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Categories: Biology: General, Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published The banana apocalypse is near, but biologists might have found a key to their survival
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The bananas in your supermarket and that you eat for breakfast are facing functional extinction due to the disease Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB) caused by a fungal pathogen called Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 (TR4). However, thanks to recent research from an international team of scientists we now know that Foc TR4 did not evolve from the strain that wiped out commercial banana crops in the 1950s and that the virulence of this new strain seems to be caused by some accessory genes that are associated the production of nitric oxide. The research opens the door to treatments and strategies that can slow, if not control, the as-of-yet unchecked spread of Foc TR4.
Published Blind cavefish have extraordinary taste buds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A biologist studies blind cavefish, a species of fish that dwell in cave ponds in Mexico. He looked at the timeline for when the cavefish develop additional taste buds on the head and chin, finding the taste bud expansion starts at five months and continues into adulthood.
Published Nearly 25% of European landscape could be rewilded, researchers say
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Europe's abandoned farmlands could find new life through rewilding, a movement to restore ravaged landscapes to their wilderness before human intervention. A quarter of the European continent, 117 million hectares, is primed with rewilding opportunities, researchers report.
Published Zebrafish use surprising strategy to regrow spinal cord
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study maps out a detailed atlas of all the cells involved in regenerating the zebrafish spinal cord. In an unexpected finding, the researchers showed that survival and adaptability of the severed neurons themselves is required for full spinal cord regeneration. Surprisingly, the study showed that stem cells capable of forming new neurons play a complementary role but don t lead the process.
Published Surprise finding in study of environmental bacteria could advance search for better antibiotics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers studying bacteria from freshwater lakes and soil say they have determined a protein's essential role in maintaining the germ's shape. Because the integrity of a bacterial cell's 'envelope' or enclosure is key to its survival, the finding could advance the search for new and better antibiotics.
Published Scientists map DNA of Lyme disease bacteria
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have produced a genetic analysis of Lyme disease bacteria that may pave the way for improved diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the tick-borne ailment.
Published Researchers unveil mysteries of ancient Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers has made strides in understanding the formation of massif-type anorthosites, enigmatic rocks that only formed during the middle part of Earth's history. These plagioclase-rich igneous rock formations, which can cover areas as large as 42,000 square kilometers and host titanium ore deposits, have puzzled scientists for decades due to conflicting theories about their origins.
Published A taste for carbon dioxide
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The remarkable affinity of the microbial enzyme iron nitrogenase for the greenhouse gas CO2 makes it promising for future biotechnologies.
Published New way inflammation impacts cell communication
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have made significant progress in understanding how cells communicate during inflammation.
Published Revealing the mysteries within microbial genomes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new technique will make it much easier for researchers to discover the traits or activities encoded by genes of unknown function in microbes, a key step toward understanding the roles and impact of individual species within the planet's diverse microbiomes.
Published How bread dough gave rise to civilization
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A major international study has explained how bread wheat helped to transform the ancient world on its path to becoming the iconic crop that today helps sustain a global population of eight billion.
Published Lake Erie walleye growth is driven by parents' size, experience
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Parent size and the conditions in which actively spawning adults lived are the most influential factors affecting growth of Lake Erie walleye, a new study has found.
Published Hand washing is important -- but is your sink clean?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Handbasins are hotspots for dangerous microbes that can cause illnesses including pneumonia, Legionnaires' disease and wound infections, a new study warns. The environmental health study found handbasin biofilms contained a diverse range of pathogens including microbes typically found in water, and other pathogens not found in water.
Published Beige fat cells with a 'Sisyphus mechanism'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new class of fat cells makes people healthier. The cells consume energy and produce heat through seemingly pointless biochemical reactions.
Published A belly full of jelly
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For a long time, scientists assumed that jellies (commonly known as jellyfish) were a dead-end food source for predatory fish. However, a team has now discovered that fish in Greenland waters do indeed feed on jellyfish. In two of the analyzed species, they even made up the majority of the food. The results suggest that the role of jellyfish as prey in marine food webs should be reconsidered, especially in regards to the fact that they could be profiting from climate change and spreading farther and farther north.
Published Impact of 700 years of Inuvialuit subsistence hunting on beluga whales
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of researchers analyzed beluga whale bones retrieved from archaeological sites in the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada, to shed light on the sustainability of centuries of Inuvialuit beluga whale subsistence harvests.
Published New mechanism of action kills cancer cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Conventional cancer drugs work by triggering apoptosis, that is programmed cell death, in tumor cells. However, tumor cells have the ability to develop strategies to escape apoptosis, rendering the drugs ineffective. A research team now describes a new mechanism of action that kills cancer cells through ferroptosis.
Published Could manure and compost act like probiotics, reducing antibiotic resistance in urban soils?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research suggests that, in some cases, boosting urban soil health with compost and treated manure may reduce the amount of pathogenic and anti-biotic resistant bacteria.
Published C-section antibiotics impact the infant microbiome far less than infant diet
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Caesarean section recipients are usually given prophylactic antibiotics just before the procedure to prevent later infections at the surgical site. But there have been concerns about whether these antibiotics may have a negative impact on newborns and their microbiomes if the drugs travel through the umbilical cord and reach the baby before the cord is cut. Now, a study has confirmed that although these antibiotics can cause subtle changes to the infant microbiome, they are much less significant than the impact of how the babies are fed.
Published A ketogenic diet could improve the response to pancreatic cancer therapy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered a way to get rid of pancreatic cancer in mice by putting them on a high fat, or ketogenic, diet and giving them cancer therapy.