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Categories: Biology: Biotechnology, Environmental: Biodiversity

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Researchers have uncovered a mechanism that safeguards the biallelic expression of haploinsufficient genes, shedding light on the importance of having two copies of each chromosome. A study identified the epigenetic regulator MSL2 an 'anti-monoallelic' factor that maintains biallelic gene dosage. This discovery not only reveals a communication system between parental alleles but also points to potential therapeutic strategies for diseases associated with haploinsufficient genes.

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Fruit and vegetables contain a variety of plant natural products such as flavonoids, which give fruits their colour and are said to have health-promoting properties. Most plant natural products occur in nature as glycosides, i.e. chemical compounds with sugars. In order for humans to absorb the healthy plant natural products, the sugar must be split off in the intestine. Microorganisms in the intestinal flora help to speed up the process. So-called C-glycosides, i.e. plant natural products with a carbon-based bond to a sugar, would even be practically indigestible without the intestinal microbes (e.g. nothofagin in rooibos tea).

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Enzymes from microorganisms can produce hydrogen (H2) under certain conditions, which makes them potential biocatalysts for biobased H2 technologies. In order to make this hydrogen production efficient, researchers are trying to identify and eliminate possible limiting factors. These include formaldehyde, which occurs naturally as a metabolic product in cells and inhibits the particularly efficient [FeFe] hydrogenase.

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A landmark study into the geological timescale distribution of sediment and nutrients over 500 million years shows that species biodiversity on Earth is driven by landscape dynamics.

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The evolution of higher cognitive functions in humans has so far mostly been linked to the expansion of the neocortex. Researchers are increasingly realizing, however, that the 'little brain' or cerebellum also expanded during evolution and probably contributes to the capacities unique to humans. A research team has now generated comprehensive genetic maps of the development of cells in the cerebella of human, mouse and opossum. Comparisons of these maps reveal both ancestral and species-specific cellular and molecular characteristics of cerebellum development.

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Planting flowers beside food crops on farms in India attracts bees, boosts pollination and improves crop yield and quality, researchers have found.

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Extracellular vesicles were found to inhibit the viral infection of COVID-19 and potentially other infectious diseases.

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Researchers have developed a way of joining up the head and tail of a protein, making it more stable and easier to get into cells.

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The slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by many Indigenous societies across the world can actually have a positive impact on forests, according to a new study done in Belize. Researchers found that in areas of the rainforest in which Indigenous farmers using slash-and-burn techniques created intermediate-sized farm patches -- neither too small nor too large -- there were increases in forest plant diversity.

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Scientists have found both potential threats and promising resources in the thriving colonies of bacteria and fungi on plastic trash washed up on shores. 

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Nearly a third of the world's mine tailings are stored within or near protected conservation areas, new research has found.

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Scientists show for the first time that bacteria can cause itch by activating nerve cells in the skin. The findings can inform new therapies to treat itch that occurs in inflammatory skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis.

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Trans-vaccenic acid (TVA), a long-chain fatty acid found in meat and dairy products from grazing animals such as cows and sheep, improves the ability of CD8+ T cells to infiltrate tumors and kill cancer cells, according to a new study.

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Researchers report that they have found a way to get antibacterial drugs through the nearly impenetrable outer membrane of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that -- once it infects a person -- is notoriously difficult to treat.

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Researchers have used laser-powered ‘optical tweezers’ to reveal a universal motor mechanism used by viruses for packaging their DNA into infectious particles.

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Investigators have played a key role in deciphering a previously unidentified cluster of genes responsible for producing sartorypyrones, a chemical made by the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus, whose family causes Aspergillosis in humans.

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A new analysis sheds light on the molecular processes involved when a carnivorous species of fungus known as Arthrobotrys oligospora senses, traps and consumes a worm.

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Concerted action is required to mitigate the impact of warming on polar ecosystems and sustainably manage these unique habitats.  

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Malaria is one of the most widespread and deadly infectious diseases worldwide. New compounds are continuously required due to the risk of malaria parasites becoming resistant to the medicines currently used. A team of researchers has now combined the anti-malaria drug artemisinin with coumarin, which, like artemisinin, is also found in plants, and developed an auto-fluorescent compound from both bioactive substances.

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Researchers have determined the gene mutation responsible for an observable trait in bison -- albinism.