Stories by Ed Yong

A parasitic phytoplasma deploys proteins to manipulate the plants it infects as well as the insects that spread the microbe

The successful, 22 million-year-old group could double in its number of species before leveling off

The discovery of the largest virus yet, still infectious, hints at the viral diversity trapped in permafrost

The finding could be due to lower predator numbers on islands

The new results also partly explain why the 2009 swine flu virus and a vaccine against it led to spikes in the sleep disorder

International collaboration replicates 10 of 13 earlier studies

The oldest known genome of a modern human solves long-standing puzzles about the New World's genetic heritage

Black-fronted titi monkeys mix and match their calls to detail and expose threats

Tuberculosis strains evolve by gradually acquiring subtle mutations

Initially innocuous genetic changes known as neutral mutations may play a role in disorders ranging from the flu and bacterial infections to schizophrenia

Just 7 percent of the viruses' genes match those in existing databases, a finding that confirms that viral diversity is still largely underexplored

A study of mouse toes reveals pathways that could offer clues for regenerating human limbs

Even subtle reminders of prejudice against one's sex, race or religion can hinder performance in school, work and athletics. Researchers have found new ways to reverse and prevent this effect

These insects can sense higher pitches than any other known species

The engineered organs were capable of producing one third as much urine as normal kidneys. The achievement suggests the potential for replacement kidneys grown on demand with no donor shortage or immune problems

Microbes have been found living deep inside crust at the bottom of the sea. The crust is several kilometers thick and covers 60 percent of the planet's surface, making it the largest habitat on Earth

Bob Paine showed that keystone species can radically reshape their ecosystems, and he fathered an academic family that had done the same for ecology

New genetic findings upend assumptions about Australia's isolation

DNA in insects' guts reveals inventory of rare mammals

Two studies refute an enzyme’s essential role in remembering and forgetting

Like whales, this Antarctic predator can strain small prey from the water with sievelike teeth

Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman wants psychologists who study social priming to restore credibility with open data and by having multiple labs repeat experiments to make sure that results are robust

A triple reassortment strain of an H1N2 virus, with genes from avian, swine and human flu, has been shown to jump easily via air to mammals

Three shark species once found in the central Pacific Ocean are now missing, a study of swords, tridents and other weapons reveals