Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General
Published

Switching off inflammatory protein leads to longer, healthier lifespans in mice      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered that 'switching off' a protein called IL-11 can significantly increase the healthy lifespan of mice by almost 25 percent.

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

Genome recording makes living cells their own historians      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Genomes can now be used to store information about a variety of transient biological events inside of living cells, as they happen, like a flight recorder collecting data from an aircraft. The method, called ENGRAM, aims to turn cells into their own historians. ENGRAM couples each kind of biological signal or event inside a cell to a symbolic barcode. This new strategy traces and archives the type and timing of biological signals inside the cell by inserting this information into the genome. For example, this record-keeping can track the commands that turn genes on or off.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals
Published

Influenza viruses can use two ways to infect cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Most influenza viruses enter human or animal cells through specific pathways on the cells' surface. Researchers have now discovered that certain human flu viruses and avian flu viruses can also use a second entry pathway, a protein complex of the immune system, to infect cells. This ability helps the viruses infect different species -- and potentially jump between animals and humans.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
Published

Llama nanobodies: A breakthrough in building HIV immunity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biology researchers have developed a new antibody therapy that can neutralize a wide variety of HIV-1 strains. They found success in an unlikely source -- llamas.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Published

Chatbot Iris offers students individual support      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed the chatbot Iris, which offers informatics students personalized assistance with programming assignments. A study has now confirmed the chatbot's success: Iris improves the understanding of programming concepts and represents a valuable complement to human tutors.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

A new addition to the CRISPR toolbox: Teaching the gene scissors to detect RNA      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

CRISPR-Cas systems, defense systems in bacteria, have become a plentiful source of technologies for molecular diagnostics. Researchers have now expanded this extensive toolbox further. Their novel method, called PUMA, enables the detection of RNA with Cas12 nucleases, which naturally target DNA. PUMA promises a wide range of applications and high accuracy.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Biometric
Published

Scientists develop new artificial intelligence method to create material 'fingerprints'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new technique that pairs artificial intelligence and X-ray science.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography
Published

Scientists use machine learning to predict diversity of tree species in forests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers used machine learning to generate highly detailed maps of over 100 million individual trees from 24 sites across the U.S. These maps provide information about individual tree species and conditions, which can greatly aid conservation efforts and other ecological projects.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Immune system in the spotlight      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our immune system is always on alert, detecting and eliminating pathogens and cancer cells. Cellular control mechanisms cause diseased cells to present antigens on their surface like signs for the immune system. For analysis of the necessary complex antigen processing and transport processes in real time, researchers have developed a 'cage' that is opened with light to release trapped antigens at a specific place and time.

Biology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Food aroma study may help explain why meals taste bad in space      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study on common food aromas may help explain why astronauts report that meals taste bland in space and struggle to eat their normal nutritional intake. This research has broader implications for improving the diets of isolated people, including nursing home residents, by personalizing aromas to enhance the flavor of their food.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient microbes offer clues to how complex life evolved      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered that a single-celled organism, a close relative of animals, harbors the remnants of ancient giant viruses woven into its own genetic code. This finding sheds light on how complex organisms may have acquired some of their genes and highlights the dynamic interplay between viruses and their hosts.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
Published

Harnessing big data helps scientists home in on new antimicrobials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a strategy to identify new antimicrobial drugs with therapeutic promise from bacterial datasets, providing clues for discovering alternatives to traditional antibiotics.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology
Published

E. coli variant may cause antimicrobial resistance in dogs, humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers studying antimicrobial-resistant E. coli -- the leading cause of human death due to antimicrobial resistance worldwide -- have identified a mechanism in dogs that may render multiple antibiotic classes ineffective.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Researchers find that frogs can quickly increase their tolerance to pesticides      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Although there is a large body of research on pests evolving tolerances for the pesticides meant to destroy them, there have been considerably fewer studies on how non-target animals in these ecosystems may do the same.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research
Published

Unlocking the mystery of preexisting drug resistance: New study sheds light on cancer evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The evolution of resistance to diseases, from infectious illnesses to cancers, poses a formidable challenge. Despite the expectation that resistance-conferring mutations would dwindle in the absence of treatment due to a reduced growth rate, preexisting resistance is pervasive across diseases that evolve -- like cancer and pathogens -- defying conventional wisdom.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Loss of oxygen in lakes and oceans a major threat to ecosystems, society, and planet      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Oxygen is a fundamental requirement of life, and the loss of oxygen in water, referred to as aquatic deoxygenation, is a threat to life at all levels. In fact, researchers describe how ongoing deoxygenation presents a major threat to the stability of the planet as a whole.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
Published

Building a roadmap to bioengineer plants that produce their own nitrogen fertilizer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nitrogen fertilizers make it possible to feed the world's growing population, but they are also costly adn harm ecosystems. However, a few plants have evolved the ability to acquire their own nitrogen with the help of bacteria, and a new study helps explain how they did it, not once, but multiple times.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology
Published

Receptors make dairy cows a prime target for influenza      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study helps explain why dairy cows infected by highly pathogenic avian influenza are shedding the virus in their milk. Their findings could help develop biosecurity measures aimed at slowing the spread of the illness.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics
Published

Big boost for new epigenetics paradigm: CoRSIVs, first discovered in humans, now found in cattle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study opens new possibilities to improve production efficiency in the cattle industry and potentially animal agriculture more broadly.