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Categories: Biology: General, Ecology: Invasive Species

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Scientists have confirmed the identity of an unusual, ancient and Endangered species of fish that is living in the coastal rivers of Queensland, about 1400 km north of where it was previously known to live.

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How do city residents feel about animals in their immediate surroundings? A recent study shows how different the acceptance of various wild animals in urban areas is. Important factors are the places where the animals are found and their level of popularity -- squirrels and ladybugs come out on top here. The results have important implications for urban planning and nature conservation.

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Freshwater bacteria with small genomes frequently undergo prolonged periods of adaptive stagnation. Based on genomic analyses of samples from European lakes, researchers uncovered specific evolutionary strategies that shape these bacteria's lifestyles. Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of aquatic microbial communities is key to safeguarding ecosystem services.

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An international team has found a family of natural compounds with potential as new and more effective treatments for parasitic worms. The compounds stall the unique metabolic process that worms use to survive in the human gut.

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Tracking individual enzymes during the breakdown of cellulose for biofuel production has revealed how several roadblocks slow this process when using plant material that might otherwise go to waste. The research may lead to new ways to improve the breakdown process and make the non-edible parts of plants and other plant waste, such as forestry residue, a more competitive source of biofuels.

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Chimpanzees continue to learn and hone their skills well into adulthood, a capacity that might be essential for the evolution of complex and varied tool use, according to a new study.

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Fatty liver disease often leads to chronic liver inflammation and can even result in liver cancer. Scientists have now shown in mice that intermittent fasting on a 5:2 schedule can halt this development. The fasting regime reduces the development of liver cancer in mice with pre-existing liver inflammation. The researchers identified two proteins in liver cells that are jointly responsible for the protective effect of fasting. An approved drug can partially mimic this effect.

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How well bees tolerate temperature extremes could determine their ability to persist in a changing climate. But heat tolerance varies between and within populations, so entomologists examined bee physical traits to understand how these traits interact with environmental conditions, pathogens and other factors.

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A new computational model simulating fruit fly wing development has enabled researchers to identify previously hidden mechanisms behind organ generation. An research team developed a fruit fly model to reverse engineer the mechanisms that generate organ tissue.

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Researchers have found that herpesvirus infection modifies the structure and normal function of the mitochondria in the host cell. The new information will help to understand the interaction between herpesvirus and host cells. Knowledge can be utilized in the development of viral treatments.

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The earliest stages of mammalian embryo development are like an orchestra performance, where everyone must play at the exact right moment and in perfect harmony. New research identifies one of the conductors making sense of the chaos.

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Plants' ability to sense light and temperature, and their ability to adapt to climate change, hinges on free-forming structures in their cells whose function was, until now, a mystery. Researchers have now determined how these structures work on a molecular level, as well as where and how they form.

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Scientists have discovered a new snakebite treatment to prevent the devastating tissue damage caused by African spitting cobra venom. Spitting cobra venom is incredibly potent and causes dermonecrosis, which presents as rapid destruction of skin, muscle and bone around the site of the snakebite, and can lead to permanent injuries and disfigurements, including limb loss and amputations in extreme cases. Using the repurposed small molecule drug varespladib to block one of the two major dermonecrosis-causing toxins in spitting cobra venom prevents skin and muscle damage. Each year, it is estimated that snakebite causes long term detrimental effects in around 400,000 people across the world, with a substantial proportion of those in Africa the result of spitting cobra bites.

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Engineers have developed two new graph-based computational tools for tracking genomic variation within microbiomes.

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In research that may be a step forward toward finding personalized treatments for Tourette disorder, scientists have bred mice that exhibit some of the same behaviors and brain abnormalities seen in humans with the disorder.

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Why 3,000 bars are needed to take a comprehensive look at a protein: Researchers present a new high-pressure spectroscopy method to unravel the properties of proteins' native structures.

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A new study provides some of the clearest and most comprehensive evidence to date on what is known about stress physiology and 'epigenetic programming.'

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Researchers have developed peptide-based hydrogels that mimic the aligned structure of muscle and nerve tissues, which could enable the development of functional lab-grown tissue.

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Land plants cover the surface of our planet and often tower over us. They form complex bodies with multiple organs that consist of a broad range of cell types. Developing this morphological complexity is underpinned by intricate networks of genes, whose coordinated action shapes plant bodies through various molecular mechanisms. All of these magnificent forms burst forth from a one-off evolutionary event: when plants conquered Earth's surface, known as plant terrestrialization.

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New research examines how the bacteria Escherichia coli, or E. coli -- responsible for most UTIs -- is able to use host nutrients to reproduce at an extraordinarily rapid pace during infection despite the near sterile environment of fresh urine.