The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. In the enlarged section, the nematosomes—which are key to the immune system of these invertebrates—are highlighted. (Credit: HHU/Nida Kaya) A simple sea anemone (a small plant with white, red, blue or purple flowers that are shaped like cups and have dark centres) can distinguish helpful bacteria from harmful invaders despite…

Flowerhorn cichlids are aquarium fish prized for their bright-gold colour and prominent head humps. Photograph: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images A human-bred aquarium fish prized for its bright gold colour and distinctive head hump has escaped into a volcanic crater lake in the Philippines, where scientists fear it is threatening native wildlife and spreading into local aquaculture.Flowerhorn…

An image of the rediscovered coral reef by Gérard Zinzindohoué (Photo: Gérard Zinzindohoué) A deep-water coral reef off the coast of West Africa that was believed to be dead for six decades has been discovered alive and thriving more than 50 metres below the ocean surface.The forgotten reef was first identified off the coast of…

A mosquito lands on a blackbird’s wing. It pierces the skin, draws blood, and moves on. Somewhere in that moment, a parasite called Plasmodium slips into the bird’s bloodstream. Researchers have long known this happens across the UK, but they weren’t sure which mosquitoes do the transmitting. They finally have answers to that puzzle. A…

We live in a world where everything, from the blood running in our veins to the oceans spanning our planet, is polluted by plastic in one way or the other. We see mountains of plastic rubbish growing day-by-day. We are currently facing a massive environmental crisis as humanity produces over 460 million tonnes of plastic…

7,000-year-old fish traps show hunter-gatherers brought fish to Norway’s mountains centuries before farming Ancient hunter-gatherers carried live brown trout past steep waterfalls to stock empty mountain lakes in Norway 7,000 years ago, creating managed fisheries whose descendants are still being caught by local anglers today.Archaeologists at the University of Oslo discovered well-preserved wooden fish traps…

Artificial intelligence has transformed wildlife photography, allowing people to sharpen blurry images, remove distracting branches and enhance colours with just a few clicks. But scientists now say these seemingly harmless edits could have unintended consequences far beyond social media. A new commentary published in Nature Ecology & Evolution warns that AI-enhanced bird photographs are beginning…