Like farmland in Australia, native forests struggle with drought and flooding, so future management decisions need more sophisticated systems to monitor and manage their water needs. A new study aims to provide a good estimate of water used by trees and plants and bushes under the treetops (or the forest understorey) to help improve management of native woodlands.

A team was able to edit the DNA of Lactobacillus strains directly without a template from other organisms. This technique is indistinguishable from natural variation and enabled the researchers to create a strain that doesn't produce diabetes-aggravating chemicals.

High-starch algae are important in biofuel production, as a feed supplement in agriculture and as an efficient way to bind carbon dioxide. Researchers have now found a new method to control starch storage in algae -- a finding with potential applications in areas such reducing greenhouse gases.

In many animals, skin coloration and its patterns play a crucial role in camouflage, communication, or thermoregulation. In the corn snake, some morphs display red, yellow, or pink blotches, and their dorsal spots can merge or turn into stripes. But which genetic and cellular mechanisms determine these colorful patterns? A team discovered that a single gene, CLCN2, is involved in these variations.

A database about monkey behavior reveals how science is evolving towards a more open, collaborative approach.

When bottom trawls are dragged across the seafloor, they stir up sediments. This not only releases previously stored organic carbon, but also intensifies the oxidation of pyrite, a mineral present in marine sediments, leading to additional emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Could the seismic signal of an underground nuclear test explosion be 'hidden' by the signal generated by a natural earthquake?

An international team of malacologists discovered a new snail species, Anauchen picasso, in Southeast Asia that exhibits a highly complex and rectangularly angled shell shape, resembling a cubist-style painting. A. picasso is among 46 new species of microsnails discovered in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Pioneering research has repurposed a gene editing tool to help shed light on the true biodiversity present in natural environments.

Scientists developed a machine-learning tool that can teach itself, with minimal external guidance, to differentiate between aerial images of flowering and nonflowering grasses -- an advance that will greatly increase the pace of agricultural field research, they say. The work was conducted using images of thousands of varieties of Miscanthus grasses, each of which has its own flowering traits and timing.

Plant-based seafood alternatives should have similar flavors, textures and nutritional content to the foods they mimic. And recreating the properties of fried calamari rings, which have a neutral flavor and a firm, chewy texture after being cooked, has been a challenge. Building off previous research, a team describes successfully using plant-based ingredients to mimic calamari that matches the real seafood's characteristic softness and elasticity.

Female bonobos team up to suppress male aggression against them -- the first evidence of animals deploying this strategy. In 85% of observed coalitions, females collectively targeted males, forcing them into submission and shaping the group's dominance hierarchy. This is the first study to test drivers of female dominance in wild bonobos. The study examined 30 years of demographic and behavioral data across six wild bonobo communities. The study suggests that power isn't solely determined by physical strength. It can be driven by social intelligence and coalition-building by females.

A 113-million-year-old hell ant that once lived in northeastern Brazil is now the oldest ant specimen known to science, finds a new report. The hell ant, which was preserved in limestone, is a member of Haidomyrmecinae -- an extinct subfamily that only lived during the Cretaceous period. These ants had highly specialized, scythe-like jaws that they likely used to pin or impale prey.

When a seismologist visited the site of the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes two days after the event, he noticed something strange. Pebble- to boulder-sized rocks clearly had been moved by the earthquakes -- but there were no signs of dragging or shearing on the desert ground.

Scientists have discovered how chemokines and G protein-coupled receptors selectively bind each other to control how cells move.

Researchers discovered tiny features on sculpins' fins which may enable them to cling firmly in harsh underwater environments.

Bite marks found on a skeleton discovered in a Roman cemetery in York have revealed the first archaeological evidence of gladiatorial combat between a human and a lion.

A new study has revealed that an incentive program increased live releases of endangered species caught as bycatch. However, unexpectedly, the overall positive impact was reduced by some vessels increasing catches of these species. The study is a randomized controlled trial to conclusively assess the effectiveness of an incentive-based marine conservation program.

In the soils of Earth's wetlands, microbes are in a tug-of-war to produce and consume the powerful greenhouse gas methane. But if the Earth gets too hot, it could tip the scale in favor of the methane producers, according to a new study. Scientists made the discovery as part of a futuristic climate experiment that raised carbon dioxide and temperature in a Maryland marsh.

Piperacillin, an antibiotic in the same class as penicillin, effectively cured mice of Lyme disease at 100-times less than the effective dose of doxycycline, the current gold standard treatment. At such a low dose, piperacillin also had the added benefit of 'having virtually no impact on resident gut microbes.'