While many holiday traditions involve feasts of turkey, soba noodles, latkes or Pan de Pascua, this year, the European Southern Observatory is bringing you a holiday chicken. The so-called Running Chicken Nebula, home to young stars in the making, is revealed in spectacular detail in this 1.5-billion-pixel image captured by the VLT Survey Telescope. ​While …

New 1.5-billion-pixel image shows Running Chicken Nebula in unprecedented detail Read More »

Researchers have created the world’s largest ancient human gene bank by analyzing the bones and teeth of almost 5,000 humans who lived across western Europe and Asia up to 34,000 years ago. By sequencing ancient human DNA and comparing it to modern-day samples, the international team of experts mapped the historical spread of genes — …

Ancient DNA reveals reason for high multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s rates in Europe Read More »

Researchers discovered that plants manage iron deficiency without helping ‘bad’ bacteria thrive by eliminating the molecular signal for iron deficiency, and that the iron deficiency signaling pathway and the plant immune system are deeply intertwined. Their findings provide a new target for boosting plant resilience in the face of climate change, and offer new insight …

Iron influences plant immunity and may promote resiliency against climate change Read More »

Peatlands are affected more by drought than expected. This is concerning, as these ecosystems are an important ally in the fight against climate change. Following long periods of drought, peat is able to absorb little to no extra carbon (CO2). Increasing biodiversity also does little to make peat more drought-resilient. ​Peatlands are affected more by …

‘Carbon vault’ peat suffers greatly from drought Read More »

Researchers have developed a blood test that can reliably detect neuroendocrine prostate cancer and differentiate it from castration-resistant prostate cancer-adenocarcinoma (CRPC-adeno). ​Researchers have developed a blood test that can reliably detect neuroendocrine prostate cancer and differentiate it from castration-resistant prostate cancer-adenocarcinoma (CRPC-adeno). Researchers have developed a blood test that can reliably detect neuroendocrine prostate cancer and …

Blood test distinguishes neuroendocrine subtype of advanced prostate cancer Read More »

The success of a 15-year project to help frogs in California’s Sierra Nevada suggests some amphibian species could be rescued from a devastating fungal disease by evolution – and a little human help ​The success of a 15-year project to help frogs in California’s Sierra Nevada suggests some amphibian species could be rescued from a …

California frog reintroduction is rare victory against fungal pandemic Read More »