Researchers describe the first crab from the Cretaceous dinosaur era preserved in amber. The study used micro CT to examine and describe Cretapsara athanata, the oldest modern-looking crab (approximately 100 million years old) and the most complete fossil crab ever discovered.

Slower ocean circulation as the result of climate change could intensify extreme cold weather in the U.S., according to new research.

Processing of sensory impressions and information depends very much on how the synapses in our brain work. A team has now shown how lipid and protein regulation impact brain's processing of a beautiful and stimulating environment. The lipids located in the membranes of the synapses are central to signal transmission, the researchers report.

Newly published research details how a team of scientists successfully created a form of artificial vision for a blind woman using a brain implant.

To prosper, most great apes need lush forests in Africa (bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas) or Southeast Asia (orangutans), except for some groups of chimpanzees that live in Savannahs, habitats characterized by high temperatures and very low seasonal rainfall.

In a dampwood termite colony only a select few will, quite literally, see the light. The insects are unique due to their mating flights and the adaptability of their role within the colony, which is based on the overall needs of the group. King and queen termites must leave the nest and are the only members to go outside -- briefly --to partner off and tunnel into a new location to start another...

They are regarded as one of the most interesting materials for future electronics: Topological insulators conduct electricity in a special way and hold the promise of novel circuits and faster mobile communications. A research team has now unraveled a fundamental property of this new class of materials: How exactly do the electrons in the material respond when they are 'startled' by short pulses...

The sharpest knives available are made of either steel or ceramic, both of which are human-made materials that must be forged in furnaces under extreme temperatures. Now, researchers have developed a potentially more sustainable way to make sharp knives: using hardened wood. The method makes wood 23 times harder and a knife made from the material is nearly three times sharper than a...

Researchers have developed a new method to profile the activity of cellular genes involved in correcting DNA damage, and applied this method to pave the way for dramatic improvements to genome editing technologies.

The Vikings were active in North America in the year 1021 AD. This now represents the earliest -- and only -- known year in which Europeans were present in the Americas prior to the arrival of Columbus in 1492 AD. It also represents a definitive point in time by which the Atlantic Ocean had been traversed and human migration had finally encircled the globe.

The modern horse was domesticated around 2200 years BCE in the northern Caucasus. In the centuries that followed it spread throughout Asia and Europe. An international team of 162 scientists collected, sequenced and compared 273 genomes from ancient horses scattered across Eurasia to come up with this finding.

Older adults who sleep short or long experienced greater cognitive decline than those who sleep a moderate amount, even when the effects of early Alzheimer's disease were taken into account, according to a new study.

A team has discovered evidence of a giant impact in the nearby HD 17255 star system, in which an Earth-sized terrestrial planet and a smaller impactor likely collided at least 200,000 years ago, stripping off part of one planet's atmosphere.

Humans did not cause woolly mammoths to go extinct -- climate change did. For five million years, woolly mammoths roamed the earth until they vanished for good nearly 4,000 years ago -- and scientists have finally proved why. The hairy cousins of today's elephants lived alongside early humans and were a regular staple of their diet -- their skeletons were used to build shelters, harpoons were...

Researchers report an uncanny resemblance between the superconductivity of magic graphene and that of high temperature superconductors. Magic graphene may hold the key to unlocking new mechanisms of superconductivity, including high temperature superconductivity.

As the fall chill settles in across the U.S., people are getting out their cozy sweaters and electric blankets, or stocking up on handheld heat packets for extra warmth. But sweaters and blankets are bulky, and heat packs only work for a little while. Now, researchers demonstrate a conductive, durable yarn for lightweight wearable heaters that are re-usable and provide constant, portable warmth.

Ocean waves can be powerful, containing enough energy to push around sand, pebbles and even boulders during storms. These waves, as well as smaller, more gentle ones, could be tapped as a source of renewable energy. Now, researchers have developed flexible power generators that mimic the way seaweed sways to efficiently convert surface and underwater waves into electricity to power marine-based...

New research suggests that male-female differences in protein expression occur immediately after embryonic cells become heart cells called cardiomyocytes. This is the earliest stage of heart development, well before the embryo is exposed to sex hormones.

Because of their useful surfactant properties, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been massively produced for non-stick coatings, water-repellant fabrics and firefighting foams. However, scientists have detected these highly stable 'forever chemicals' throughout the environment, prompting toxicity concerns. Now, researchers have characterized PFAS in contemporary and historical...

Researchers have discovered a new way to jump-start the immune system to attack tumors, which could allow cancer immunotherapy to be used against more types of cancer.

Most animals sync their body clocks to the daily rhythm of the sun, but what happens during the polar winter when the sun never rises above the horizon? According to a new study, arctic krill can detect tiny changes in light intensity during polar winter days, allowing them to maintain their daily biological rhythms.

Enzymes are biological catalysts that facilitate biochemical transformations. An international team of bioinformatics researchers has developed a new process for predicting Michaelis constants, which determine reaction kinetics.

An international team of researchers has broadened and deepened understanding of how inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs) affect different populations of people and, in the process, have identified new gene variants that may cause the diseases.

A new study has added numerous previously uncharacterized viral genomes and genes to the ever-increasing worldwide pool of human gut viromes. The study will prove helpful in investigating the role of the gut virome in human health and disease.