Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Butterflies mimic each other's flight behavior to avoid predators      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have shown that inedible species of butterfly that mimic each others' color patterns have also evolved similar flight behaviors to warn predators and avoid being eaten.

Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Metal scar found on cannibal star      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When a star like our Sun reaches the end of its life, it can ingest the surrounding planets and asteroids that were born with it. Now, researchers have found a unique signature of this process for the first time -- a scar imprinted on the surface of a white dwarf star.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature
Published

Snakes do it faster, better: How a group of scaly, legless lizards hit the evolutionary jackpot      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

More than 100 million years ago, the ancestors of the first snakes were small lizards that lived alongside other small, nondescript lizards in the shadow of the dinosaurs.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
Published

Copies of antibiotic resistance genes greatly elevated in humans and livestock      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have uncovered a key link between the spread of antibiotic resistance genes and the evolution of resistance to new drugs in certain pathogens. Bacteria exposed to higher levels of antibiotics often harbor multiple identical copies of protective antibiotic resistance genes which are linked to 'jumping genes' that can move from strain to strain. Duplicate genes provide a mechanism for resistance to spread and enable evolving resistance to new drugs.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Webb finds evidence for neutron star at heart of young supernova remnant      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has found the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star at the site of a recently observed supernova. The supernova, known as SN 1987A, was a core-collapse supernova, meaning the compacted remains at its core formed either a neutron star or a black hole. Evidence for such a compact object has long been sought, and while indirect evidence for the presence of a neutron star has previously been found, this is the first time that the effects of high-energy emission from the probable young neutron star have been detected.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

A new beginning: The search for more temperate Tatooines      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Luke Skywalker's childhood might have been slightly less harsh if he'd grown up on a more temperate Tatooine -- like the ones identified in a new study. According to the study's authors, there are more climate-friendly planets in binary star systems -- in other words, those with two suns -- than previously known. And, they say, it may be a sign that, at least in some ways, the universe leans in the direction of orderly alignment rather than chaotic misalignment.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Brightest and fastest-growing: Astronomers identify record-breaking quasar      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have characterized a bright quasar, finding it to be not only the brightest of its kind, but also the most luminous object ever observed. Quasars are the bright cores of distant galaxies and they are powered by supermassive black holes. The black hole in this record-breaking quasar is growing in mass by the equivalent of one Sun per day, making it the fastest-growing black hole to date.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Geoscience: Geography
Published

Weedy rice gets competitive boost from its wild neighbors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Weedy rice is an agricultural pest with a global economic impact. It is an aggressive weed that outcompetes cultivated rice and causes billions of dollars in yield losses worldwide. A study offers new insights into genetic changes that give weedy rice its edge over cultivated rice in tropical regions of the world.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Butterfly and moth genomes mostly unchanged despite 250 million years of evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Comparison of over 200 high-quality butterfly and moth genomes reveals key insights into their biology, evolution and diversification over the last 250 million years, as well as clues for conservation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

An awkward family reunion: Sea monsters are our cousins      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The sea lamprey, a 500-million-year-old animal with a sharp-toothed suction cup for a mouth, is the thing of nightmares. A new study discovered that the hindbrain -- the part of the brain controlling vital functions like blood pressure and heart rate -- of both sea lampreys and humans is built using an extraordinarily similar molecular and genetic toolkit.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Black hole at center of the Milky Way resembles a football      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way is spinning so quickly it is warping the spacetime surrounding it into a shape that can look like a football, according to a new study. That football shape suggests the black hole is spinning at a substantial speed, which researchers estimated to be about 60% of its potential limit.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

The cultural evolution of collective property rights      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Common pool resources comprise around 65 percent of Earth's surface and vast tracts of the ocean. While examples of successful governance of these resources exist, the circumstances and mechanisms behind their development have remained unclear. Researchers have developed a simulation model to examine the emergence, stability and temporal dynamics of collective property rights.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity
Published

Scientists may have cracked the 'aging process' in species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research shows the relationship between a species' age and its risk of going extinct could be accurately predicted by an ecological model called the 'neutral theory of biodiversity.'

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomers report oscillation of our giant, gaseous neighbor      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A few years ago, astronomers uncovered one of the Milky Way's greatest secrets: an enormous, wave-shaped chain of gaseous clouds in our sun's backyard, giving birth to clusters of stars along the spiral arm of the galaxy we call home. Naming this astonishing new structure the Radcliffe Wave, the team now reports that the Radcliffe Wave not only looks like a wave, but also moves like one -- oscillating through space-time much like 'the wave' moving through a stadium full of fans.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Bat 'nightclubs' may be the key to solving the next pandemic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are studying how bats can carry deadly viruses, but not develop symptoms. They found that what happens during swarming behavior -- like social gatherings for bats -- may hold the key to understanding their viral tolerance and translate to human health in fighting off diseases like Ebola and COVID-19.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Toxoplasmosis: Evolution of infection machinery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified a protein that evolved concurrently with the emergence of cellular compartments crucial for the multiplication of the toxoplasmosis pathogen.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Energy: Nuclear Physics: General Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

New nuclei can help shape our understanding of fundamental science on Earth and in the cosmos      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In creating five new isotopes, scientists have brought the stars closer to Earth. The isotopes are known as thulium-182, thulium-183, ytterbium-186, ytterbium-187 and lutetium-190.