Showing 20 articles starting at article 61

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Biology: Cell Biology, Ecology: Nature

Return to the site home page

     (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.

     (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.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New analysis has shown that the UK's first large scale offshore mussel farm might in fact serve as a form of restoration rather than creating habitats never seen in the area before. A map dating from 1871 shows a large area of the seabed -- stretching from Torquay in the west and beyond Lyme Regis to the east -- as being home to 'rich shell beds'. The region has now been transformed from muddy sediment with limited biodiversity into reefs, which research has shown have the potential to benefit a number of commercial fish and crustacean species and the ecosystem more generally.

     (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.

     (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.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In 2017, the Minamata Convention on Mercury went into effect, designed to help curb mercury emissions and limit exposure across the globe. However, a new study of mercury levels in soil suggests that the treaty's provisions might not be enough. The study estimates that soil stores substantially more mercury than previously thought, and it predicts that increases in plant growth due to climate change may add even more.

     (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.

     (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.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have sequenced the largest genome of all animals, the lungfish genome. Their data help to explain how the fish-ancestors of today's land vertebrates were able to conquer land.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers unveiled an approach to drug discovery that could revolutionize how we understand and treat diseases. Their commentary explains the limitations of studies using traditional mouse models and proposes using genetically diverse mice and mouse and human cells to better predict human responses to drugs and diseases.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The distribution of species around the globe is not a random process but an outcome resulting from several evolutionary mechanisms as well as past and current environmental limitations. As a result, since the mid-19th century, biologists have identified several main regions, called biogeographic realms, that depict these large ensembles of species around the world. These biogeographic realms represent one of the most fundamental descriptions of biodiversity on Earth and are commonly used in various fields of biology.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ancient fossil beans about the size of modern limes, and among the largest seeds in the fossil record, may provide new insight into the evolution of today's diverse Southeast Asian and Australian rainforests, according to researchers who identified the plants.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Unprecedented wildfires in Canada and parts of Amazonia last year were at least three times more likely due to climate change and contributed to high levels of CO2 emissions from burning globally, according to the a new systematic review. The State of Wildfires report takes stock of extreme wildfires of the 2023-2024 fire season (March 2023-February 2024), explains their causes, and assesses whether events could have been predicted. It also evaluates how the risk of similar events will change in future under different climate change scenarios.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered that phenylbutazone, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly prescribed in horses, can affect the ability of a mare's egg cells -- called 'oocytes' -- to become viable embryos, which is a crucial step in assisted reproduction in horses.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new technique for mechanically manipulating stem cells could lead to new stem cell treatments, which have yet to fulfill their therapeutic potential.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study details how trees in New York City and Boston are more negatively impacted by heat waves and drought than trees of the same species in nearby rural forests. The finding highlights the challenges urban trees face in the context of climate change and underscores the importance of tailored urban forestry management as a tool for protecting tree species and reducing urban heat islands.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Higher intake of heme iron, the type found in red meat and other animal products -- as opposed to non-heme iron, found mostly in plant-based foods -- was associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a new study. While the link between heme iron and T2D has been reported previously, the study's findings more clearly establish and explain the link.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers show that the adaptation of antlions to their ecological niche has also changed their venom. They compared the venom system of antlion and closely related green lacewing larvae. Antlions produce a much more complex venom from three different venom glands than lacewing larvae do. All the venom proteins identified come from the insects themselves, not from symbiotic bacteria. Some of the toxins are new and appear to be unique to antlions. Waiting for their victims in pitfall traps in the sand, antlions can use their venom to immobilize larger prey. The venom therefore plays an important ecological role in adapting to their barren habitat.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study has shown that different plant species tackle the same evolutionary hurdle in different ways, and the findings may give insight into aggressive forms of cancer.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy: The demand for agricultural raw materials is rising. How can additional cultivation areas be reconciled with nature conservation? Researchers have developed a land-use model that provides answers.