Science

An international team of researchers from Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia has sequenced the genome of durian (Durio zibethinus), a Southeast Asian tropical plant known for its hefty, spine-covered fruit and sulfury and onion-like odor. Durian (Durio zibethinus). Image credit: Amon Heijne / CC BY-SA 3.0. Durian is an edible …

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has identified what appear to be ancient hydrothermal deposits in the Eridania region in the southern highlands of Mars. The deposits would represent the remains of a vast inland sea that existed 3.7 billion years ago, according to a study published in the journal Nature …

A biocompatible and highly elastic hydrogel sealant can effectively seal wounds in shape-shifting tissues without the need for common staples or sutures, a new study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine shows. The surgical glue MeTro is applied directly to the wound and activated with light. Image credit: University …

Juno captured this color portrait of the edge of Jupiter and two of the gas giant’s largest moons — Io and Europa — as it performed its eighth flyby of the planet. This image of Jupiter, Io and Europa was taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft on September 1, 2017 at …

Two separate teams of researchers have used advanced DNA sequencing methods to analyze the 52,000-year-old remains of a Neanderthal woman from Vindija Cave in Croatia, and the 34,000-year-old remains of four anatomically modern humans from the Upper Paleolithic archaeological site of Sunghir. The findings are published in two papers in …

A new species of marine reptile that lived about 163 million years ago (Middle Jurassic epoch) has been identified from a fossil found near Melksham, Wiltshire, England. Ieldraan melkshamensis — nicknamed the Melksham Monster after the town where it was unearthed — closely resembled the species shown in this artist’s …

A new study published in the journal Animal Cognition demonstrates that raccoons (Procyon lotor) are able to learn to solve complex problems and that they approach classic tests of animal cognition in diverse and exciting ways. Raccoons learn to drop stones into a tube of water to retrieve a floating …

Scientists have shown that mutations present in circulating tumor DNA isolated from the blood predicts the likelihood a patient will respond to checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapies, indicating that a simple blood test could inform clinicians on whether to administer these treatment regimens. For the first time, researchers have used mutations detected …

As you get older, some of your joints might get a little crunchy. The same is apparently true of robots. NASA has just sent two astronauts out on a multi-hour spacewalk to repair the International Space Station’s aging Canadian-built robotic arm, part of which broke down in late September. While …

Using camera traps, University of Nottingham researcher Sheema Abdul Aziz and colleagues collected video evidence showing the small flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) pollinating the flowers of durian (Durio zibethinus). Small flying foxes (Pteropus hypomelanus). Image credit: Zoo Leipzig. Large fruit bats of the genus Pteropus are severely threatened by hunting …