biological sciences

Amy Rowat, an assistant professor in UCLA's Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, believes food can be a powerful way to communicate science to a broad audience.

Identifying enzyme catalysts that improve the speed and efficiency of the drug-production process can be a major boon. Figuring out exactly why a particular enzyme works so well, UCLA researchers say, is an altogether different quest.

Phony laughter, unlike the real thing, is unique to humans, says Greg Bryant, who is studying the acoustic properties that differentiate the two types of cachinnation.

UCLA scientists found that not only have male coquis become smaller, but their mating call has also become shorter and higher pitched; the researchers attribute the change to Puerto Rico's warmer temperatures.

UCLA life scientist Amy Rowat's tasty springtime demonstrations seek to advance the public's understanding of science through food, and food through science.

By growing larger, rangeomorphs, fern-like organisms that existed on the sea floor some 580 million years ago, were able to access nutrient-carrying ocean flows.

In the debate about which plant and animal species endangered by climate change should be rescued and which are expendable, a small band of UCLA botanists is fervently championing a desert plant most of us have never seen or heard of.

  There’s something smelly about researcher Christina Agapakis’ recent work — which is just as she intended.Emitting odors that range from fragrant to fetid are nearly a dozen one-of-a-kind, designer cheeses that Agapakis, a...

Telling a crop-fertilizing strain from its potential bioterrorist-agent cousin is tricky, said researchers whose bioinformatics analysis shed light on the Burkholderia bacteria genus.

For Old World primates, the variety and complexity of their facial colors and patterns play a major role in helping them identify members of their own species and communicate with one another.

Wolves were probably domesticated by European hunter–gatherers and gradually evolved into dogs that became household pets, a new study suggests.

UCLA researchers test blood and saliva samples, compare bite marks and use claw swabs and traces of fur to track the family tree and the animals’ behavior.