Showing 20 articles starting at article 481

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Energy: Nuclear, Offbeat: Plants and Animals

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The fossils of a 170-million-year-old ancient marine reptile from the Age of Dinosaurs have been identified as the oldest-known mega-predatory pliosaur -- a group of ocean-dwelling reptiles closely related to the famous long-necked plesiosaurs. The findings are rare and add new knowledge to the evolution of plesiosaurs.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are studying the dramatic physical transformation that some insects undergo to give birth to live young. This includes suppressing their immune systems to accommodate babies, which is something some insects and people have in common. Understanding how these systems work can help improve treatments for fibromyalgia and other immune disorders. An international team of researchers has examined the complex structural and physiological changes that take place in Hawaii's beetle-mimic cockroaches, which give birth to live young.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Turning unused waste from food production into clean energy: Researchers are using chicken feathers to make fuel cells more cost-effective and sustainable.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has discovered that parasites manipulate their hosts using stolen genes that they likely acquired through a phenomenon called horizontal gene transfer.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The DNA double helix is composed of two DNA molecules whose sequences are complementary to each other. The stability of the duplex can be fine-tuned in the lab by controlling the amount and location of imperfect complementary sequences. Fluorescent markers bound to one of the matching DNA strands make the duplex visible, and fluorescence intensity increases with increasing duplex stability. Now, researchers have succeeded in creating fluorescent duplexes that can generate any of 16 million colors -- a work that surpasses the previous 256 colors limitation. This very large palette can be used to 'paint' with DNA and to accurately reproduce any digital image on a miniature 2D surface with 24-bit color depth.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has reconstructed the well-preserved but damaged skull of a great ape species that lived about 12 million years ago. The species, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus, may be crucial to understanding great ape and human evolution.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new Paroedura gecko species was reported at two small forest sites, Anja Reserve and Tsaranoro Valley forest, in the south-central plateau of Madagascar. Thanks to the recently collected samples, it was described and named after its preferred habitat, the boulders surrounded by the last remaining forests at these sites. Its conservation status was evaluated as Critically Endangered given its tiny distributional range.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

DNA analysis of mummified feces reveals two pre-Columbian Caribbean cultures ate a wide variety of plants, like maize, sweet potato, and peanuts -- and tobacco and cotton traces were detected too, according to a new study.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Evolutionary biologists have for the first time decoded the genetic lineage of a famous killer whale and a pod that once worked alongside whale hunters off the coast of Australia. In the Australian tradition of claiming New Zealand's celebrities as its own, Old Tom, the leader of a pod of killer whales that famously helped whalers hunt baleen whales in the 20th century, has ancestral links to modern-day killer whales in New Zealand, according to new DNA research. Old Tom also shared a common ancestor with killer whales from Australasia, the North Pacific, and North Atlantic Oceans, but is most similar to modern New Zealand killer whales. However, most of Tom's DNA code is not found in other killer whales globally suggesting that the killer whales of Eden may have become extinct locally.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Palaeontologists discover molecular evidence of phaeomelanin, the pigment that produces ginger coloration. Phaeomelanin is now toxic to animals – this discovery may be first step in understand its evolution. 

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Bumblebees have a remarkably successful method for fighting off Asian hornets, new research shows.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fossil researchers have discovered a novel genus and species of tiny wasp with a mysterious, bulbous structure at the end of each antenna.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hippos' huge tusks and wide gape restrict grinding jaw movements, making their chewing inefficient, according to a new study.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have produced an engineered tissue representing a simplified cerebral cortex by 3D printing human stem cells. When implanted into mouse brain slices, the structures became integrated with the host tissue. The technique may ultimately be developed into tailored repairs to treat brain injuries.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Individual voice could help birds be recognized in a flock, no matter what they say.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study sheds new light on the elusive Roosmalens' dwarf porcupine, a poorly understood neotropical species. After 22 years of relative obscurity, this research uncovers vital information about its distribution, phylogenetics, and potential conservation threats, not only revealing its endemic presence in the Madeira biogeographical province but also expanding its known range in the southern Amazon.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scrubbing behind the ears and between the toes may help keep the skin in those regions healthy, new research suggests. The microbiome, or the collection of microbes living on and in the human body, are known to play a role in human health and the skin is no different. A new study has shown that the composition of the skin microbiome varies across dry, moist and oily regions of the skin.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have zeroed in on C. auris' uncanny ability to stick to everything from skin to catheters and made a startling discovery: it uses a protein similar to that used by barnacles and mollusks.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using an innovative new approach to sampling corals, researchers are now able to create maps of coral biochemistry that reveal with unprecedented detail the distribution of compounds that are integral to the healthy functioning of reefs.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has documented the abilities of individual wild Asian elephants to access food by solving puzzles that unlocked storage boxes. It is the first research study to show that individual wild elephants have different willingness and abilities to problem solve in order to get food.