Knowing approximately how many individuals of a certain species are out there is important for bird conservation efforts, but raw data from bird surveys tends to underestimate bird abundance. Researchers have now tested a new statistical method to adjust for this and confirmed several mathematical tweaks that can produce better population estimates for species of conservation concern.

Aerial insectivores — birds that hunt for insect prey on the wing — are declining across North America as agricultural intensification leads to diminishing insect abundance and diversity in many areas. A new study looks at how tree swallows' diets are affected by agriculture and finds that while birds living in cropland can still find their preferred prey, they may be working harder to get it.

New evidence supports international guidelines recommending surgery before 18 months of age for boys with undescended testes to reduce the risk of both testicular cancer and infertility later in life.

In China, people breathe air thick with the lung-damaging pollutant ozone two to six times more often than people in the United States, Europe, Japan, or South Korea, according to a new assessment. By one metric — total number of days with daily maximum average ozone values (8-hour average) greater than 70 ppb — China had twice as many high ozone days as Japan and South Korea, three times more than the United States, and six times more than Europe.

Physicians and computer scientists have shown it is easy to modify medical test results remotely by attacking the connection between hospital laboratory devices and medical record systems.

Candidiasis is a painful infection that affects a large number of individuals, occasionally causing severe pain that is solely controlled by resolution of infection. Here, Dectin-1 inhibition was found to block pain during fungal infection. Researchers found that clodronate, a drug that is currently used for osteoporosis treatment, could suppress severe pain in fungal infection, and that the Dectin-1 pathway could be an important new target for treatment of pain.

Between April and August this year, Switzerland and central Europe have experienced the driest summer season since 1864. Especially the forest seems to suffer from this dry spell. A current study indicates now that native forest trees can cope much better with the drought than previously expected. It is, however, too early to give the all-clear as a consistently warmer and dryer climate might still put our native forests at risk.

Biologists have developed a new technique for manipulating small cell structures for use in a range of biotechnical applications including the production of biofuels and vaccines.

Brown fat consumes energy, which is the reason why it could be important for preventing obesity and diabetes. Working together with an international team, researchers were able to demonstrate that food also increases the thermogenesis of brown fat, and not just cold as previously assumed.

New research recommends that the herbicide bicyclopyrone, now used in corn, be registered for weed management in watermelon crops as well.