Biology

Visitors take photos of Day of the Dead themes presentations at Mexico City´s main square the Zocalo, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

The Day of the Dead in Mexico is a celebration for the 5 senses

Mexicans are celebrating Day of the Dead, an intangible tradition borne down from pre-Hispanic cultures that is also a celebration for all the senses.

This Oct. 4, 2023, image provided by The Morton Arboretum shows an abundance of fallen acorns under an oak tree in Lisle, Illinois. (The Morton Arboretum via AP)

If it seems like there are a lot of acorns this fall, you might be seeing a ‘mast’ year

Greg Schneider, research museum collections manager for the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology's division of reptiles and amphibians, holds a jar containing snake specimens Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Ann Arbor, Mich. They are part of a donation from Oregon State University that could make Michigan's collection of snake specimens the largest held by any research institution in the U.S. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

University of Michigan slithers toward history with massive acquisition of jarred snake specimens

FILE - This undated image made available by the National Human Genome Research Institute shows the output from a DNA sequencer. Scientists are setting out to collect genetic material from 500,000 people of African ancestry to create what they believe will be the world’s largest database of genomic information from the population. (NHGRI via AP, File)

People of African ancestry are poorly represented in genetic studies. A new effort would change that

An exhibit of early human species, whose faces have been recreated, are seen inside the Smithsonian Hall of Human Origins, Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

We carry DNA from extinct cousins like Neanderthals. Science is now revealing their genetic legacy

How do animals react during a total solar eclipse? Scientists plan to find out in April

Researchers will observe how animals’ routines at the Fort Worth Zoo are disrupted during the April 8 total solar eclipse. The moon’s shadow will sweep across North America including from Texas to Maine. (March 8)(AP Video by Kendria LaFleur/Erik Verduzco. Produced by Mary Conlon)

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How do animals react during a total solar eclipse? Scientists plan to find out in April

Adorable, furry baby sloth makes its debut at Palm Beach Zoo

Spectacular festive light show twinkles at London’s Kew Gardens

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Busts of Neanderthal and hominins line a table at the studio of paleoartist John Gurche in Trumansburg, N.Y., Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Along with more fossils and artifacts, DNA findings are pointing us to a challenging idea: We're not so special. For most of human history we shared the planet with other kinds of early humans — and those now-extinct groups were a lot like us. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)

Science paints a new picture of the ancient past, when we mixed and mated with other kinds of humans

The science of human evolution has made big leaps in recent years, and it’s painting a new picture of our origins.

This photo posted on the Gatorland Facebook page on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 shows Savannah Boan, Crocodilian Enrichment Coordinator at the Gatorland theme park in Orlando, Fla., holding an alligator with a missing upper jaw that was that was rescued and brought to the park to be cared for. (Gatorland Facebook.com via AP)

Gator with missing nose and upper jaw finds new home in Florida reptile park

A Florida reptile park has taken in an alligator that lost its nose and upper jaw to a fight or boat propeller.

FILE - Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut is seen in the Pauls Church in Frankfurt, central Germany, Monday, March 14, 2005. Ian Wilmut, the cloning pioneer whose research was critical to the creation of Dolly the Sheep, has died, the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh said Monday. He was 79. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

Ian Wilmut, a British scientist who led the team that cloned Dolly the Sheep, dies at age 79

The British scientist who led the team that cloned Dolly the Sheep in 1996 has died at age 79. The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh announced Ian Wilmut’s death.

FILE - A northern mockingbird appears on April 28, 2015, in Houston. Birding’s popularity soared during the pandemic, when people were eager to get outside. Merlin, a free app, is able to identify birds solely by sound. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)

Who’s that singing? As fall migration arrives, apps that ID birds by sound have taken off

For many bird watchers — novices and experts alike — this fall’s migration will have a soundtrack. Merlin, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is just one popular and free app that can identify birds just by their sound.

Russian geneticist gets probation for DNA smuggling. Discovery of vials prompted alarm at airport

A Russian geneticist living in Virginia has been sentenced to probation in federal court after pleading guilty to smuggling test tubes with DNA from endangered species into the U.S.

