A new study has unveiled a precise picture of how an ion channel found in most mammalian cells regulates its own function with a “ball-and-chain” channel-plugging mechanism, according to investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine. The findings boost the understanding of ion channel biology and could lead to new drugs that target these channels to treat disorders such as epilepsy and hypertension.

An herbicide may "drift" from the agricultural fields where it's sprayed and harm weeds that grow at the edge of the fields, impacting pollinators.

A University of Michigan study examined the effects of the herbicide, called dicamba, and found that plants exposed to dicamba drift had a lowered abundance of pollinators, and that pollinator visits to flowers were reduced for some weeds, but not others. The study, led by U-M professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Regina Baucom, is published in the journal New Phytologist.

Some of the world’s leading scientific infrastructures, institutions and experts relating to biodiversity information are uniting around a new 10-year roadmap to ‘liberate’ data presently trapped in research publications. The initiative aims to enable the creation of a ‘libroscope’ - a mechanism for unlocking and linking data from scientific literature to support understanding of biodiversity, as the microscope and telescope previously revolutionized science.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, which mimic human-like conversations have the capacity to respond to questions, admit mistakes, and provide instantaneous linguistic feedback. A new study among college students in China has revealed the technological, educational, and social applications, as well as the limitations, of GenAI feedback. This study highlights the potential of GenAI feedback to enhance L2 writing outcomes, despite its current shortcomings.

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have discovered that what was previously thought to be a unique seaweed species of bladderwrack for the Baltic Sea is in fact a giant clone of common bladderwrack, perhaps the world's largest clone overall.  The discovery has implications for predicting the future of seaweed in a changing ocean.