News by Subject Biology

Cicadas can carry a fungus containing chemicals similar to those found in hallucinogenic mushrooms, making them zombie-like fliers.

Compounds containing iron, cyanide, and carbon monoxide discovered in carbon-rich meteorites by a team of scientists at Boise State University and NASA may have helped power life on early Earth.

Researchers from the University of Missouri have shown in a new study that restoration of pine woodlands, through the combined use of intentional, managed fires and strategic thinning of tree density, has a strikingly beneficial effect on a diverse array of birds, some of which are facing sharp declines from human-driven impacts like climate change and habitat loss.

By analyzing records in countries of the Amazon and Orinoco basins--which include Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador -- a paper published today in Oryx -- The International Journal of Conservation, categorized 85 past and present initiatives or projects that work to preserve the South American River Turtle, or charapa (Podocnemis expansa), a critically endangered species. These projects are protecting more than 147,000 female turtles across the basin, an unprecedented figure.

When you think of national parks, you might picture the vast plateaus of the Grand Canyon, the intricate wetlands of the Everglades, or the inspiring viewscapes of the Grand Tetons. You probably don't envision 100 million pounds of mashed water bottles, barbecue-smudged paper plates, and crumpled coffee cups -- but that is the staggering quantity of garbage that is generated in our National Parks each year. And handling that amount of waste is becoming a huge problem.

Columbia researchers have created a way to grow human hair in a dish, which could open up hair restoration surgery to more people, including women, and improve the way pharmaceutical companies search for new hair growth drugs.