Volunteer Daniel Hyduke of Miami Beach, Fla., clips a fragment of coral to be transplanted from the coral nursery to the reef, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, off of Key Biscayne, Fla. Scientists from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science established a new restoration research site there to identify and better understand the heat tolerance of certain coral species and genotypes during bleaching events. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

High ocean temperatures are harming the Florida coral reef. Rescue crews are racing to help

In a race against time, multiple organizations are working to save the reef that runs along the Florida Keys during a heat wave that has already led to historic coral bleaching.

FILE - Penguins walk on the shore of Bahia Almirantazgo in Antarctica on Jan. 27, 2015. A new study released Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, concludes that Antarctica is already being and will continue to be affected by more frequent and severe extreme weather events, a known byproduct of human-caused climate change. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

Even frozen Antarctica is being walloped by climate extremes, scientists find

A new study concludes that Antarctica is already being and will continue to be affected by more frequent and severe extreme weather events, a known byproduct of human-caused climate change.

Kristen Kindl, Living Collections Coordinator at the Desert Botanical Garden, examines a damaged saguaro cactus after multiple arms dropped off the cactus at the Desert Botanical Garden Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The extreme heat in Phoenix is withering some of its famed saguaro cactuses, with no end in sight

Phoenix this week climbed back up to dangerously high temperatures. That means trouble not just for people but for some plants, too.

Paleontologist Mario Urbina poses for a photo next to the vertebrae of a newly found species named Perucetus colossus, or “the colossal whale from Peru”, during a presentation in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. The bones were first discovered more than a decade ago by Urbina from the University of San Marcos’ Natural History Museum. An international team spent years digging them out from the side of a steep, rocky slope in the Ica desert, a region in Peru that was once underwater and is known for its rich marine fossils. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

The heaviest animal ever may be this ancient whale found in the Peruvian desert

A newly studied species of ancient whale might be the heaviest animal ever found. Scientists reported Wednesday that the creature could challenge the blue whale’s title as the heaviest animal to live on Earth.

In this undated photo provided by Paul Marek is a Los Angeles Thread Millipede awaiting study at the Marek Lab of Virginia Tech's Department of Entomology in Blacksburg, Va. The tiny arthropod is a new species and was found just beneath the surface by graduate students at a hiking area in Southern California, near a freeway, a Starbucks and an Oakley sunglasses store before reaching Virginia Tech researchers. (Paul Marek via AP)

A new millipede species is crawling under LA. It’s blind, glassy and has 486 legs

An American metropolis known for freeways and traffic has a newly discovered species named in its honor: The Los Angeles Thread Millipede.

A hiker photographs the sun rising over the Valley atop South Mountain, Monday, July 17, 2023 Phoenix. Phoenix is set to break its own record for consecutive days of highs of at least 110 degrees. Around one-third of Americans are under some type of heat advisory, with the most blistering temperatures in the South and West, where even the regular simmer has turned up a notch. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Here’s how the desert city of Phoenix copes with summer heat

This summer’s punishing heat wave has baked much of the U.S. in sweat-soaked misery. The country’s preeminent desert city has long sweltered through such brutal heat.

This graphic provided by Yale University shows an image of a human embryo model. (Monique Pedroza, Ipek Gassaloglu, Berna Sozen/Yale University via AP)

Scientists use stem cells to create models of human embryos and study our earliest days

Scientists have created embryo models to help study the mysteries of early human development, the medical problems that happen before birth and why many pregnancies fail.

Entomology researcher Eric Burkness checked raspberry plants growing in a hoop house for signs of spotted wing drosophila Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, in Rosemont, Minn. New research from North Carolina State University offers some hope to fruit growers who have struggled with a damaging fruit fly and describes how the researchers manipulated the insects' DNA so that female offspring would be sterile. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)

To fight berry-busting fruit flies, researchers focus on sterilizing the bugs

New research from North Carolina State University offers some hope to fruit growers who have struggled with a damaging fruit fly.

