Biology

A new study may overturn more than 100 years of accepted science about how the brain functions. Researchers applied a mathematical model to brain activity and found that brain function may have more to do with shape than connectivity.

Scientists have identified an ancient marsupial for the first time, whose special adaptations allowed it to walk huge distances across the Australian continent 3.5 million years ago. And it's a feature you can still see in diverse marsupials today.

Scottish woman Jo Cameron is a medical marvel who feels little pain, fear or anxiety, and had faster wound healing, thanks to a specific gene mutation. Now, scientists have studied why in more detail, in the hopes of unlocking future drug targets.

We’re getting closer to being able to induce hibernation on demand in humans for surgery or space travel. Scientists have now demonstrated a way to induce a hibernation-like state in mice and rats using non-invasive ultrasound pulses to the brain.

Casual bird buddies and ornithology obsessives alike can now trek to far corners of the globe and identify any feathered friend they find – as long as they have their phone with them. What's more, the Merlin app can now identify nearly every species.

Scientists have found a bacteria related to the human chlamydia pathogen in the corals of Australia's Great Barrier Reef – and hope it could lead to game-changing probiotic treatments designed to slow down or reverse the process of coral bleaching.

Stanford scientists have found a biological mechanism behind severe depression, and treated it. Signals between two brain regions flow the wrong way in people with depression, but magnetic stimulation reverses them, drastically improving symptoms.

A new study has identified a subset of microglia, the brain's immune cells, and their important role in brain development and cognition that could pave the way for new treatments for neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

Fusarium fungus once decimated the world’s dominant Gros Michel bananas, so much so that the Cavendish variety became the global go-to. Now, as a new strain threatens its survival, approval of the very first GM Cavendish could prevent "bananageddon."

Scientists are conducting a long-term experiment on evolution to investigate how single-celled organisms could evolve into multicellular lifeforms. After thousands of generations, their yeast grew 20,000 times bigger and 10,000 times tougher.

In a surprising first, researchers found that scalloped hammerhead sharks act like air-breathing marine mammals, holding their breath to stay warm when they deep-dive into cold water for food and making them vulnerable to humanity's deep-sea exploits.

Modified viruses have proven a handy way to get CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing materials into the nucleus of cells – but they're expensive, difficult to scale and potentially toxic. Now, researchers have found a non-viral approach that does the job better.

The first draft of a human “pangenome,” mapping out DNA variations in our genes, has been published. Building on the existing reference genome by adding 1,000 new gene mutations and 120 million base pairs, it's crucial for future genetic research.

Playing dead is a common defense mechanism in the animal kingdom, but scientists in Australia have discovered an example on a whole new scale. Entire colonies of ants were found to be feigning death, in a collective behavior never before recorded.

This stunning image may look like a particularly lively Jackson Pollock painting, but it’s actually an example of a new cell imaging technique. The subject? A human retina.