Early warning tool will help control huge locust swarms
19 Dec 2024A new tool that predicts the behaviour of desert locust populations will help national agencies to manage huge swarms before they devastate food crops in Africa and Asia.
First map of every neuron in an adult fly brain complete
02 Oct 2024The first wiring diagram of every neuron in an adult brain and the 50 million connections between them has been produced for a fruit fly.
‘Extinct’ snails found breeding in French Polynesia
26 Sep 2024A species of tropical tree snail is no longer extinct in the wild following a successful reintroduction project.
Energy inefficiency and inability to downsize pose even bigger threat to low-income pensioners than loss of Winter Fuel Payments, study suggests
23 Sep 2024The UK Government’s policy to scrap Winter Fuel Payments could disproportionately affect low-income pensioners in England, new analysis suggests. But the same study argues that the energy inefficiency of homes and challenges involved in downsizing will have an even more harmful effect this winter.
Mother’s gut microbiome during pregnancy shapes baby’s brain development
21 Aug 2024A study in mice has found that the bacteria Bifidobacterium breve in the mother’s gut during pregnancy supports healthy brain development in the fetus.
New way to extend ‘shelf life’ of blood stem cells will improve gene therapy
15 Aug 2024Researchers have discovered a way to extend the shelf life of blood stem cells outside the body for use in gene therapy, providing patients with better options and improving their outcomes.
No evidence that England’s new ‘biodiversity boost’ planning policy will help birds or butterflies
28 Jun 2024A new legal requirement for developers to demonstrate a biodiversity boost in planning applications could make a more meaningful impact on nature recovery if improvements are made to the way nature’s value is calculated, say researchers at the University of Cambridge.
Discovery of ‘new rules of the immune system’ could improve treatment of inflammatory diseases, say scientists.
18 Jun 2024Scientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered that a type of white blood cell - called a regulatory T cell - exists as a single large population of cells that constantly move throughout the body looking for, and repairing, damaged tissue.
Rainforest wildlife under threat as below-canopy temperatures rise
03 Jun 2024Assumptions that tropical forest canopies protect from the effects of climate change are unfounded, say researchers.
Cuckoos evolve to look like their hosts - and form new species in the process
30 May 2024Two decades of cuckoo research have helped scientists to explain how battles between species can cause new species to arise
