Earth

Through a large-scale study with so-called geolocators, researchers led by Miriam Liedvogel of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön, Germany, were able to uncover some of the mysteries surrounding the phenomenon of the blackcap's bird migration.

A new study shows that increased heat from Arctic rivers is melting sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and warming the atmosphere.

The study published this week in Science Advances was led by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, with contributing authors in the United States, United Arab Emirates, Finland and Canada.

Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a frequently used technique for the structural analysis of simple and complex molecules. It has wide applications in both the qualitative and quantitative analysis of proteins in different samples. The technique provides a clear picture of primary, secondary or tertiary structure of a protein to biochemists. Infrared radiation is useful in assessing different vibrational modes which arise from variations in the structural components of a protein.

In late summer and autumn, millions of birds fly above our heads, often at night, winging their way toward their wintering grounds.

Before the journey, many birds molt their bright feathers, replacing them with a more subdued palette. Watching this molt led scientists to wonder how feather color changes relate to the migrations many birds undertake twice each year. Molt matters -- not only because replacing worn feathers is necessary for flight, but because molt is the catalyst for plumage changes that affect whether birds find mates and reproduce.

Fast radio bursts, or FRBs - powerful, millisecond-duration radio waves coming from deep space outside the Milky Way Galaxy - have been among the most mysterious astronomical phenomena ever observed. Since FRBs were first discovered in 2007, astronomers from around the world have used radio telescopes to trace the bursts and look for clues on where they come from and how they're produced. 

Increasing diversity in crop production benefits biodiversity without compromising crop yields, according to an international study comparing 42,000 examples of diversified and simplified agricultural practices.

Diversification includes practices such as growing multiple crops in rotation, planting flower strips, reducing tillage, adding organic amendments that enrich soil life, and establishing or restoring species-rich habitat in the landscape surrounding the crop field.

Mammals, birds and amphibians worldwide have lost on average 18% of their natural habitat range as a result of changes in land use and climate change, a new study has found. In a worst-case scenario this loss could increase to 23% over the next 80 years.

The study, published today in the journal Nature Communications, analysed changes in the geographical range of 16,919 species from 1700 to the present day. The data were also used to predict future changes up to the year 2100 under 16 different climate and socio-economic scenarios.

A new study has found that a commonly prescribed anti-depressant may halt growth of a type of cancer known as childhood sarcoma, at least in mice and laboratory cell experiments. The findings, from researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Texas, ignite hope of novel treatment strategies against this disease. The study is published in the journal Cancer Research.

An international team of climate scientists suggests that research centers around the world using numerical models to predict future climate change should include simulations of past climates in their evaluation and statement of their model performance.

It appears that autophagy protects our neurons in the brain, but evidently for entirely different reasons than previously assumed, as researchers from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) and Charité in Berlin have now shown. When the scientists used a genetic trick to switch off autophagy-mediated "cellular waste disposal", instead of detecting protein deposits, as expected, they found elevated levels of the endoplasmic reticulum, a system composed of membrane sacs which acts, among other functions, as a calcium store.

HOUSTON — Through large-scale profiling of protein changes in response to drug treatments in cancer cell lines, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have generated a valuable resource to aid in predicting drug sensitivity, to understand therapeutic resistance mechanisms and to identify optimal combination treatment strategies.

Warmer winters, earlier springs, shrinking ice, and increased human development--the Arctic is undergoing dramatic changes that are impacting native animals. Researchers from around the world have now established an archive for data documenting movements of animals in the Arctic and Subarctic, hosted on the Movebank platform at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Radolfzell, Germany. With the Arctic Animal Movement Archive, scientists can share their knowledge and collaborate to ask questions about how animals are responding to a changing Arctic.

University of Cincinnati clinician-scientist Soma Sengupta, MD, PhD, says that new findings from her and Daniel Pomeranz Krummel's, PhD, team might have identified a treatment-boosting drug to enhance effectiveness of therapies for metastatic cancer and make them less toxic, giving patients a fighting chance at survival and improved quality of life.

WASHINGTON -- Researchers have developed a new imaging spectrometer that is much lighter and smaller than state-of-the-art instruments while maintaining the same high level of performance. Because of its small size and modular design, the new instrument is poised to bring this advanced analytical technique to airborne vehicles and even planetary exploration missions.

A ground-breaking discovery by Centenary Institute scientists has provided new understanding as to the nature of proteins and how they exist and operate in the human body.

The key finding-the changing state of a protein's structural bonds-is likely to have significant implications as to how proteins are targeted by medical researchers, particularly in terms of drug development and the fight against disease.