What makes songbirds different in their breeding cycles? – Functional Ecologists

In our latest post, authors Tom Martin and Penn Lloyd explore what makes songbirds different in their breeding cycles. Tom, a retired scientist of the University of Montana, and Penn,…

Ants changed the architecture of their nests when exposed to a pathogen

Extreme Climate Survey Science News is collecting reader questions about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can…

Viewpoint: Consumers Report bungles science, promotes another food scare—No, Lunchables will not give your kids cancer

developing, are more vulnerable to lead exposure than adults. However, most of the risk to children is not from food but from ingesting chips from lead-based paint used before 1978…

Some healthy fish have bacteria in their brains

Some fish have bacteria on the brain. Wild and lab-grown members of the salmon family including European rainbow trout, Chinook salmon and Gila trout harbor active microbial communities inside their…

Projectile pollen helps this flower edge out reproductive competition

Extreme Climate Survey Science News is collecting reader questions about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can…

The bigger the animal, the bigger its brain? Not so fast

Scientists have long believed that, generally speaking, the bigger an animal is, the bigger its brain. But our recent study challenges the nature of that linear view and reveals new insights…

Nutritional epigenetics: How life events can shape your genes and their impact on diet and health

Within the last century, researchers’ understanding of genetics has undergone a profound transformation. Genes, regions of DNA that are largely responsible for our physical characteristics, were considered unchanging under the original…

Mega El Niños kicked off the world’s worst mass extinction

Extreme Climate Survey Science News is collecting reader questions about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can…

How beneficial soil microbes boost indirect plant defenses against herbivores – Functional Ecologists

In our new post, Tuğcan Alınç, postdoctoral research at University of Palermo, presents his work ‘Root inoculation with beneficial soil microbes enhances indirect plant defenses induced by insect feeding and…

Manipulating Brain Waves During Sleep With Sound

Summary: Sound stimulation can manipulate brain waves during REM sleep, a stage crucial for memory and cognition. Using advanced technology, researchers were able to increase the frequency of brain oscillations…