Biology

Amazon rainforest is losing its resilience

View of the Amazon rainforest. © JarnoVerdonk The Amazon rainforest is considered the “green lung” of the planet and an important biodiversity hotspot. ...

Anti-icing protection with potential

Ice only adheres very weakly to the specially structured shell of an Antarctic mussel species and can therefore be washed away by even slight...

How microbes protect plants from diseases

Pseudomonas bacteria at the stomata of a plant leaf. © Sonja Kersten/ Max Planck Institute for Biology The smallest creatures colonize not only us...

Birch trees pull microplastics out of the ground

Birch trees could serve soil as garbage disposal. © JanBussan A study shows that soil contaminated by tiny plastic particles could be rehabilitated with...

Foreign tree species become a refuge

With the fogging method, insects and arachnids can be captured from treetops. © Andreas Floren/ University of Würzburg The planting of non-native tree species...

»Climate change requires innovation«

Do we need genetic engineering to make our food crops fit for the future? Photo: Getty Images How can we sustainably feed a growing...

Green carnivore under anesthesia

A Venus Flytrap stunned by Aether can no longer close when stimulated. © Bogdan Lazar/iStock; Detail © Sönke Scherzer, University of Würzburg It...

Mosquitoes learn from damage

Apparently, mosquitoes can develop a "nose" for insecticides. © Mailson Pignata/iStock One might think that they are only driven by simple bloodlust – but...

How endangered are the vascular plants of Europe?

Pictures of some endangered plants in Europe. © Vlaev, Dimiter in Peev, D. et al. (eds) (2015) Compared to many animal groups, the...

Better gorilla health through corona measures

Tourists wear masks while visiting mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Measures taken to protect animals from Covid-19 may also have...

The amazing migration of the dog sharks

A North Sea dogfish with a satellite transmitter. © C. Howe/ H2Owe, Thünen Institute/ M. Schaber From the German Bight to the deep sea:...

Hardly any ecologically intact coastal areas

View of the coast of Balneario Camboriu in Brazil. © Leonardo Filippi The transition from land to sea is one of the most biodiverse...

Coexistence of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens

View of the entrance to the Mandrin Cave in France. © Ludovic Slimak In the Grotto Mandrin in France, researchers have discovered remains of...

A realm of unknown creatures in sight

View of the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 1960 meters. © MEDWAVES/IEO/ATLAS project From mollusks and worms to microscopic creatures:...

Natural chemical against plant pests

Cicada of the genus Empoasca on a tobacco leaf. © Danny Kessler/ Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology Researchers have unveiled a mechanism by...

Certain habitats underrepresented in protected areas

Deosai National Park in Pakistan. (Image: Ch. Hof / TU Munich) Protected areas are among the most effective means of conserving biological diversity. ...

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