Could new cancer drugs come from potatoes and tomatoes?
by Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image/Shutterstock.com Polish scientists revealed the potential for new cancer drugs to be formulated from bioactive [...]
Life Science
World’s heaviest flying bird may be self-medicating on plants used in traditional medicine
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Great bustard male displaying on lek. Image credit: Carlos Palacín Researchers show that great bustards in Spain prefer to eat [...]
Having good friendships may make for a healthier gut microbiome
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Grooming rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago. Image credit: Lauren Brent Researchers show for the first time that monkeys that are [...]
From ghost gear to microbe memories: 4 Frontiers articles you won’t want to miss
by Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image: Shutterstock.com At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of [...]
Italian researchers discover new recipe for extending shelf life of fresh pasta by 30 days
By Peter Rejcek, science writer Image credit: Raimunda Losantos / Shutterstock.com Pasta is one of the most popular food staples in the world, but fresh pasta has a limited [...]
‘Virtual autopsy’ identifies a 17th century mummified toddler hidden from the sun
by Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image: Riderfoot/Shutterstock.com Scientists used a ‘virtual autopsy’ to examine the mummy of a child found in an [...]
CO2 ventilation breakthrough could turn city rooftops into bumper vegetable gardens
by Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image: Shutterstock.com Scientists find that expelled air from ventilation systems can make corn and spinach grow taller [...]
Secret behind spectacular blooms in world’s driest desert is invisible to human eyes
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer The 2021 ‘desierto florido’ near Caldera, Chile. The purple flowers are the pussypaw Cistanthe longiscapa (family [...]
Scientists peel back ancient layers of banana DNA to reveal mystery ancestors
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Researchers compare the genomes of more than 200 wild and domesticated varieties of bananas and show that three extra ancestors, [...]
Sugary poo could be used to lure destructive plant pests to their doom
By K.E.D. Coan, science writer Aggregation of spotted lanternflies, Lycorma delicatula. Image credit: Jana Shea / Shutterstock.com Spotted lanternflies send signals with [...]
Acquired immunity against random food allergens may protect some lucky people against Covid-19
By Conn Hastings, science writer A new study has investigated the potential of proteins in common foods to elicit protection against SARS-CoV-2. The researchers found that [...]
Teams of sperm swim more smoothly against the current
By Peter Rejcek, science writer The physics of how sperm navigate their way to an egg in mammals, including humans, are not well understood. The tendency for sperm to cluster [...]
Scientific ‘detective work’ reveals South American mummies were brutally murdered
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Sketch from the book by Reiss and Stübel (1887. The necropolis at Ancon) on the excavations and findings at the necropolis of [...]
Beetles rely on unique ‘back pockets’ to keep bacterial symbionts safe during metamorphosis
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Lagria villosa adult. Image credit: RS Janke Researchers show that beetles in the genus Lagria have evolved unique ‘back [...]
Modern pesticides damage the brain of bees so they can’t move in a straight line
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Image: Shutterstock.com Researchers show for the first time that honeybee foragers exposed to the pesticides sulfoxaflor and [...]
Humans have totally altered small mammal communities in just a few centuries
By Suzanna Burgelman, science writer Image: Paul Abrahams/Shutterstock.com Researchers have found that small mammal communities today are fundamentally different from even a [...]
Yoda-like tarsiers push virtuoso singing to their physiological limits
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Pair of Gursky’s spectral tarsiers, Tarsius spectrumgurskyae. Image credit: Arie de Gier / Shutterstock.com Researchers [...]
Microbial ´dark matter´: centuries-old lava caves of Hawaiʻi Island contain thousands of unknown bacterial species
By K.E.D. Coan, science writer Thick microbial mats hang under a rock ledge in steam vents that run along the Eastern Rift Zone on Hawaiʻi Island. Image Credit: Jimmy Saw [...]
Scientists identify DNA ‘hotspots’ that tell zebrafish to change sex in warmer waters
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Zebrafish, Danio rerio Scientists identify 54 ‘hotspots’ in the genome for cross-talk between the environment, in [...]
‘Maths’ genes used by fish to count may help us treat human neurodevelopmental diseases
By K.E.D. Coan, science writer A recent review shows that fish estimate quantities in a similar way as many other vertebrate animals. By pinpointing the cells and even genes [...]
Fighting malaria by manipulating the amount of serotonin mosquitos obtain from blood meals
By Maryam Clark and Mischa Dijkstra, science writers Image credit: Somboon Bunproy / Shutterstock.com A new study shows that by feeding blood containing high levels of the [...]
Installation of deep-water pipeline gives immediate boost to sea-floor animals
By Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour, science writer Image credit: DeeAnn Cranston / Shutterstock.com An underwater survey finds the abundance and types of animals on the deep-sea [...]
New study finds 19th century wooden shipwrecks to be thriving habitats for deep-sea microbiomes
New study in Frontiers in Marine Science finds 19th century wooden shipwrecks to be thriving habitats for deep-sea microbiomes [...]
Children grow faster during school year than during summer holidays
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Image credit: MIA Studio / Shutterstock.com Children grow faster during the school year than during the summer period, show [...]
