Science

In the high-elevation lakes of California’s Sierra Nevada, trout introduced into mountain lakes are affecting more than the water itself. Researchers studied 39 lakes in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, comparing bird abundance with aquatic insects emerging from the water. A study published in Ecosphere titled ‘Crossing boundaries: Introduced trout alter the bird community…

Spider webs may hold a surprising record of the animals living nearby. A study found that genetic traces from terrestrial vertebrates can be collected directly from spider webs, turning the structures into passive filters for environmental DNA. Researchers tested 49 webs from an Australian wildlife sanctuary and Perth Zoo and detected vertebrate DNA in every…

Tree branches could provide a simple way to filter drinking water. MIT engineers have developed water filters made from sapwood, the living wood found beneath the bark of trees such as pine and ginkgo. The material contains tiny channels called xylem that normally carry water through a tree. Thin membranes between these channels act like…

India’s growing space industry needs an umbrella Space Act for legal support. India needs a Space Act. It needed it yesterday!The country opened its space sector in 2020, created IN-SPACe to authorise and regulate their activities, and subsequently put in place the Indian Space Policy 2023 and a framework for non-governmental entities. The industry is…

More than 1,600 years ago, as fire engulfed a Roman settlement in what is now Bulgaria, a young man appears to have made a desperate decision: he climbed inside a huge storage jar and hid. He never came out. Archaeologists uncovered his remains inside the vessel during excavations at the ancient Roman colony of Deultum…

An ambitious conservation project off the coast of California has helped save the endangered Santa Cruz Island fox from near extinction. The rescue effort involved removing 5,036 feral pigs, allowing the native island fox (Urocyon littoralis santacruzae) population to recover from fewer than 100 animals to more than 1,300 across the 96-square-mile island. According to…

Indoor cat wearing a cat collar and bell. Image Credit: Wikipedia Domestic cats can be effective hunters of birds, but a simple change to what they wear may make it harder for them to catch their flying prey. A study of 94 outdoor cats in New York and Florida found that they brought home 61%…

Representative Image (AI-generated) Its appearance told one story; its DNA tells another. For decades, the extinct Miracinonyx trumani was known as the “American cheetah” because its long legs, slender body and adaptations for speed made it look remarkably similar to Africa’s modern cheetahs. But a new genetic study has overturned that long-held picture. Published in…

The system is called WHOLISTIC, short form for Whole Organism Live Imaging System for recording Tissue and IntraCellular activity. The body is never truly quiet. Even when an animal appears to be resting, billions of cells are sending signals, responding to changes and coordinating with organs far beyond their immediate surroundings. For scientists, the challenge…

A busy bird feeding station. Image Credit: Tim Felce/Wikimedia Commons Food and water stations intended to help wild birds may also help a potentially deadly parasite spread between species, according to a study published in Molecular Ecology. Researchers found that Trichomonas gallinae, a parasite that causes trichomonosis, was widespread among birds and in shared food…