Circalunar clocks: Using the right light

How animals are able to interpret natural light sources to adjust their physiology and behavior is poorly understood. Researchers have now revealed that a molecule called L-cryptochrome (L-Cry) has the biochemical properties to discriminate between dif…

The origins of donkey domestication

The donkey has shaped the history of humankind, both as a source of power for farm work, and of transportation in sometimes hard to reach areas. To understand the origins of it domestication, scientists built and analyzed the most complete panel of gen…

Climate change is affecting drinking water quality

The water stored in reservoirs ensures our supply of drinking water. Good water quality is therefore important — but is at significant risk due to climate change. In a model study of the Rappbode reservoir in the Harz region, a research team demonstra…

Sex-determination mechanisms in birds

Scientists have known that sex-determination in vertebrates happens in the germ cells, a body’s reproductive cells, and the somatic cells, the cells that are not reproductive cells. Yet they have not fully understood the mechanisms by which it happens….