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Ramaria flava or Golden coral fungus in natural habitat, oak forest, close up view, horizontal orientation; Shutterstock ID 1739516405; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Underground fungi absorb up to a third of our fossil fuel emissions

5 June 2023

Researchers estimate that plants transfer more than 13 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide each year to mycorrhizal fungi, which grow around their roots

How to avoid deer fly bites, according to science

27 May 2023

An experiment with a sticky fly trap in a Canadian forest suggests you will get more deer fly bites if you walk around than if you sit still

Rise in urban beekeeping may be crowding out native bee species

15 February 2023

In Montreal, Canada, the diversity of wild bee species has fallen in areas where honeybee colonies have proliferated

This is an artistic reconstruction of the Guiyang Biota. Guiyang Biota represents the oldest known Mesozoic lagerst?tte found so far. Guiyang Biota represents one of the earliest complete marine ecosystems after the great dying in Earth history. Guiyang Biota contains representatives of all trophic levels, especially abundant fish and decapod fossils, including about 1 m length coelacanths, and the earliest occurrences of lobsters and shrimps, extending the earliest record forward by 1.5 million years.

Sea life recovered from Permian mass extinction faster than we thought

9 February 2023

A diverse set of fossils from China shows that a complex marine ecosystem existed 251 million years ago, shortly after a mass extinction wiped out most complex life on Earth

Two people spreading fertiliser in rows of cabbage plants

Human waste could help tackle a global shortage of fertiliser

19 January 2023

Tests on cabbage plants suggest fertilisers derived from human urine and faeces are safe and could help bring down food prices

Urban lizards have gene mutations that help them adapt to city life

9 January 2023

Anole lizards living in three cities in Puerto Rico have mutations in genes linked to immune function, limb and skin development, which may help them thrive alongside humans

Researcher Ryan Askren with a collared Canada goose

Canada geese return twice as quickly if you try to shoo them away

15 December 2022

Geese chased out of a park in Chicago returned to the area twice as quickly on days when they were harassed, compared with days when they left of their own accord

Lake Louise, Canada. Reflection of Mt. Burgess in the first gap in the ice after winter.

Lakes freezing later in winter leads to less algae in the spring

1 December 2021

A unique experiment in a Canadian lake has found that the timing of when ice forms can have a big impact on the organisms that live in it the following year

The starry night harlequin toad had been lost to science since 1991.

'Rediscovered' toad was known to Colombian locals for decades

12 December 2019

The starry night toad has been documented by biologists for the first time since 1991 in Colombia. But unlike other such stories of rediscovered species, we never really lost it

People are using mosquito nets for fishing – and it works too well

11 November 2019

People are increasingly repurposing mosquito nets for fishing around the world, but the nets often catch very young fish which could lead to fewer fish in the future