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Categories: Biology: Biochemistry, Offbeat: General

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Ever since we learned that the surface of planet Mars is cold and dead, people have wondered if there is a way to make it friendlier to life. The newly proposed method is over 5,000 times more efficient than previous schemes to globally warm Mars, representing a significant leap forward in our ability to modify the Martian environment.

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Cocaine binds to a specific transporter in the brain that is responsible for regulating dopamine levels. Researchers have studied and described the process, producing new knowledge that may bring us a step closer to designing a drug for cocaine abuse.

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Scientists at three research institutions capture the pulsing motion of atoms in diamond, uncovering the relationship between the diamond's strain and the behavior of the quantum information hosted within.

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Researchers have created a deep learning method to analyze social media images taken within protected green spaces to gain insights on human activity distribution as a way to monitor the ecological impacts of these activities.

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We are constantly surrounded by electromagnetic waves such as Wi-Fi. Researchers tested a device to convert this ambient energy into energy for electronic devices.

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New research has found a surprising link between grooming and physiological stress in wild baboons. While grooming often calms, this study suggests it can sometimes elevate stress levels. This gives us an intriguing look into primate behavior and social dynamics.

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The pterosaur likely used all four limbs to propel itself in the air, as seen in bats today, researchers have found.

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Populations of squaretail grouper face an uncertain future as new research shows fishing that targets their spawning sites is causing males to be repeatedly scared away from their territories during their short mating meet-ups. By fleeing for safety, individuals are losing valuable time to catch the eye and court female fish.

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A new study shows that a healthy diet and regular exercise reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes even in individuals with a high genetic risk. In other words, everyone benefits from lifestyle changes, regardless of genetic risk.

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Social rank may determine whether animals prioritize immediate fitness over long-term health, according to a study. Researchers studied macaques on a Thai island and found that the animals' unusual habit of washing their food is in fact based on social rank. Dominant monkeys quickly brush their food on their fur before eating it, along with mouthfuls of tooth-degrading sand, while lower-ranked monkeys obsessively wash their food in the surf. Citing the disposable soma hypothesis, the researchers suggest that high-ranking macaques are looking to quickly consume energy to mate and fend off challengers. But food-washing monkeys may be preserving their long-term health to produce more offspring over time. The findings could shed light on how the wear observed in the fossilized teeth of early humans relates to social structure.

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Fruit exist to invite animals to disperse the swallowed seeds. A research team found that plants targeting insects rather than birds or mammals for this service are more common than previously thought. These plants produce dust-like seeds and fruit suitable for the minute, ground-dwelling animals.

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Whether dangerous staphylococci survive in the nose depends on what other bacteria are present -- and how they obtain iron.

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Elephant conservation is a major priority in southern Africa, but habitat loss and urbanization mean the far-ranging pachyderms are increasingly restricted to protected areas like game reserves. The risk? Contained populations could become genetically isolated over time, making elephants more vulnerable to disease and environmental change.

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When clams gamble on living with a killer, sometimes their luck may run out, according to a new study.

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Fur is a defining characteristic of mammals, coming in a wide variety of colors and patterns -- thanks to a world-first study, we now know which genes make a marsupial's coat black or grey.

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Gold does not readily lend itself to being turned into long, thin threads. But researchers have now managed to create gold nanowires and develop soft electrodes that can be connected to the nervous system. The electrodes are soft as nerves, stretchable and electrically conductive, and are projected to last for a long time in the body.

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Markings on a stone pillar at a 12,000 year-old archaeological site in Turkey likely represent the world's oldest solar calendar, created as a memorial to a devastating comet strike, experts suggest.

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A new study reports the discovery of extremely rare early human fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores, including an astonishingly small adult limb bone. Dated to about 700,000 years old, the new findings shed light on the evolution of Homo floresiensis, the so-called 'Hobbits' of Flores whose remains were uncovered in 2003 at Liang Bua cave in the island's west.

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Everyone wants to live to a ripe old age, but no one wants to be decrepit. Now, researchers demonstrated a treatment that could lengthen life -- and vigor -- up to the very end. Gerontologists describe how a group of mice lived 9% longer when they received monthly treatments, walking faster and gripping objects with greater strength than untreated mice of the same age.

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A study of horses -- which share many important similarities with humans in their chromosomes and pregnancies -- revealed that 42% of miscarriages and spontaneous abortions in the first two months of pregnancy were due to complications from an extra set of chromosomes, a condition called triploidy.