Biology

New Duke faculty member Ke Dong is part of a targeted recruitment effort supported by the Duke Endowment to advance faculty hiring in the sciences. Credit: Michigan State University

November 20, 2020

Duke Welcomes Professor Ke Dong, Insect Neurotoxicologist

Read

Sheng-Yang He is among the first new faculty recruited to Duke with assistance from a fund created by the Duke Endowment to advance faculty hiring in the sciences, addressing global issues such as climate change and epidemic diseases. Michigan State Univ.

November 18, 2020

Duke Welcomes Professor Sheng-Yang He, Plant Infectious Disease Expert

Read

Plant biochemist James Siedow spent 40 years on the faculty at Duke, 12 of them as vice provost of research. He retired in 2016.

November 17, 2020

[SECOND UPDATE]: Memorial Service for Former Vice Provost James Siedow Will Be Held Nov. 15

Read

October 30, 2020

The Secret Life of Plant Roots, and Why This Matters for Climate Change

Read

The brown, black and white Bengalese finch doesn’t rely on colorful signals when choosing a mate. Consequently, when presented with a color-perception test that their colorful cousins ace, they seem to pay more attention to brightness than hue. Stanbalik

October 28, 2020

Dull-Colored Birds Don’t See The World Like Bright Birds Do

Read

SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, appears to have evolved silent changes to its RNA code that gave it a biological edge over previous strains. Credit: Felipe Esquivel Reed

October 15, 2020

'Silent' Mutations Gave the Coronavirus an Evolutionary Edge

Read

October 12, 2020

Why Biology Matters

Read

October 7, 2020

Check This Out! One Cell Eating Another

Read

Grooming is a baboon’s way of bonding. A 35-year study of more than 540 wild baboons in Kenya links strong social bonds to better chances of survival. Photo by Susan Alberts, Duke University.

September 21, 2020

Male Baboons With Female Friends Live Longer

Read

Born to rule and rarely challenged, alpha female baboons have lower levels of stress hormones than their dominant male counterparts or other females. Photo by Matthew Zipple, Duke University.

September 9, 2020

Baboon Matriarchs Enjoy Less Stress

Read

August 24, 2020

Meet the Team Powering Duke’s COVID-19 Surveillance Testing Efforts

Read

Starting this week, as part of Duke's strategy, around 2,000 self-administered COVID-19 tests will be completed by a cross-section of Duke undergraduate students on campus. Photo by Jared Lazarus, University Communications

August 19, 2020

Keeping a Close Watch on COVID-19 with Surveillance Tests

Read

The dawn chorus of birdsong may be a warm-up routine that helps birds meet the physical demands of singing and deliver their best performance later in the day. Photo by Robert Lachlan, Royal Holloway, University of London

August 18, 2020

Songbirds, Like People, Sing Better After Warming Up

Read

Strategic networking, dolphin-style: young dolphins seek out peers and activities that will help get them where they need to go, finds a new study. Photo by Madison Miketa, PhD, Shark Bay Dolphin Project.

July 23, 2020

Young Dolphins Pick Their Friends Wisely

Read

This deep-sea dragonfish has ultra-black skin capable of absorbing the bioluminescent light that might blow its cover. Photo by Karen Osborn, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

July 16, 2020

Ultra-Black Skin Allows Some Fish to Lurk Unseen

Read

David Sherwood studies worms

July 14, 2020

Why Do You Study That? Worms

Read