Nature reports

A new study shows that the current rate of biodiversity decline in freshwater ecosystems outcompetes the extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, that killed the dinosaurs. Damage now being done in decades to centuries may take..

Orchids, ‘pandas of the plant world’, form unique interactions with mycorrhizal fungi. Large-scale ancestral state reconstructions and phylogenetic comparative models give new insights into the coevolution of physiological traits..

Your lovely smile and the smiles of sharks have less to do with each other than previously thought. All kinds of aspects of jaws have all evolved independently and have been lost several times in the early evolution of jawed..

Snake-root is host for rare butterflies and moths, especially in nutrient poor wet grasslands and heathlands in central European mountains. While a lot is known about distribution and biology of violet copper and ocellate bog..

The pygmy hog is the world's smallest and most threatened pig species. It occurs in only a small area in India, hidden between tall grasses. A breeding programme, as well as scientific research conducted, provide insights into how..

The face masks and gloves designed to protect us are, in fact, dangerous for the animals around us. Scientists from Leiden warn that throughout the world, on land and in the water, animals are ingesting corona waste, or getting..

Natural selection usually purges lethal, genetic mutations within the DNA as much as possible. However, occasionally an error occurs in nature that can cause species to become stuck with deadly mutations. Newts belonging to the..

A large-scale international study has resulted in a better understanding of the origin of six thousand species of dragonflies and damselflies on earth and of their relationship to each other. Scientists, including researchers from..

A snake’s venom gland is an organ with a clear function: producing toxins. Just over a year ago, scientists managed to culture so-called ‘organoids’ of these snake venom glands. In a recent publication, the research team explained..

Increasing antibiotic resistance of microbes is a global challenge. Medicinal plant extracts are a promising alternative for treating microbial infections. Orchids are well known for their flowers, but they are also used in..