The 46 foot long cast of a Spinosaurus suspended high above the Field Museum's main hall after its unveiling, June 2, 2023, Chicago. The cast is about 60 percent of a skeleton, the most complete specimen of the species. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)

Field Museum debuts Spinosaurus exhibit featuring largest predatory dinosaur

CHICAGO (AP) — The newest addition to the Field Museum on Chicago’s lakefront will give visitors a glimpse of the largest predatory dinosaur yet discovered via a 46-foot (14.02 meter) cast of a Spinosaurus skeleton suspended high above the museum’s main hall.

A rose of Bulgaria is photographed at the perfume gardens of the Chateau de Versailles, west of Paris, Thursday, May 25, 2023. The Versailles flower gardens were once a symbol of the French king’s expeditionary might and helped water-deprived courtiers perfume their skin. Now, they have been reimagined to give today’s public a glimpse — and a sniff — into the gilded palace’s olfactory past. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Flower power and diplomacy: Versailles perfume gardens transport public back in time

VERSAILLES, France (AP) — The Versailles flower gardens were once a symbol of the French king’s expeditionary might and helped water-deprived courtiers perfume their skin.

FILE - This undated image made available by the National Human Genome Research Institute shows the output from a DNA sequencer. The much-heralded Human Genome Project was a huge milestone for science, but most of that genetic blueprint came from one man from Buffalo, N.Y. On Wednesday, May 10, 2023, scientists announced they have sequenced the genomes of 47 people from around the world, allowing scientists to be able to look at what's normal and what's not across people and learn more about what genes do and what diseases genetic problems may cause. (NHGRI via AP, File)

DNA project gives scientists diverse genome for comparison

For two decades, scientists have been comparing every person’s genetic blueprint they study to a template that relies mostly on just one man.

FILE - Gunnar Kaasen and with his dog Balto, the heroic dogsled team leader, sit for a portrait in the early 1920s. As a part of the Zoonomia Project, with 11 papers published Thursday, April 27, 2023, in the journal Science, by comparing Balto’s genes to those of other dogs, researchers found he was more genetically diverse than modern breeds and may have carried genetic variants that helped him survive harsh conditions. The Zoonomia Project is an international effort comparing the genetic blueprints of an array of animals, including this species, and some of the discoveries were shared in 11 papers published Thursday, April 27, 2023, in the journal Science. (AP Photo, File)

Zoonomia: Genetic research reveals all we share with animals

Scientists from around the world are comparing the genetic blueprints of an array of animals to gain new insights into our own species. It’s called the Zoonomia Project.

Edmond Coverley swims to shore while pulling a raft loaded with conch shells from his crawl, or underwater pen, to sell at a fish market, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, in West End, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas. Scientists, international organizations and government officials have sounded the alarm that the conch population is fading due to overfishing, and a food central to Bahamians' diet and identity could cease to be commercially viable in as little as six years. The potential demise of conch reflects the threat overfishing poses around the world to traditional foods. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

In Bahamas, conch fishing is way of life. But for how long?

The potential loss of conch in the Bahamas reflects the threat overfishing poses around the world to traditional foods.

A meatball made using genetic code from a mammoth is seen at the Nemo science museum in Amsterdam, Tuesday March 28, 2023. An Australian company has lifted the glass cloche on a meatball made of lab-grown cultured meat using the genetic sequence from the long-extinct mastodon. The high-tech treat isn't available to eat yet - the startup says it is meant to fire up public debate about cultivated meat. (AP Photo/Mike Corder)

Elephant in the dining room: Startup makes mammoth meatball

An Australian company has lifted the glass cloche on a meatball made of lab-grown cultured meat using the genetic sequence from the long-extinct mammoth.

This photo provided by researcher Katsuhiko Hayashi shows mice derived from stem cells, four weeks after their birth, in Osaka, Japan in September 2021. In a study published Wednesday, March 16, 2023, in the journal Nature, scientists led by Hayashi have created baby mice with two fathers for the first time by turning male mouse stem cells into female cells in a lab. (Katsuhiko Hayashi via AP)

Scientists create mice with cells from 2 males for 1st time

Scientists have created baby mice with two fathers for the first time by turning male mouse stem cells into female cells in a lab.

