed the exact properties of nerve connections in the brain, they made a startling observation: At a key connection, or synapse, messages are sent against the usual stream of information. The study reports that the signal glutamate likely plays a role in this unusual transmission.

Imagine an entire twenty storey concrete building which can store energy like a giant battery. Thanks to unique research, such a vision could someday be a reality. Researchers recently published an article outlining a new concept for rechargeable batteries - made of cement.

Eating a Western diet impairs the immune system in the gut in ways that could increase risk of infection and inflammatory bowel disease, according to a new study.

Scientists have confirmed the species and origin of a colony of wild African vervet monkeys that landed in Dania Beach more than 70 years ago. They escaped from the Dania Chimpanzee Farm in 1948 and settled in a thick mangrove forest near the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in South Florida. The facility acted as a zoo and also provided primates imported from Africa as research...

The first-ever discovery of an extraterrestrial radioactive isotope on Earth has scientists rethinking the origins of the elements on our planet.

In sports, it is common practice to apply ice to sore muscles in order to reduce inflammation. However, a new study on mice has revealed that icing severe muscle injuries may actually prolong the healing process. The results indicate that cooling the injury makes it difficult for macrophages to enter the damaged cells in order to repair them.

Scientists have found a new way to control the alignment state of magnetic atoms in an antiferromagnetic material, showing promise for the development of tiny sensors and memory devices. Researchers now describe their new approach featuring a controllable exchange bias effect, which enables the asymmetric magnetic actions of devices comprised of complex combination structure of different types of...

In the near future dyes in electric motors might indicate when cable insulation is becoming brittle and the motor needs replacing. Scientists have developed a new process that enables the dyes to be directly integrated into the insulation. By changing color, they reveal how much the insulating resin layer around the copper wires in the motor has degraded.

Fossils of land animals from South America have been found in the Antilles, but how did these animals get there? According to scientists from the CNRS, l'Université des Antilles, l'Université de Montpellier and d'Université Côte d'Azur, land emerged in this region and then disappeared beneath the waves for millions of years, explaining how some species were able to migrate to the Antilles....

A recent project has revealed innovative methods that could dramatically improve the performance of future electrical vehicles (e-vehicles).

A new study may have uncovered why wall lizards have become the most successful reptile in the Mediterranean region. The results reveal how drastic changes in sea levels and climate 6 million years ago affected species formation in the area. The researchers believe they can now explain why the lizards became so diverse and widespread, something that has puzzled biologists since the 19th century.

A research team has developed new technology that uses tiny smart devices known as spin-torque oscillators to harvest and convert wireless radio frequencies into energy to power small electronics.

Combining natural salt marsh habitats with conventional dikes may provide a more sustainable alternative for fully engineered flood protection. Researchers studied how salt marsh management can be optimized for coastal defense purposes. They found that grazing by both cattle and small herbivores such as geese and hare and artificial mowing can reduce salt marsh erosion, therefore contributing to...

A new software tool will help bioinformaticians improve the quality and accuracy of their biological data, and avoid mis-assemblies. The fast, lightweight, user-friendly tool visualizes genome assemblies and gene alignments from the latest next generation sequencing technologies.