New research shows the diversity of plant and animal life in 14 tropical reserves in Mesoamerica has plummeted since 1990 as roads and cattle ranches have expanded into protected areas.
Analysis reveals imported earthworm species have colonized large swaths of North America, and represent a largely overlooked threat to native ecosystems. The researchers warn of the need to better understand and manage the invaders in our midst.
Researchers have identified genes involved in hybrid incompatibility, a phenomenon that creates reproductive barriers between species and evolutionarily splits them apart.
A new Stanford study uses behavioral analysis, neural engineering, electrophysiology, and math to explore how mice decide whether to eat or drink when they are both hungry and thirsty.
A new study that combines genetic and molecular techniques helps solve the riddle of starfish body plans, and how starfish start life with bilateral body symmetry – just like humans – but grow up to be adults with fivefold “pentaradial” symmetry.
Advances in the 3D printing of living tissue – a field known as bioprinting – puts within reach the possibility of fabricating whole organs from scratch and implanting them in living beings. A multidisciplinary team from Stanford received a federal contract to do just that.
Microbiologist KC Huang on our relationship with the trillions of bacteria inhabiting our gut. “We’re kind of both cautiously engaging with them as allies, but also realizing that we could be at war at any point.”
A new analysis of mass extinction at the genus level, from researchers at Stanford and the National Autonomous University of Mexico, finds a “mutilation of the tree of life” with massive potential harms to human society.
Ritimukta Sarangi, senior scientist at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, on what X‑ray tools reveal about plant roots and the soil around them.
Sugar-coated proteins called mucins are implicated in many diseases, including cancer. A Stanford-led team has bioengineered an enzyme-based scissors that selectively cuts mucins off cancer cells, removing their “cloak of protection” from the body’s immune system.
In certain organisms, injuries on one part of the body can induce a healing response in another. New evidence suggests this whole-body response isn’t a side effect: it’s the main feature.
Scientists are tracking the epic migration of 100 endangered North Pacific loggerhead turtles from Japan to test a hypothesis that warm water events like El Niño unlock a corridor allowing some turtles to ride ocean currents all the way to North America.
A new approach to genetic ancestry developed by Stanford researchers yields insight into African American history by providing estimates of the number of African and European genealogical ancestors in typical family trees.
Plant and animal stem cells both rely on the cytoskeleton to divide properly, but a new Stanford study finds that they use them in opposite ways – while animal cells pull on the cytoskeleton, plant cells push it away. Harnessing that action could help scientists engineer more resilient plants.
Climate change is expected to deal a heavy blow to marine species. A new Stanford study predicts possible future global abundance and distribution of seagrass species under “best” to “worst-case” climate change scenarios, highlighting areas to focus conservation efforts.
Diets high in red meat and fried foods have long been tied to health risks, including cancer, and now a new study has revealed food DNA as a novel potential source of genetic damage.
Natural history collections of plants, animals, and other organisms are becoming a thing of the past with the rise of biodiversity apps and digital tools. A Stanford study identifies benefits and biases in these two datasets, which are crucial for assessing climate change.
Stanford researchers defined a novel cellular pathway – including a “dump site” – for clearing misfolded proteins from cells. The pathway is a potential therapy target for age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s diseases.
Scientists studied a unique group of Antarctic minke whales and found that these gigantic mammals actually represent the smallest possible body size required for their style of feeding. The findings could inform which whale species are more vulnerable to future climate change impacts, like shifting food sources.
By helping researchers choose among thousands of available computational models of mechanical stress on the brain, AI is yielding powerful new insight on traumatic brain injury.
The study integrates climate, land use, and socioeconomic data to explain and predict malaria dynamics at the village level. The approach could inform health care practitioners and make control strategies more efficient and cost-effective.
Analysis finds that dammed reservoirs could store more than 50% of the water needed to irrigate crops without depleting water stocks or encroaching on nature. The researchers caution against building new dams, however, and urge consideration of alternative storage solutions.
Analysis of ocean plastic pollution and whale foraging behavior tracked with noninvasive tags shows whales are ingesting tiny specks of plastic in far bigger quantities than previously thought, and nearly all of it comes from the animals they eat – not the water they gulp.
