Biology Archives

A stream filling a glass of water. Water quality may be headed for a rise as scientists work to develop new technology that uses bacteria to detect harmful heavy metals in water.

Water Quality Monitoring by Bacterial Biosensors

March 20, 2023March 14, 2023 Science Connectedbacteria, heavy metals, water contamination, water pollution, water testing

Water quality may be headed for a rise as scientists work to develop new technology that uses bacteria to detect harmful heavy metals in water.

People putting plastic bottles in recycling bin.

Biology Environment Sustainable Living

Bacteria Has Natural Capacity to Recycle Plastics

March 10, 2023March 9, 2023 Science Connectedbacteria, plastic pollution, recycling

A common bacterium, Comamonas testosteroni, might hold the key to breaking down and recycling plastic waste on a large scale.

In experiments conducted by scientists at the University of São Paulo, the performance of a bioprinted model obtained in a 3D printer was equivalent to that of the conventional model produced manually. Image credit: FCF-USP

Biology Engineering New Technologies

Bioprinting Skin for Cosmetics and Drug Testing

February 22, 2023February 22, 2023 Science Connectedanimal testing, bioprinting, cosmetics, drug testing, skin

Bioprinting skin models that react on par with actual skin could lead to new possibilities for how labs test cosmetics and drugs.

Researchers find that drumming in woodpeckers is neurologically similar to singing in songbirds. Credit: Attribution withheld at license-holder's request (CC-BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Biology Ornithology

Is Drumming Like Singing? A Focus on Woodpeckers

December 28, 2022December 25, 2022 Science Connectedbirds, birdsong, communication, singing, woodpecker

Woodpeckers may not sing out melodies, but a new study hones in on how their drumming may be similar to birdsong on a neural level.

Bacteria in plant leaves could one day eliminate the need for nitrogen fertilizers

Biology Botany Sustainable Living

Hidden Helpers: Bacteria in Leaves

November 16, 2022November 17, 2022 Science Connectedagriculture, bacteria, fertilizers, plants

New research shows that bacteria found inside plant leaves can transfer their nitrogen and might eliminate the need for nitrogen fertilizers.

Biology Health Zoology

How Does Tissue Regenerate?

November 11, 2022November 10, 2022 Science Connectedregeneration

By Noeline Subramaniam (@spicy_scientist) Regeneration often sounds like science fiction—Wolverine’s healing superpowers probably spring to mind. But you don’t have to be a mutant to be able to regenerate. In fact, humans have the ability to regenerate in utero until the beginning of the third trimester. With the exception of our liver and digit tips, we largely lose this capacity as adults—but why? Let’s turn to the animal kingdom for answers. Is regeneration lost through evolution? Before we get to the species that, for the most part, are unable to…

Biology Health

We’ve All Got a Blind Spot, and Can Shrink It

October 26, 2022October 25, 2022 Science Connectedeyesight, neurobiology

The human eye does have a built-in blind spot. New research suggests that we can shrink it, and maybe even reverse blindness as a result.

Aedes aegyptii mosquito biting a person. Researchers studies the scents these mosquitoes are attracted to. Credit: CDC

Biology Public Health

Human Scent May Help Manage Mosquitoes

October 5, 2022October 4, 2022 Science Connectedbiochemistry, entomology, insects, mosquito, pest control

Mosquitoes are drawn to a chemical mixture found on the skin, but what these specific compounds are had not been pinpointed until a recent study.

Biology Get to Know a Scientist

Get to Know a Scientist: Biologist Dr. Jamie Newman

September 9, 2022September 12, 2022 Science Connectedbiology, women in science, Women in STEM

A biologist studies living things: how their internal processes work, how they evolved, how they relate to their environment, and more! Introducing Dr. Jamie Newman, who tells us about herself and her career.

In their study of moth migration, the researchers focused on the death’s-head hawkmoth—a large, nocturnal migrant that travels up to 4,000 kilometers between Europe and Africa every year. Image credit: Christian Ziegler / Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

Biology Zoology

Moths Know Where to Go: A Look at Moth Migration

August 31, 2022December 6, 2022 Science Connectedinsects, migration

Moth migration may be guided by an internal compass to find the way, according to a new study that tracked flight paths of individual moths.