Think fast! Clever monkeys plan their food trips to avoid stronger rivals
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Vervet monkey, Chlorocebus pygerythrus, from K social group in Uganda. Image credit: TJM Arseneau-Robar, KA Anderson, EN Vasey, P [...]
The answer to keeping moose populations healthy? Wolves
The answer to keeping moose populations healthy? Wolves, finds a new study in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution [...]
Frontiers in Microbiology welcomes new Field Chief Editor, Prof. Paul D. Cotter
Frontiers in Microbiology warmly welcomes our new Field Chief Editor, Prof. Paul D. Cotter, the Head of Food Biosciences at Teagasc and a Principal Investigator with APC [...]
Climate crisis is making endangered mountain gorillas more thirsty
Climate crisis is making endangered mountain gorillas more thirsty, finds a news study in Frontiers in Conservation Science [...]
Ancient art and genetics combine to reveal origin of world’s most expensive spice
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Harvest of saffron crocuses. Image credit: Petia_is / Shutterstock In a new review, researchers showcase how the first likely [...]
DNA barcoding identifies endangered shark species secretly added to pet food
DNA barcoding identifies endangered shark species secretly added to pet food, shows a new study published in Frontiers in Marine Science [...]
Injuries to Zambian lions and leopards caused by shotguns and wires snares greatly underestimated
Injuries to Zambian lions and leopards caused by shotguns and wires snares greatly underestimated, finds new study in Frontiers in Conservation Science [...]
Extremely harsh volcanic lake shows how life might have existed on Mars
By K.E.D. Coan, science writer Fieldwork at Laguna Caliente, Poás volcano, Costa Rica. Credit: Justin Wang Only a few microbes inhabit Earth’s most extreme environments, [...]
Likely energy source behind first life on Earth found ‘hiding in plain sight’
By Jessica Wimmer and William Martin A deep-sea hydrothermal vent. According to one theory, the first life on Earth arose at vents like these. Credit: NOAA Office of Ocean [...]
Scientists digitally ‘unwrap’ mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I for the first time in 3,000 years
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer For the first time since the 11th century BCE, scientists have unwrapped – virtually, using CT scans – the mummy of pharaoh [...]
More than 100 underwater animal species found living on 2,200-year-old Mediterranean shipwreck
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer The ship’s ram as it was found on the seabed off Sicily at a depth of nearly 90m. Image credit: K. Egorov / Società per la [...]
When and why did human brains decrease in size 3,000 years ago? New study may have found clues within ants
When and why did human brains decrease in size 3,000 years ago? New study in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution may have found clues within ants [...]
Shape-shifting worm blob model could inspire future robot swarms
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer ‘Blob’ of Lumbriculus variegatus blackworms. The half-circle to the right is the edge of a petri dish. Image credit: [...]
Human whistled languages may offer model for how to study dolphin communication
By Peter Rejcek, science writer Image credit: Ricardo Canino / Shutterstock More than 80 cultures still use whistled language to communicate over long distances by [...]
Scientists pretend to be Neanderthals to explore how they caught birds in caves for food
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Image credit: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock.com From fossil evidence and through scientific role-play, researchers reconstruct that [...]
Microplastics hinder the growth of microscopic marine animals
By Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour, science writer Example of marine dinoflagellates (Dinophysis sp., not the species studied in the paper). Image credit: Rattiya [...]
Baby marine turtles’ stomachs are full of harmful plastic debris, suggests new study
Baby marine turtles’ stomachs are full of harmful plastic debris, suggests new study in Frontiers in Marine Science [...]
Tomato fruits send electrical warnings to the rest of the plant when attacked by insects
Tomato fruits send electrical warnings to the rest of the plant when attacked by insects, finds new study in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems [...]
When corals meet algae: first stages of symbiosis seen for the first time
First observations of coral cells and free-living algae physically interacting: Frontiers in Marine Science [...]
The two-thousand-year-old mystery of the havoc-wreaking worm
By Daegan Miller / University of Massachusetts Amherst Office of News and Media Relations Section of a piling attacked by shipworms in Belfast, Maine. Image credit: Barry [...]
Glyphosate pesticides persist for years in wild plants and cause flower infertility
Glycophosphate persists within wild plants for at least two years, reducing fertility: Frontiers in Plant Science [...]
Aquaponics treatment system inspired by sewage plants grows tastier crops and keeps fish healthy
Novel fish waste treatment system breaks down fish sludge and turns it into fertilizer: Frontiers in Plant Science
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Dr Tal Gordon: ‘During one of my dives, an animal I collected ejected its digestive system at me’
By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer / Tal Gordon, George S Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Israel Tal Gordon during one of her research dives. [...]
Beached whale carcasses answer mysteries of elusive species
Stable isotope analysis shows that beaked whales exhibit ocean-wide site fidelity, finds new study in Frontiers in Conservation Science [...]
First-of-its-kind flower smells like dead insects to imprison ‘coffin flies’
The first known case of a flower mimicking dead arthropods to attract pollinators: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution [...]
How dancing honey bees could help us save pollinators
By Suzanna Burgelman/Dr Margaret Couvillon, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Dr Margaret Couvillon. Image: Margaret Couvillon Pollinators are under threat [...]