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Categories: Biology: Cell Biology, Ecology: Extinction

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Where to put head and tail?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Formation of the body axes is a critical part of embryonic development. They guarantee that all body parts end up where they belong and that no ears grow on our backs. The head-tail axis, for example, determines the orientation of the two ends of the body. It was previously assumed that this axis is largely determined by the interplay between the Nodal and BMP signals. However, there appears to be another player in this system, as researchers have now discovered by using an embryo-like model system they developed. In the absence of BMP, the signalling molecule beta-catenin takes on the role of the Nodal antagonist. This new mechanism could be a flexible solution for axis formation in embryos with different shapes.

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

How the ketogenic diet improves healthspan and memory in aging mice      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The ketogenic diet has its fanatics and detractors among dieters, but either way, the diet has a scientifically documented impact on memory in mice. While uncovering how the high fat, low carbohydrate diet boosts memory in older mice, scientists identified a new molecular signaling pathway that improves synapse function and helps explain the diet's benefit on brain health and aging.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species
Published

Nile perch invasion triggered genetic bottlenecks in Lake Victoria's endemic cichlids      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Newfound evidence reveals that the upsurge of the exotic Nile perch in Lake Victoria had long-lasting effects on the genetic diversity of various local cichlid species, report scientists. Through large-scale comparative genomic analyses, the researchers found concrete proof in the collective genome of multiple species that this artificially introduced perch decimated many local fish populations, causing a 'bottleneck effect.'

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

A high-fat diet may fuel anxiety      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows when animals are fed a diet high in saturated fat for nine weeks, their gut bacteria change in ways that influence brain chemicals and fuel anxiety.

Biology: Cell Biology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Wear it, then recycle: Designers make dissolvable textiles from gelatin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers hope their DIY machine will help designers around the world experiment with making their own, sustainable fashion and other textiles from a range of natural ingredients -- maybe even the chitin in crab shells or agar-agar from algae.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Previously uncharacterized parasite uncovered in fish worldwide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using genome reconstruction, scientists unveiled a once 'invisible' fish parasite present in many marine fish world-wide that belongs to the apicomplexans, one of the most important groups of parasites at a clinical level. However, it had gone unnoticed in previous studies. The parasite is geographically and taxonomically widespread in fish species around the planet, with implications for commercial fishing and oceanic food webs.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature
Published

'Lost' birds list will aid in protecting species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A group of scientists has released the first comprehensive list of birds that haven't been documented with sound or video in more than a decade.

Anthropology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Ancient polar sea reptile fossil is oldest ever found in Southern Hemisphere      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists has identified the oldest fossil of a sea-going reptile from the Southern Hemisphere -- a nothosaur vertebra found on New Zealand's South Island. 246 million years ago, at the beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs, New Zealand was located on the southern polar coast of a vast super-ocean called Panthalassa. 'The nothosaur found in New Zealand is over 40 million years older than the previously oldest known sauropterygian fossils from the Southern Hemisphere.

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

Research into structures of ape hearts provide insight into human evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered new insights into the human heart's structure, revealing its evolutionary history. This study enhances understanding of heart development and its implications for treating heart disease.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: Optics
Published

When bacteria are buckling      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Filamentous cyanobacteria buckle at a certain length when they encounter an obstacle. The results provide an important basis for the use of cyanobacteria in modern biotechnology.

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

Vitamin B6: New compound delays degradation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A low vitamin B6 level has negative effects on brain performance. A research team has now found a way to delay the degradation of the vitamin.

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

The genetic 'switches' of bone growth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In mammals, only 3% of the genome consists of coding genes which, when transcribed into proteins, ensure the biological functions of the organism and the in-utero development of future individuals. But genes do not function alone. They are controlled by other sequences in the genome, called enhancers, which, like switches, activate or deactivate them as required. A team has now identified and located 2700 enhancers -- among millions of non-coding genetic sequences -- that precisely regulate the genes responsible for bone growth. This discovery sheds light on one of the major factors influencing the size of individuals in adulthood, and explains why their failure could be the cause of certain bone malformations.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General
Published

Study on architecture of heart offers new understanding of human evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research team has uncovered a new insight into human evolution by comparing humans' hearts with those of other great apes.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General
Published

Fasting primes the immune system's natural killer cells to better fight cancer, new study in mice finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers has shown for the first time that fasting can reprogram the metabolism of natural killer cells, helping them to survive in the harsh environment in and around tumors, while also improving their cancer-fighting ability.

Biology: General Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Sharks have depleted functional diversity compared to the last 66 million years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has found that sharks retained high levels of functional diversity for most of the last 66 million years, before steadily declining over the last 10 million years to its lowest value in the present day.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology
Published

Infectious H5N1 influenza virus in raw milk rapidly declines with heat treatment      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The amount of infectious H5N1 influenza viruses in raw milk rapidly declined with heat treatment in laboratory research. However, small, detectable amounts of infectious virus remained in raw milk samples with high virus levels when treated at 72 degrees Celsius (161.6 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15 seconds -- one of the standard pasteurization methods used by the dairy industry. The authors of the study stress, however, that their findings reflect experimental conditions in a laboratory setting and are not identical to large-scale industrial pasteurization processes for raw milk.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Scientists preserve DNA in an amber-like polymer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With their 'T-REX' method, researchers developed a glassy, amber-like polymer that can be used for long-term storage of DNA, such as entire human genomes or digital files such as photos.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Zoology
Published

Only one in 20 therapies tested in animals reach approval for human use      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An analysis of reviews of translational biomedical research reveals that just 5% of therapies tested in animals reach regulatory approval for human use. The umbrella review summarizes other systematic reviews and provides high level evidence that while the rate of translation to human studies is 50%, there is steep drop off before final approval.

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

Modifying genomes of tardigrades to unravel their secrets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some species of tardigrades are highly and unusually resilient to various extreme conditions fatal to most other forms of life. The genetic basis for these exceptional abilities remains elusive. Researchers have now successfully edited genes using the CRISPR technique in a highly resilient tardigrade species previously impossible to study with genome-editing tools. The successful delivery of CRISPR to an asexual tardigrade species directly produces gene-edited offspring. The design and editing of specific tardigrade genes allow researchers to investigate which are responsible for tardigrade resilience and how such resilience can work.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General
Published

Putting the brakes on chronic inflammation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered a previously unknown link between two key pathways that regulate the immune system in mammals -- a finding that impacts our understanding of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This family of disorders severely impacts the health and quality of life of more than 2 million people in the United States.