Showing 20 articles starting at article 981
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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published Behavior is the secret to success for a range expansion
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source While many species are undergoing drastic declines in their numbers and geographic ranges, other species seem to be thriving. Researchers investigating the great-tailed grackle, a bird that has been establishing new populations across North America in the past few decades, reveal that behavior might play a key role in their success. They found that the population on the range's edge is more persistent and has more variability in flexibility, and that this species has shifted toward living more in urban, arid environments.
Published Precisely arranging nanoparticles
(via sciencedaily.com) In the incredibly small world of molecules, the elementary building blocks -- the atoms -- join together in a very regular pattern. In contrast, in the macroscopic world with its larger particles, there is much greater disorder when particles connect. A research team has now succeeded in achieving the same precise arrangement of atoms shown in molecules, but using nanometer-sized particles, known as 'plasmonic molecules' -- combinations of nanoscale metallic structures that have unique properties.
Published Tiny sea creatures reveal the ancient origins of neurons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study sheds new light on the origins of modern brain cells. Researchers find evidence that specialized secretory cells found in placozoans, tiny sea creatures the size of a grain of sand, have many similarities to the neuron, such as the genes required to create a partial synapse. From an evolutionary point of view, early neurons might have started as something like these cells, eventually gaining the ability to create a complete synapse, form axons and dendrites and create ion channels that generate fast electrical signals -- innovations which gave rise to the neuron in more complex animals such as jellyfish. Though the complete story of how the first neuron appeared remains to be told, the study demonstrates that the basic building blocks for our brain cells were forming in the ancestors of placozoans grazing inconspicuously in the shallow seas of Earth around 800 million years ago.
Published Research identifies new potential hurdle for nano-based therapies
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have discovered that certain nano-based cancer therapies may be less effective in younger patients, highlighting the need for further investigation into the impact of aging on the body's ability to respond to treatment. The researchers found age-related differences are due to how effectively the liver filters the bloodstream. Younger livers are more efficient at this process, which helps limit toxins in the blood but also filters out beneficial treatments, potentially rendering them ineffective.
Published Brain-altering parasite turns ants into zombies at dawn and dusk
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source It takes over the brains of ants, causing them to cling to blades of grass against their will. The lancet liver fluke has an exceptional lifecycle strategy, in which snails, ants and grazing animals are unwitting actors. Researchers now reveal more about the mind-bending workings of this tiny parasite.
Published Vocal learning linked to problem solving skills and brain size
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The better a songbird is at working its way around obstacles to retrieve a snack, the more complex its vocal learning ability will be.
Published Tiny nanocarriers could prove the magic bullet for acne sufferers
(via sciencedaily.com) It's a skin disorder that makes life miserable for around 800 million teenagers and adults worldwide, but cientists may have found an effective treatment for acne, delivered via tiny nanoparticles.
Published How just one set of animal tracks can provide a wealth of information
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Rock faces in Namibia are decorated with hundreds of stone-age images not only of animals and human footprints, but also of animal tracks. These have been largely neglected to date as researchers lacked the knowledge required to interpret them. Archaeologists have now worked together with animal tracking experts to investigate the engraved animal tracks on six rock faces in more detail, and were able to determine detailed information on the species, age, sex, limbs, side of the body, trackway and relative direction of the tracks.
Published Scientists find good places to grow long-spined sea urchins, a starting point to restore 'the lawn mowers of the reefs'
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists are trying to raise as many urchins as possible because they eat algae that could otherwise smother reef ecosystems and kill corals. Researchers have identified algae on which larval sea urchins grow into juveniles in a lab setting.
Published Protected nature reserves alone are insufficient for reversing biodiversity loss
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Protected nature areas are considered fundamental for maintaining biodiversity and countering its loss. But how effectively do established protected areas work and prevent negative trends? Research shows mixed effects of protected areas on various species.
Published Some spiders can transfer mercury contamination to land animals
(via sciencedaily.com) Sitting calmly in their webs, many spiders wait for prey to come to them. Arachnids along lakes and rivers eat aquatic insects, such as dragonflies. But, when these insects live in mercury-contaminated waterways, they can pass the metal along to the spiders that feed on them. Now, researchers have demonstrated how some shoreline spiders can move mercury contamination from riverbeds up the food chain to land animals.
Published More Texas owls are testing positive for rat poisons
(via sciencedaily.com) New research suggests that owls in Texas have high rates of anticoagulant rodenticides (AR) -- blood thinning rat poisons -- in their systems.
Published Pixel-by-pixel analysis yields insights into lithium-ion batteries
(via sciencedaily.com) By mining X-ray images, researchers have made significant new discoveries about the reactivity of lithium iron phosphate, a material used in batteries for electric cars and in other rechargeable batteries.
Published Ultrathin nanotech promises to help tackle antibiotic resistance
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have invented a nano-thin superbug-slaying material that could one day be integrated into wound dressings and implants to prevent or heal bacterial infections. The innovation -- which has undergone advanced pre-clinical trials -- is effective against a broad range of drug-resistant bacterial cells, including 'golden staph', which are commonly referred to as superbugs.
Published Movement sensors can detect disease in wild boar
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Accelerometers reading the behavior of wild boars can pick up when animals are infected with a fatal virus.
Published You say tomato, these scientists say evolutionary mystery
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biologists have found evidence for evolutionary 'syndromes'-- sets of traits that occur together -- that help to explain how tomatoes first evolved their distinctive blend of color, sweetness, acidity and aroma. The research not only shines a light on how fruits evolve in the wild, but will also be valuable to crop-improvement efforts aimed at breeding more nutritious and appealing varieties of fruits.
Published Super antifreeze in cells: The ability to survive in ice and snow developed in animals far earlier than we thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More than 400 million years ago, an insect-like animal called the springtail developed a small protein that prevents its cells from freezing.
Published 'A crab is never just a crab'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A herring in the North Sea, a crab in the Wadden Sea or an anemone fish on a coral reef, ... biologists like to think in terms of individual species that all have their own place within food webs in ecosystems across the world. 'But that is surely too simplistic thinking,' researchers warn.
Published Jackdaws switch friends to gain food -- but stick with family
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Jackdaws ditch old friends and make new ones if it helps them get rewards -- but stick with family through thick and thin, new research shows.
Published Contours that kill: Geometry influences prey capture in carnivorous pitcher plants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have shown that the shape, size, and geometry of carnivorous pitcher plants determines the type of prey they trap.