New research outlines key information about omicron's older variant sibling, alpha, which emerged late in 2020. It turns out that the mutation that birthed alpha in the first place is very similar to the one that created omicron, but with very different results for the severity of each one.

As Earth's ozone layer recovers from past emissions of now-banned CFCs and halons, other chemicals are emerging as major causes of stratospheric ozone depletion. Atmospheric scientists have been searching for the sources of about one-third of the major threats, methyl bromide and methyl chloride. New research shows that copper-based compounds in common use generate these compounds when interacting...

A research team succeeds at observing high-resolution 3D structure of human chromosomes using the radiation accelerator.

Dominance hierarchies were first described in chickens a century ago by a Norwegian zoologist who coined the term 'pecking order.' Since then researchers have examined the intricacies of conflict and competition in species as diverse as primates, whales, birds and insects.

The word 'honeydew' sounds benign, but the sugary waste product of aphids can promote growth of bacteria that are highly virulent to the pests, according to a new study.

Astronomers have found three Jupiter-like exoplanets that are dangerously close to being 'swallowed up' by their host stars. The discovery gives new insight into how planetary systems evolve over time, helping to reveal the fate of solar systems like our own.

Biologists have found two new species of goby fish in Palawan, a Philippine archipelago. The goby fish both belonged to the genus, Rhinogobius.

Rivers need water -- a fact that may seem ridiculously obvious, but in times of increasing water development, drought, and climate change, the quantity of natural streamflow that remains in river channels is coming into question, especially in the Colorado River basin. Newly published research poses a tough question in these days of falling reservoir levels and high-stakes urban development:...

People who use electronic cigarettes and test positive for COVID-19 have a higher frequency of experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, compared to people who don't vape, according to new research.

A computational biologist is reporting that the tuberculosis vaccine, which could be associated with a reduced number and/or severity of COVID-19 cases, could assist future COVID-19 vaccine development.

Regularly eating a small serving of dried goji berries may provide protection against age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in seniors.

In one of the first studies of its kind, researchers have gauged how biodiversity loss of birds and mammals will impact plants' chances of adapting to human-induced climate warming.

Plants need an internal communication system to coordinate their development and growth. Within a plant, cells message each other with pieces of RNA. A professor discovered a protein that carries these RNA messages between cells. Tinkering with this communication system may help crops grow better and adapt faster to their environment.

Organic molecules found in a meteorite that hurtled to Earth from Mars were synthesized during interactions between water and rocks that occurred on the Red Planet about 4 billion years ago, according to new analysis.

A new study provides compelling evidence of causality between Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis. It suggests that most MS cases could be prevented by stopping EBV infection, and that targeting EBV could lead to the discovery of a cure for MS.

The human immune system, that marvel of complexity, subtlety, and sophistication, includes a billion-year-old family of proteins used by bacteria to defend themselves against viruses, scientists have discovered.

A new study finds that while young and healthy mice show clear differences between daytime and nighttime body temperature rhythms, in older and diseased animals the difference essentially disappeared.

Data indicate that pregnant women with COVID-19 had an increased risk for stillbirth when the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was the dominant strain in the United States. Researchers identified the Delta variant in the blood and placentas of several women with COVID-19 who had stillbirths and pregnancy complications.

A new study finds that despite increasing numbers of bald eagles, poisoning from eating dead carcasses or parts contaminated by lead shot has reduced population growth by 4% to 6% annually in the Northeast.

Researchers have identified a specific gene variant that protects against severe COVID-19 infection. The researchers managed to pinpoint the variant by studying people of different ancestries, a feat they say highlights the importance of conducting clinical trials that include people of diverse descents.

Imagine being in a place where the winds are so strong that they move at the speed of sound. That's just one aspect of the atmosphere on XO-3b, one of a class of exoplanets (planets outside our solar system), known as hot Jupiters. The eccentric orbit of the planet also leads to seasonal variations hundreds of times stronger than what we experience on Earth.

Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers transformed agriculture as we know it during the Green Revolution, catapulting crop yields and food security to new heights. Yet, despite improvements in crop nitrogen use efficiency, fears of underperformance spur fertilizer overapplication to this day. Excess nitrogen then ends up in waterways, including groundwater, and in the atmosphere in the form of potent...

Heart disease can directly cause brain dysfunction early on which could lead to dementia and can treble the amount of an Alzheimer's protein in the brain, say scientists.

'eMAP' enables labeling of more than a dozen more synaptic proteins than its predecessor MAP, allowing for deeper studies of circuit junctions in brain tissue.