What the island nation of Cape Verde cherishes as its own distinctive kind of date palm is getting an ancestry reveal. The Cape Verde date palm (Phoenix atlantica), native to…
Category: Life
Diverse forests are more resilient to storm disturbances across Europe – Functional Ecologists
2024 HALDANE PRIZE SHORTLIST: Julien Barrere discusses his paper “Forest storm resilience depends on the interplay between functional composition and climate—Insights from European-scale simulations“, which has been shortlisted for Functional…
A tardigrade protein helped reduce radiation damage in mice
A protein found in tardigrades — tiny animals less than a millimeter long — can protect mice from radiation damage. Most cancer patients undergo radiation therapy as part of their…
How Sleep Rewrites the Brain to Strengthen and Optimize Memories
Summary: A new study reveals how the brain reprocesses and refines memories during sleep, particularly those related to spatial learning. Researchers tracked rats’ hippocampal neuron activity for up to 20…
Virtual Reality Reveals Hidden Brain Patterns in Kids With ADHD
Summary: Researchers used a virtual reality game and functional MRI to uncover how children’s brains with ADHD respond differently during active tasks. Unlike traditional brain scans taken during rest, this…
How silicon turns tomato plants into mean, green, pest-killing machines
Silicon powers more than electronics: In tomato plants, it fuels a complex defense system that could help farmers use fewer pesticides. Tomato plants on four continents are currently under attack…
early career research award – Functional Ecologists
The Haldane Prize is awarded annually by the British Ecological Society for the best paper in Functional Ecology by an early career author. We are pleased to present the shortlisted papers for the 2024 award (published…
Viewpoint: Here’s a reminder of what life was like in RFK Jr’s.’ ‘good ol’ pre-vaccine days
In the early 1800s, some people rejected the smallpox vaccine because they didn’t trust the doctors and scientists promoting them, or because they saw vaccines as an affront to God’s…
Targeting Brain’s Drainage Pathways Rejuvenates Memory
Summary: Rejuvenating the brain’s lymphatic vessels can enhance memory in aging mice by improving the removal of waste products from the brain. This research suggests that targeting the meningeal lymphatics—vessels…
Dendrites Link Memories Formed Close in Time
Summary: A new study shows that our brains physically link memories formed close together in time through changes in the dendrites of neurons, rather than in the cell bodies. Using…
