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Insecticide resistance in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes can derail malaria control programs, and to overcome it, we need to discover the underlying molecular basis. Here, we characterize 3 genes most often associated with insecticide resistance...

Symbioses between animals and microbes often involve host control of symbionts to harness a benefit. In aphids, Buchnera symbionts produce amino acids for their hosts, enabling these insects to survive solely on plant sap. Buchnera abundance varies...

A computer model calculates the changing climate/vegetation from 140,000 y ago to the present for Africa, Arabia, and the Mediterranean Basin. The results illustrate how and when changes in Earth’s orbit, greenhouse gases, and ice sheets change the...

We describe approaches for distances between pairs of two-dimensional surfaces (embedded in three-dimensional space) that use local structures and global information contained in interstructure geometric relationships. We present algorithms to...

To understand the value and clinical impact of surveying genome-wide disease-causing genes and variants, we used a prospective cohort study design that enrolled volunteers who agreed to have their whole genome sequenced and to participate in deep...

Humans have long been fascinated by animal cognition, but little research has addressed the dynamics of the evolution of cognitive traits. Does cognitive evolution involve strong selection on novel mutations or selection on preexisting genetic...

Accurate chromosome segregation at mitosis and meiosis is crucial to prevent genome instability, birth defect, and cancer. Accordingly, separase, the protease that triggers chromosome distribution, is tightly regulated by a direct inhibitor, the...

Many animal species are known for unparalleled abilities to encode sensory information that supports fast, reliable action in complex environments, but the mechanisms remain often unclear. Here, we present a nonlinear principle for sensory...

Convergent evolution is responsible for generating similar traits in unrelated organisms, such as wings that allow flight in birds and bats. In plants, one of the most prominent examples of convergence is that of caffeine production, which has...

When an animal forms a memory, synapses in specific brain pathways change their strength. Pinpointing which synapses and pathways are modulated in any given learning paradigm, however, is technically challenging and needs to be performed one...

The seasonal timing of seed germination is critical for plant fitness in different climates. To germinate at the right time of year, seeds respond to seasonal environmental cues, such as cold temperatures. We characterized genetic variation in seed...

For millennia, naturally occurring psychedelic substances have been used by indigenous cultures in medicinal or spiritual contexts. Recent scientific investigations hint at the potential for these substances in the treatment of affective disorders,...

GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) is the brain’s predominant inhibitory neurotransmitter and exerts a strong inhibitory influence through extrasynaptic GABAA receptors. This form of neurotransmission is known as tonic inhibition. Tonic inhibition is...

Thirty to fifty percent of depressed individuals are unresponsive to commonly prescribed antidepressant treatments, suggesting that biological mechanisms, such as stress-induced inflammation and blood vessel dysfunction, remain untreated. The...

Crop damage by insect pests is predicted to increase as rising surface temperatures accelerate insect metabolism, population size, and range expansion. The plant defense hormone jasmonate promotes resistance to diverse herbivores, but how this wound...