A study of Swedish PhD candidates has shown the vast toll that doctoral studies can take on mental health. The survey adds robust data to discussions about the mental-health crisis in academia.

Adapting plant architecture to tolerate dense planting is an important strategy for enhancing maize yields. A newly identified mutant gene confers a ‘smart canopy’ architecture, with upright ...

Pathogenic viruses and antibiotic-resistant bacteria thrive on plastic. The biohazard risks of this ‘plastisphere’ shouldn’t be overlooked in efforts to tackle the pollution crisis.

How did Mount Everest come to be the world’s tallest mountain, towering more than 200 metres above the next two highest peaks? Geologists suggest the mountain owes part of its extra height to ...

A fruit fly might not be the smartest organism, but scientists can still learn a lot from its brain. Researchers are hoping to do that now that they have a new map — the most complete for any ...

A study of nearly 400,000 scientists across 38 countries finds that one-third of them quit science within five years of authoring their first paper, and almost half leave within a decade.

Analyses of the gut microbiome (all the microorganisms in the digestive tract) have shown that abnormalities in the gut microbiota are present in various diseases. Some commensal bacteria, which ...