Fly ball: Drosophila can learn while playing with tiny spheres

Why are frogs diverse in some parts of Africa's rainforests and less so in others? The patterns of cooling and glaciation during the last ice age would probably not have been your first answer or even your last-ditch guess, but it is, nonetheless, correct.

A new study shows that the ups and downs in house prices are far more dramatic than most people think—and that government policies play a big role in making them happen. The researchers analyzed housing markets in 23 OECD countries from 1990 to 2019. They found that during boom-and-bust periods, house prices changed by almost 6% a year, compared to a long-term trend of just 2.6%.

The cell's endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a central role in protein synthesis, folding, and calcium (Ca²⁺) storage. When damaged, ER-phagy (self-eating) removes affected ER regions via double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes. However, the mechanisms underlying its initiation, signaling, and membrane origin had previously been unclear.

When making ethical decisions, university students appear to prioritize fairness and the fate of the worst-off over either reducing total harm or obeying unconditional moral precepts, according to a study published in PNAS Nexus. Woo-Young Ahn and colleagues have designed an experimental dilemma that pits a utilitarian approach—which seeks to minimize total harm—against an approach promoted by philosopher John Rawls, which emphasizes improving the situation of the person in the toughest situatio