Land tenure drives deforestation rates in Brazil, study finds

<div>Tropical deforestation causes widespread degradation of biodiversity and carbon stocks. Researchers have now tested the relationship between land tenure and deforestation rates in Brazil. Their research shows that poorly defined land rights go hand in hand with increased deforestation rates. Privatizing these lands, as is often promoted in the tropics, can only mitigate this effect if combined with strict environmental policies.</div>

Increasing evidence that bears are not carnivores

<div>Bears are not cats or dogs, and feeding them like they are likely shortens their lives. A new study on the diets of giant pandas and sloth bears adds more evidence that bears are omnivores like humans and need a lot less protein than they are typically fed in zoos.</div>

Researchers identify key player in cellular response to stress

<div>An enzyme called Fic, whose biochemical role was discovered more than a dozen years ago, appears to play a crucial part in guiding the cellular response to stress, a new study suggests. The findings could eventually lead to new treatments for a variety of diseases.</div>

Jurassic ichthyosaurs divided food resources to co-exist, researchers find

<div>Early Jurassic ichthyosaur juveniles show predatory specializations, scientists have revealed.</div>

Not enough: Protecting algae-eating fish insufficient to save imperiled coral reefs

<div>How can we boost the resilience of the world's coral reefs, which are imperiled by multiple stresses including mass bleaching events linked to climate warming?</div>

A Natural History of Dragons

Does the HBO series House of the Dragon have you wishing that you lived in a world where dragons were real? If so, scholars Phil Senter, Uta Mattox, and Eid. E. Haddad have some good news—you do. “Dragons, in the original sense of the word, are real animals,” they write. Senter, Mattox, and Haddad argue that the European dragon began its life as nothing more than a snake—a “draco” or “drakon” to the ancient Greeks and Romans. But natural history authorities gradually began describing the dragon

Punjab CM announces hike in sugarcane price to ₹380 per quintal

<div>Bhagwant Mann announced hike in sugarcane SAP on the last day of Punjab Assembly’s brief session</div>

Book review – Trilobite! Eyewitness to Evolution

7-minute read In preparation for Andy Secher’s new book Travels with Trilobites I decided to first reach back in time to read Richard Fortey’s 1999 book Trilobite! as a warm-up exercise. Why? For no other reason than that Fortey’s autobiography A Curious Boy impressed me so much that I bought several of his earlier books and I need an excuse to read them. This, then, is the first of a two-part dive into the world of that most enigmatic extinct creature: the trilobite. Trilobite! Eyewitness to Ev

Book review – A Natural History of the Future: What the Laws of Biology Tell Us About the Destiny of the Human Species

7-minute read When considering environmental issues, the usual rallying cry is that of “saving the planet”. Rarely do people acknowledge that, rather, it is us who need saving from ourselves. We have appropriated ever-larger parts of Earth for our use while trying to separate ourselves from it, ensconced in cities. But we cannot keep the forces of life at bay forever. In A Natural History of the Future, ecologist and evolutionary biologist Rob Dunn considers some of the rules and laws that under

Differences in fungus found in reared and wild ambrosia beetles suggest artificial method to prevent wilt disease in trees

<div>A recent study in Japan has found that reared ambrosia beetles, Euwallacea interjectus, can have symbiotic fungi different to those found in the wild. These findings suggest biocontrol implications for pest beetles that damage valuable crop trees such as fig trees.</div>

Scientists create 'non-psychedelic' compound with same anti-depressant effect

<div>New research in animal models show it's possible to create a compound that hits the same exact target as psychedelic drugs hit -- the 5-HT2A serotonin receptors on the surface of specific neurons -- but does not cause the same psychedelic effects when given to mice.</div>

Australia has relied on agricultural innovation to farm our dry land. We'll need more for the uncertain years ahead

ShutterstockSince European colonisation, Australia’s farmers have had to pioneer new technologies to adapt agriculture to this dry land. Think of innovations such as the world’s first mechanical grain stripper, which saved workers from the tedious task of stripping wheat from the stalk, or the stump jump plough, invented to avoid ploughs constantly breaking when they hit mallee roots on newly cleared ground. The pace of innovation hasn’t slowed, and has led in par

Indigenous food sovereignty requires better and more accurate data collection

In the face of governmental efforts to dismantle Indigenous agricultural economies, Indigenous communities have made important strides toward food sovereignty. (Shutterstock)Indigenous communities are increasingly investing in agriculture to sustain their cultures and economies. Indigenous Peoples have a long history with agriculture — a history that wasn’t always recognized. For much of the 20th century, scholars claimed that Indigenous farmers in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United

Lassa virus endemic area may expand dramatically in coming decades

<div>New analysis finds that climate change and other factors could soon make deadly Lassa fever a much bigger public health problem in Africa.</div>

Surface mapping a reliable diagnostic tool for gut health

<div>An improved alternative to screen patients with poor gut health is said to limit invasive and expensive procedures.</div>

New model captures the erratic speed of DNA copying proteins in bacteria

<div>A new study has revealed that certain locations of DNA are copied faster than others, which could also have an effect on mutation rate.</div>

Agricultural rewilding can help restore the environment and support production of high-welfare food, researchers say

<div>Rewilding landscapes using elements of farming practice can help to restore ecosystems and produce high-welfare, high-quality food, researchers say.</div>

The majority of reindeer grazing land is under cumulative pressures

<div>Reindeer herding has a long history in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland. It has shaped the Fennoscandian mountain landscape, and is also seen as means to mitigate climate change effects on vegetation. Yet a new study shows that the majority of this grazing land is exposed to cumulative pressures, threatened by the expansion of human activities towards the north.</div>

Gut bacteria may contribute to susceptibility to HIV infection

<div>Certain gut bacteria -- including one that is essential for a healthy gut microbiome -- differ between people who go on to acquire HIV infection compared to those who have not become infected.</div>

Molecular chaperones caught in flagrante

<div>For an adequate immune response, it is essential that T lymphocytes recognize infected or degenerated cells. They do so by means of antigenic peptides, which these cells present with the help of specialized surface molecules (MHC I molecules). Using X-ray structure analysis, a research team has now been able to show how the MHC I molecules are loaded with peptides and how suitable peptides are selected for this purpose.</div>