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Cambridge, UK and Gland, Switzerland. To prevent a new mass extinction of the world's animal and plant life, we need to understand the threats to biodiversity, where they occur and how quickly change is happening. For this to happen, we need reliable and accessible data. A new study published in Science today reveals those data are largely missing. We are lacking key information on important threats to biodiversity such as invasive species, logging, bush meat harvesting, and illegal wildlife trade.

PHILADELPHIA - On top of the meaning and mystery that humans heap on the heart, it is first and foremost, a muscle. And one that beats about once a second for a person's entire life, with no rest. Given its vital importance, it's ironic researchers have only recently made direct observations of its subcellular parts in motion.

The most characteristic feature of Darwin's finches is the diversification of beak morphology that has allowed these species to expand their utilization of food resources in the Galápagos archipelago. A team of scientists from Uppsala University and Princeton University has now identified a gene that explains variation in beak size within and among species. The gene contributed to a rapid shift in beak size of the medium ground finch following a severe drought. The study is published in Science.

New Haven, Conn.-- A new Yale-led study suggests that death from influenza virus in older people may be primarily caused by a damaging immune response to flu and not by the virus itself. The insight could lead to novel strategies for combating flu in the most vulnerable patients, said the researchers.

The study, published online April 21 in Science, demonstrates that replication of the flu virus alone is not enough to drive the deaths caused by seasonal flu, the researchers noted.

Analysis of a new dinosaur fossil suggests that the largest species ever known to walk the Earth was born with adult-like proportions, perhaps allowing it to be more independent than some other species of dinosaur. While several fossils of the ginormous Rapetosaurus krausei have been analyzed to date, very little is known about this species around the time of hatching. R. krausei is a type of titanosaur, the largest land vertebrates to have evolved. It is estimated to have reached lengths of about 15 meters (49 feet), but even these giants had to start small.

Nearly 200 years ago, based on observations of finches in the Galápagos Islands, Charles Darwin proposed that a species may diverge in traits when competing for resources, and now, supporting this concept, a new study identifies the genetic locus that controls changes in beak size of these finches. A recent drought in the Galápagos further revealed this locus's role in beak size adaptation in scenarios when environmental conditions change, forcing species to compete for food differently, for example.

Everyone preparing for the London Marathon likely knows that to perform their best during the event, they need to rest up now. Research at the Babraham Institute just published in the journal Science describes a new mechanism through which B cells ensure that they rest up between intensive developmental events.

The leaves of virus-infected plants reflect light differently to attract the attention of disease-spreading greenfly, new research suggests.

Scientists from the University of Bristol have shown for the first time that plant viruses alter the surface of leaves, influencing how light is polarized and helping insects to potentially 'see' infected plants.

The majority of vector-transmitted plant viruses are spread between host plants by insects, in particular by sap-sucking aphids - more commonly known as greenfly - which are thought to be sensitive to polarization patterns.

PRINCETON, N.J.--Recent studies of mortality trends paint a gloomy picture for many middle-aged and older Americans, but a new study focused on children reveals a more optimistic future.

Death rates have declined among children and young adults in the poorest counties in the United States, according to the study published in Science. These children may be more likely to be healthier as they grow older, regardless of the poverty level where they live, the findings suggest.

BOSTON (April 21, 2016) - Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital report that a fatty chemical naturally found in damaged tissues can induce an unexpected kind of immune response, causing immune cells to go into a "hyperactive" state that is highly effective at rallying infection-fighting T-cells. The findings, published online by Science on April 21, could enhance vaccines and make them much more effective.

LA JOLLA, CA--April 21, 2016--Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have devised a new molecule-building method that is likely to have a major impact on the pharmaceutical industry and many other chemistry-based enterprises.

Scientists from Princeton University and Uppsala University in Sweden have identified a specific gene that within a year helped spur a permanent physical change in a finch species in response to a drought-induced food shortage. The findings provide a genetic basis for natural selection that, when combined with observational data, could serve as a comprehensive model of evolution.

AMES, Iowa - It was late in the year, but Panama was still muggy and rain clouds were closing in. A field crew of student-paleontologists wasn't having much luck, but Aaron Wood kept chipping away at the exposed rock with a flathead screwdriver.

And then he found a tiny, black-colored fossil tooth.

Myopia, also known as short-sightedness or near-sightedness, is the most common disorder affecting the eyesight and it is on the increase. The causes are both genetic and environmental. The Consortium for Refractive Error and Myopia (CREAM) has now made important progress towards understanding the mechanisms behind the development of the condition. This international group of researchers includes scientists involved in the Gutenberg Health Study of the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU).

There are many reasons why bed bugs have made a comeback in recent decades, and their resistance to commonly used insecticides is one of the most widely accepted explanations.

In a new paper published in the Journal of Economic Entomology, scientists from the University of Sydney and NSW Health Pathology describe how bed bugs are able to resist pyrethroid insecticides via metabolic detoxification, the process by which bed bugs break down insecticides.