Showing 20 articles starting at article 281

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Biology: Cell Biology, Ecology: Invasive Species

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered a salt adaptation mechanism in plants that facilitates chloride removal from the roots and enhancing salinity tolerance. A research team has uncovered a novel mechanism of plant adaptation to salt stress involving the NaCl-induced translocation of a specific chloride channel protein, AtCLCf.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The function of non-coding RNA in the cell has long been a mystery to researchers. Unlike coding RNA, non-coding RNA does not produce proteins -- yet it exists in large quantities. A research team has now discovered an important function of antisense RNA (asRNA): the researchers found that asRNA acts as a 'superhighway' in cell transport and thus accelerates gene expression.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new family tree of the plant genus Solanum helps explain the striking diversity of their fruit color and size. This genus includes tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and other economically important plants.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fewer than one percent of people who get the flu every year get tested, in part because most tests require trained personnel and expensive equipment. Now researchers have developed a low-cost paper strip test that could allow more patients to find out which type of flu they have and get the right treatment. The test uses CRISPR to distinguish between the two main types of seasonal flu, influenza A and B, as well as seasonal flu subtypes H1N1 and H3N2. It can also identify strains that resist antiviral treatment, and with further work, could potentially detect swine and avian flu strains, including H5N1, which is currently infecting cattle.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered a new fundamental mechanism governing the rules of ageing in worms. The researchers were able to manipulate the mechanism through genetic interventions which dramatically extend not just the lifespan of the worms, but also their health-span. In other words, trading weak, frail old age with vigorous golden years -- all without altering their diet, environment or other external factors.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chimpanzees appear to consume plants with medicinal properties to treat their ailments, according to a new study.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New strains of yeast for brewing lager beers, created by hybridizing wild strains of yeast from Patagonia with brewer's yeast, can yield novel flavors and aromas, researchers report.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists has recently found that non-native species are expanding their ranges many orders of magnitude faster than native ones, in large part due to inadvertent human help. Even seemingly sedentary non-native plants are moving at three times the speed of their native counterparts in a race where, because of the rapid pace of climate change and its effect on habitat, speed matters. To survive, plants and animals need to be shifting their ranges by 3.25 kilometers per year just to keep up with the increasing temperatures and associated climactic shifts -- a speed that native species cannot manage without human help.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The effects of coffee consumption on human health is a knotty question, but one thing is sure: coffee is a psychoactive substance.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research team has discovered a new way to effectively treat cancer, by using nutrients to reactivate suppressed metabolic pathways in cancer cells.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A white wine over 2,000 years old, of Andalusian origin, is the oldest wine ever discovered.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Archipelago case-study shows that removing invasive rats and restoring native vegetation could help bring back hundreds of thousands of breeding pairs of seabirds lost to tropical islands. Calculating that there are enough fish to sustain restored seabird populations should be an important consideration for restoration projects, scientists say. Restored seabird populations also provide huge boost to the health of surrounding coral reef ecosystems through restored nutrient cycles.

     (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.

     (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.

     (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.'

     (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.

     (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.

     (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.

     (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.

     (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.