Bacterial defense system builds DNA in unexpected new way to stop viruses

Researchers at University College Dublin have identified a genetic "switch" that determines the sex of cannabis plants, and found the same system may exist in hops. The study, published in New Phytologist, pinpoints a specific section of the X chromosome that influences whether cannabis plants develop as male, female, or both.

A new study by a University at Buffalo social work researcher shows that 43% of frontline workers in the homeless services sector nationally reported an intention to leave their jobs. The findings published in the International Journal on Homelessness represent the first scholarly examination of what's driving turnover by surveying current employees who were considering a job change.

The endangered Black Sea harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena relicta) is facing a critical fight for survival. As Europe's smallest marine mammal, this isolated population is being pushed toward extinction by bycatch—the unintentional entanglement in fishing gear. The crisis is most acute in the Black Sea turbot fishery, where recent estimates reveal that more than 10,000 porpoises die annually.

Whether it's robotic rovers heading to Mars or, one day, a crew of astronauts, a round-trip journey is an incredibly long one. But there may be a way to find a shortcut. A new study published in the journal Acta Astronautica suggests that hundreds of days could be shaved off a return trip to the Red Planet by using the early orbital data of asteroids. This could bring the total mission time down to as low as 153 days.