Headlines

Climate change is accelerating but nature is slowing down

As the planet warms, many expected ecosystems to change faster and faster. Instead, a massive global study shows that species turnover has slowed by about one-third since the 1970s. Nature’s constant reshuffling appears to be driven more by internal ecological dynamics than by

Image: Winter grips Hokkaido, Japan

Northern Japan, especially the island of Hokkaido, is home to some of the snowiest cities in the world. Sapporo, the island's largest city and host of an annual snow festival, typically sees more than 140 days of snowfall, with nearly six meters (20 feet) accumulating on

Scientists build successful 'cloud in a box'

In a quiet laboratory, a team of atmospheric scientists and engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory recently gathered around a workstation to watch as little floating speckles, illuminated by a curtain of green light, swirled into a

Rhododendron-derived drugs now made by bacteria

Bioengineered E. coli bacteria can now produce a group of compounds with anticancer, anti-HIV, antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory activities. The Kobe University achievement is the result of a rational design strategy that yields a platform for the industrial production of drug

Moving biopesticides through plants opens new opportunities

University of Queensland research has revealed that double-stranded RNA-based biopesticides (dsRNA) sprayed on plant leaves can travel right down into root systems. Led by Dr. Chris Brosnan at UQ's Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Science, the work also disproves a