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Living World

The surprisingly tricky art of seed banking

To safeguard threatened plants, science must unravel the hidden biology of often-persnickety seeds as they age, sleep and awaken

Ghost forests are growing as sea levels rise

As trees choked by saltwater die along low-lying coasts, marshes may move in — for better or worse, scientists are learning

At the dawn of life, did metabolism come first?

Some scientists propose that in the beginning, geochemistry gave way to biochemistry — with no genetic material necessary. Only later did RNA and DNA appear.

How cancer cells travel to new tissues and take hold

Understanding these astonishing migrations through the human body, known as metastases, could suggest novel treatments

Meet the capuchin monkey: Curious, creative and vengeful

UCLA’s Susan Perry has devoted decades to studying the fast-motion life of these New World primates and learning how the young acquire the skills they need to thrive

The teeming life of dead trees

Rotting logs turn out to be vital to forest biodiversity and recycling organic matter

Return of the California condor

North America’s largest bird disappeared from the wild in the late 1980s. Reintroduction work in the United States and Mexico has brought this huge vulture back to the skies. This is the story of its comeback.

Why scientists are enlisting fungi to save endangered plants

The mycorrhizae that live among and in plant roots can boost the health of certain species, and even whole ecosystems — but scientists warn against a one-size-fits-all approach

The caterpillars that can kill you

Some species make venoms that are deadly. With more research, those toxic compounds could yield useful medicines.

We are all genetic mosaics

Picture your body: It’s a collection of cells carrying thousands of DNA errors accrued over a lifetime — many harmless, some bad, and at least a few that may be good for you.

The ones who need little sleep

Short sleepers cruise by on four to six hours a night and don’t seem to suffer ill effects. Turns out they’re genetically built to require less sleep than the rest of us.

The secrets of butterfly migration, written in pollen

Trillions of insects move around the globe each year. Scientists are working on new ways to map those long-distance journeys.

She ain’t scary, she’s my mother

Elaborate courtship, devoted parenthood, gregarious nature (and occasional cannibalism) — earwigs have a lot going for them

Frogs kick back against lethal fungus

Scientists are seeing signs of resistance to the infections that have been wiping out the world’s amphibian populations — and developing strategies to aid in the fight Down Under

Night of the zombie insects

A parasitic fungus takes over the brains of flies and controls them for its own sinister ends. Here’s the science behind the horror.

When ribosomes go rogue

Unusual variations in the cellular protein factory can skew development, help cancer spread and more. But ribosome variety may also play biological roles, scientists say.

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