This image provided by Qibin Zhao shows ghost catfish showing iridescence. The ghost catfish has a see-through body that flickers with rainbow colors when the light hits it. Now, scientists have cracked the case of how the fish creates its iridescent glow. (Qibin Zhao via AP)

How this little see-through fish gets its rainbow shimmer

Scientists have figured out what makes a small see-through fish sometimes shimmer in the light. In a study published Monday, they say the key is in the muscles of the fish from Thailand, called a ghost catfish.

FILE - A plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of the controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6, 2023. After the catastrophic train car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, some officials are raising concerns about a type of toxic substance that tends to stay in the environment. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Did dioxins spread after the Ohio train derailment?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is ordering rail operator Norfolk Southern to begin testing for dioxins in the area where a train carrying toxic chemicals in Ohio.

FILE - Chinese scientist He Jiankui arrives to speak at a brief press conference in Beijing on Feb. 21, 2023. He, a Chinese scientist who set off an ethical debate five years ago with claims that he made the world's first genetically edited babies, said that he hopes to research rare hereditary diseases in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

For man behind gene-edited babies, a rocky return to science

Five years ago, scientist He Jiankui shocked the world with claims that he created the first genetically edited babies.

FILE - A plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of the controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6, 2023. After the catastrophic train car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, some officials are raising concerns about a type of toxic substance that tends to stay in the environment. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Did dioxins spread after the Ohio train derailment?

U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance sent a letter to the directors of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency last week asking why it was not testing for dioxins, a harmful suite of chemicals the senators claimed got into the air in East Palestine when officials burned off the vinyl chloride

FILE- Gov. Janet Mills walks in Bath, Maine, in this Nov. 7, 2022, file photo. Mills has been writing poetry since the the 1960s. "Poetry and reading are a way of learning the world and opening our eyes and ears to what other people are experiencing," she said. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A few poems Maine Gov. Janet Mills wrote over the years

Men running for office

This photo provided by the University of Nevada, Reno shows University of Nevada, Reno student Michelle Werdann feeds a wild Mountain Chickadee pine nuts at Chickadee Ridge in Mount Rose Meadows, Nevada, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.(Jennifer Kent/University of Nevada, Reno via AP)

Don’t feed the bears! But birds OK, new Tahoe research shows

Wildlife biologists and forest rangers at Lake Tahoe and across the West have been preaching the mantra for decades: Don’t feed the bears!

This Jan. 17, 2023, image provided by Jessica Damiano shows a vining pothos houseplant, which has toxic properties so should be kept away from children. (Jessica Damiano via AP)

Pretty but toxic: Watch toddlers around these houseplants

When visiting friends or family who have both houseplants and young children, I’ve been compared to “Aunt Bonnie” from the Geico commercial “Aunt Infestation.”

CORRECTS COMPANY NAME TO MIROMATRIX NOT MICROMATRIX - A pig liver that has been "decelled" is held by a technician in a Miromatrix laboratory on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2022, in Eden Prairie, Minn. The first step for workers in this suburban Minneapolis lab is to shampoo away the pig cells that made the organ do its work, its color gradually fading as the cells dissolve and are flushed out. What’s left is a rubbery scaffolding, a honeycomb structure of the liver, its blood vessels now empty. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King)

Making pig livers humanlike in quest to ease organ shortage

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — The ghostly form floating in a large jar had been the robust reddish-brown of a healthy organ just hours before.

In this photo courtesy of evolutionary biologist Kristin Winchell, an Anolis cristatellus lizard stands on a gate in Rincon, Puerto Rico, Jan. 6, 2018. (Kristin Winchell/New York University via AP)

Forest lizards genetically morph to survive life in the city

U.S. scientists in Puerto Rico have found that forest-dwelling lizards have genetically morphed to survive life in the city.

NMSU, Los Alamos unite on research of migratory bird die-off

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Two years after New Mexico saw migratory birds literally falling from the sky, New Mexico State University and Los Alamos National Laboratory have announced plans to establish a research program on bird die-off.