When extreme drought strikes, drier grasslands receive the greatest productivity benefit from biodiversity. By contrast, forests did not show the same context-dependent pattern under drought, according to a new global synthesis of 75 biodiversity experiments. Researchers from YOKOHAMA National University published their results in Nature Ecology & Evolution on July 15.

Helpful microbes that combat harmful pathogens could be the answer to rising antimicrobial resistance - particularly within built environments such as hospitals, homes and schools.

That’s according to a fascinating new review that discusses the ongoing threat of antimicrobial resistant infections and why current prevention and treatment methods fall short.

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have discovered that tiny photosynthetic bacteria band together into protective "herds" when attacked by predators – a survival strategy that could also influence how carbon is stored in the world's waters. 

New study reveals that two widely studied ultrathin superconducting materials are more sophisticated than they appear. Although they seem to behave like simple superconductors with a single energy gap, they actually contain two strongly interacting superconducting states that work together and disguise themselves as one. This finding resolves a long-standing mystery about how these materials behave, providing new insight into superconductivity that could help scientists design better superconducting materials for future technologies such as quantum computers, ultra-efficient electronics, and advanced sensors.