Scientists have discovered a massive detached coral reef in the Great Barrier Reef, measuring more than 500 meters high -- taller than the Empire State Building, the Sydney Tower and the Petronas Twin Towers.

To build the machinery that enables bacteria to swim the flagellum is assembled piece by piece, ending with the helix called flagellar filament, composed of six different subunits called flagellins. Microbiologists have demonstrated that adding sugar to the flagellins is crucial for the flagellum's assembly and functionality. Among the six flagellins, one is the special one serving a signalling...

Across the western US, severe wildfires fueled by tinder-dry vegetation have already burned more than 3.2 million hectares (8 million acres) -- an area the size of Maryland -- as of the end of October, 2020, and nearly six times that area burned this year in Australia. And even though neither country's worst-ever fire year is not yet over, concerns are already mounting regarding the next hazard...

Scientists have shown that a potent antibody from a COVID-19 survivor interferes with a key feature on the surface of the coronavirus's distinctive spikes and induces critical pieces of those spikes to break off in the process.

An international team of coastal scientists has dismissed suggestions that half the world's beaches could become extinct over the course of the 21st century.

Researchers have discovered a new inflammatory disorder called vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory and somatic syndrome (VEXAS), which is caused by mutations in the UBA1 gene. VEXAS causes symptoms that included blood clots in veins, recurrent fevers, pulmonary abnormalities and vacuoles (unusual cavity-like structures) in myeloid cells.

Scientists have recently scrutinized organic solar cells and derived design rules for light-absorbing dyes that can help to make these cells more efficient, while tailoring the absorption spectrum of the cells to the needs of the chosen application.

Do we always want people to show empathy? Not so, said researchers. A recently published article suggests that although empathy is often portrayed as a virtue, people who express empathy are not necessarily viewed favorably.

Treating cancer without debilitating side effects has long been the holy grail of oncologists, and researchers may have found it.

Some of the largest birds in history, called pelagornithids, arose a few million years after the mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs and patrolled the oceans with giant wingspans for some 60 million years. A team of paleontologists has found two fossils -- each from individual pelagornithids with wingspans of 20 feet or more -- that show this gigantism arose at least 50 million years ago...

Using a new technique, a team of researchers has found tiny and previously undetectable 'hot spots' of extremely high stiffness inside aggressive and invasive breast cancer tumors. Their findings suggest, for the first time, that only very tiny regions of a tumor need to stiffen for metastasis to take place. Though still in its infancy, the researchers believe that their technique may prove useful...

Aerosol microdroplets do not appear to be extremely efficient at spreading the virus that leads to COVID-19. While the lingering microdroplets are certainly not risk-free, due to their small size they contain less virus than the larger droplets that are produced when someone coughs, speaks, or sneezes directly on us, said researchers.

Scientists have discovered why dividing a large population into multiple subpopulations that do not intermix can help contain outbreaks without imposing contact restrictions within those local communities.

A new study shows the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Hispanic groups within the United States, with the most severe outcomes, including death and intensive care, among Hispanic Black individuals.

New findings unveil that a 'hidden' layer of regulation by which the intrinsic dynamic ensemble of miRNA processing intermediates can direct the outcome of important biological processes in response to environmental and cellular stimuli in the absence of protein factors. If these processes go awry, then disease could result. Understanding the roles of miRNAs in disease is a needed step in finding...

Astronomers have identified one of the rarest known classes of gamma-ray emitting galaxies, called BL Lacertae, within the first 2 billion years of the age of the universe.

ALMA telescope conducts largest survey yet of distant galaxies in the early universe.

Understanding the role of antibiotic use patterns and patient transfers in the emergence of drug-resistant microbes is essential to crafting effective prevention strategies, suggests a new study.

Females are able to clear asymptomatic malaria infections at a faster rate than their male counterparts, says a new study.

A new study suggests that COVID-19 affects the human body's blood concentration levels of specific metabolites -- small molecules broken down in the human body through the process of metabolism. Three specific metabolites identified in this study could act as biomarkers and one day be measured through an inexpensive blood test to quickly screen patients for the disease and predict which patients...

Current species loss also affects our food, water supply, building materials and energy sources. This is confirmed by one of the biggest biodiversity experiments. Researchers found that ecosystem functions cannot only be predicted from the properties of plants, but that the entire complexity of biotic and abiotic interactions has to be considered.

New research shows that when vampire bats feel sick, they socially distance themselves from groupmates in their roost -- no public health guidance required.

Humankind's next giant step may be onto Mars. But before those missions can begin, scientists need to make scores of breakthrough advances, including learning how to grow crops on the red planet.

An environmentally friendly and sustainable synthesis of 'heavyweight' polymers with very narrow molecular weight distributions is an important concept in modern polymer chemistry. Thanks to a new photoenzymatic process, researchers have been able to increase the range of possible monomers. The researchers were able to obtain well-defined linear and star-shaped polymers with ultrahigh molecular...