News by Subject Biology

A study co-led by Duke University reveals shipwrecks off North Carolina's coast are important habitats for sand tiger sharks, whose population plummeted in the 1980 and 1990s. Photos taken months and even years apart by scuba divers show female sand tiger sharks returning to the same shipwrecks. The photos were uploaded to the citizen-science program Spot A Shark USA which used specialized software to ID the sharks.

If you've ever spent some time in the Caribbean, you might have noticed that humans are not the only organisms soaking up the sun. Anoles -- diminutive little tree lizards -- spend much of their day shuttling in and out of shade. But, according to a new study in Evolution led by assistant professor Martha Muñoz at Virginia Tech and Jhan Salazar at Universidad Icesi, this behavioral 'thermoregulation' isn't just affecting their body temperature. Surprisingly, it's also slowing their evolution.

Scientists discovered that cells can distinguish themselves from closely related competitors through the use of a virus, and the harboring of phage in bacterial genomes benefits host cells when facing competitors in the environment.

Scientists have uncovered a process in cells that prevents DNA from becoming tangled, which resembles a method used to control climbers' ropes.

A pioneering tagging system that monitors the movement and local environment of sea animals reaches deeper depths and higher sensitivities.

More than 80 percent of all waste from Pennsylvania's oil and gas drilling operations stays inside the state, according to a new study that tracks the disposal locations of liquid and solid waste from these operations across 26 years. Numerous human health hazards have been associated with waste from oil and gas extraction, including potential exposure to compounds known to cause cancer.