Worms are decomposers. Many survive by breaking down dead things — dead bacteria, dead plants, dead animals, dead anything. So, they must be accustomed to the stench of death. Not so, a new study suggests — not when the dead organism is another worm.Published in Current Biology, the study states that C. elegans roundworms react adversely to the smell of a deceased counterpart. Not only does this smell invoke a behavioral response of corpse avoidance, but it also invokes a physiological respo ...read more

So many unexplored secrets still lie at the outskirts of our solar system, where a potential candidate for a new dwarf planet lies. Although space beyond Neptune was thought to be mostly devoid of large objects, researchers are beginning to rethink this assumption after coming across an extraordinary trans-Neptunian object, called 2017 OF201. According to a recently published arXiv pre-print, 2017 OF201 could soon join the ranks of Pluto and other dwarf planets in the solar system. The behavior ...read more

The idea of using the body’s own organs as mini bioreactors to grow replacement tissue or even regenerate other organs might sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but it's already becoming reality in cutting-edge labs around the world.A collaboration between Wenzhou Medical University, Nanjing University, and the University of Macau has taken an unexpected turn in regenerative medicine by turning to the spleen, a lymphatic organ typically overshadowed by its more high-profile ne ...read more

Researchers have formally identified a group of elasmosaur fossils — some of the most famous in North America. The marine reptile, Traskasaura sandrae, a type of plesiosaur, has been added to a new and “very odd” genus which is unlike others known to science. T. sandrae had a 12-meter-long (about 40 foot) neck, and robust and sharp teeth that were likely used for crushing its prey. According to a new study, published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, T. sandrae had an interestin ...read more

A cataclysmic asteroid collision may not sound like the starting place for life. But 66 million years ago, the Chicxulub impactor that wiped out the dinosaurs and much of the Cretaceous period’s fauna also kick-started a hydrothermal system that became a hotbed for life to recover in the local area. That’s the finding from a recent paper published in Nature Communications. Chicxulub Impact and Rapid RecoveryThe impact itself was truly a catastrophe, says Philippe Claeys, Chair of the Large ...read more

Although volcanic eruptions are mostly known for their devastating impacts on land, they also influence the atmosphere in surprising ways. Particles that are catapulted into the sky by eruptions can alter the composition of clouds, cooling the surface below. Volcanic ash, as new research suggests, plays an unexpected role in cloud formation by manipulating ice crystals.A new study published in Science Advances found that volcanic ash enables ice to take shape in clouds, a process that hasn’t b ...read more

While we might not realize it, when it comes to deciding which people we trust more, we tend to lean towards people who grew up poor, according to a new study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology by the American Psychological Association (APA). We seem to trust those who grew up in middle to lower income households versus wealthy households. "Trust is essential for healthy relationships. Without it, romantic partnerships can fail, workplaces can suffer, and social divi ...read more

Sloths once came in a variety of sizes and lived in multiple settings in many parts of the world. A study in the journal Science examined sloth evolution over the past 35 million years, investigated multiple factors driving their growth and expansion throughout the world, and concluded that human hunting starting around 15,000 years ago drove their dramatic decline.Today, only six species within two genera remain. All are relatively small (especially compared to their largest ancestors) tree-dwe ...read more

About 5,000 years ago, a bacterium that was primarily transmitted via ticks made a switch to louse. That may have been a strategic evolutionary opportunity, since the change from tick to louse as a vector coincided with human adaptation of wool textiles, more densely populated cities, and a more sedentary lifestyle, according to a paper in the journal Science.“We and our pathogens are very intrinsically linked,” says Pooja Swali, a research fellow at University College London and an author o ...read more

Targeting the immune system to fight cancer has been in the works for over a decade, and thanks to its precise, personalized approach, it's poised to shape the future of oncology. As our understanding of how immunotherapy can be used against cancer grows, scientists are now reconsidering existing drugs, particularly those that affect the immune system, for their potential role in cancer treatment.Alongside well-established medications like aspirin, showing potential to help the immune system com ...read more