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Categories: Ecology: Endangered Species, Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology

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An internal circadian clock controls the distinctive concentric rings of flowering in sunflowers, maximizing visits from pollinators, a new study from plant biologists shows.

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Is the inside of a plant cell more like a liquid or a solid? While this may sound like an odd question, new research demonstrates it can be either, depending on how much light you shine on it. Chloroplasts within plant cells constitute an active form of matter that undergoes dramatic phase transitions.

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Madagascar is home to a unique biodiversity with a large number of endemic species, among those many lemur species, including the mouse lemurs. This diversity is also found in their retroviruses. Biologists analyzed the mouse lemur genome and identified viruses of two classes that represent ancient infections of the mouse lemur germline. The viruses now behave similarly to lemur genes and are thus called endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). It was surprising that some of the identified retroviruses are closely related to viruses found in other, very different mammals such as polar bears or domestic sheep. This suggests an intriguing and complex pattern of host switching of retroviruses, much more complex than previously thought.

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A study is providing a glimpse into dinosaur and bird diversity in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous, just before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. The fossils represent the first record of theropods -- a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives -- from the Chilean portion of Patagonia. The researchers' finds include giant megaraptors with large sickle-like claws and birds similar to todays ducks and geese.

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A chemical used in the production of toilet paper and 'forever chemicals' have been found in the bodies of orcas in B.C. , including the endangered southern resident killer whales. Scientists analyzed tissue samples from six southern resident killer whales and six Bigg's whales stranded along the coast of B.C. from 2006 to 2018, according to a recent study. They discovered that chemical pollutants are prevalent in killer whales, with a chemical often found in toilet paper one of the most prevalent in the samples studied, accounting for 46 per cent of the total pollutants identified.

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The movement of people across the Bering Sea from North Asia to North America is a well-known phenomenon in early human history. Nevertheless, the genetic makeup of the  people who lived in North Asia during this time has remained mysterious due to a limited number of ancient genomes analyzed from this region. Now, researchers describe genomes from ten individuals up to 7,500 years old that help to fill the gap and show geneflow from people moving in the opposite direction from North America to North Asia.

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Plant biochemists have discovered a new level of regulation in the biochemical 'machinery' that plants use to convert organic carbon derived from photosynthesis into a range of ring-shaped aromatic molecules. The research suggests new strategies for controlling plant biochemistry for agricultural and industrial applications.

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A new study posits that interstellar cloud conditions may have played a significant role on the presence of key building blocks of life in the solar system.

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An international team has succeeded in propagating a commercial hybrid rice strain as a clone through seeds with 95 percent efficiency. This could lower the cost of hybrid rice seed, making high-yielding, disease resistant rice strains available to low-income farmers worldwide.

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90% of the plants and animals on Madagascar are found nowhere else on Earth, but this treasure trove of evolution is under serious threat due to habitat loss, over-hunting, and climate change. In this study, researchers examined how long it took Madagascar's unique modern mammal species to emerge and estimated how long it would take for a similarly complex set of new mammal species to evolve in their place if the endangered ones went extinct: 23 million years, far longer than scientists have found for any other island.

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In one of the few studies to directly investigate the mechanism underlying the effect of essential elements on plant disease resistance, scientists demonstrate that nutrient elements activate immune responses in tomato plants through different defense signaling pathways.

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Hispaniola once had among the highest diversity of rodents in the Caribbean. Today, only one rodent species remains, and its prospects for survival are uncertain. New carbon dates place the blame squarely on humans.

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New research has uncovered that pollen preserved in 250 million year old rocks contain compounds that function like sunscreen, these are produced by plants to protect them from harmful ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation. The findings suggests that a pulse of UV-B played an important part in the end Permian mass extinction event.

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A new study based on 297 ancient Scandinavian genomes analysed together with the genomic data of 16,638 present day Scandinavians resolve the complex relations between geography, ancestry, and gene flow in Scandinavia -- encompassing the Roman Age, the Viking Age and later periods. A surprising increase of variation during the Viking period indicates that gene flow into Scandinavia was especially intense during this period.

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In the far north of the planet, climate change is clearly noticeable. A new study now shows that in parallel there have been dramatic changes in pollinating insects. Researchers have discovered that the network of plants and their pollinators there has changed considerably since the end of the 19th century. Scientists warn this could lead to plants being pollinated less effectively. This, in turn, would adversely affect their reproduction.

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It was thought that there was only one species of the ghost-like Monotropastrum humile plant found in woodlands across East and Southeast Asia. In a major new discovery, botanists reveal that a rosy pink colored variant is actually a distinct new species, shaking up our understanding of this unusual-looking genus of plants. This 20-year study emphasizes the importance of combining various analytical methods to fully understand and protect biodiversity.

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How plants optimize photosynthesis under changing light conditions.

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Climate change could overexpose rare underwater 'marimo' algae balls to sunlight, killing them off according to a new study. Marimo are living fluffy balls of green algae. The world's largest marimo can be found in Lake Akan in Hokkaido, Japan's northern main island. Here they are sheltered from too much winter sunlight by a thick layer of ice and snow, but the ice is thinning due to global warming. Researchers found that the algae could survive bright light for up to four hours and would recover if then placed under a moderate light for 30 minutes. However, the algae died when exposed to bright light for six hours or more. The team hopes this discovery will highlight the threat of climate change to this endangered species and the urgent need to protect their habitat.

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A research group is studying how plants 'breathe'. They have gained new insights into how grasses develop efficient 'breathing pores' on their leaves. If important landmark components in this development process are missing, the gas exchange between plant and atmosphere is impaired. The findings are also important regarding climate change.

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Existing conservation efforts are insufficient to protect Antarctic ecosystems, and population declines are likely for 65% of the continent's plants and wildlife by the year 2100, according to a new study.