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Categories: Biology: Cell Biology, Space: The Solar System

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The small footprint and dim light of white dwarfs, remnants of stars that have burned through their fuel, may make excellent backdrops for studying planets with enough water to harbor life. The trick is spotting the shadow of a planet against a former star that has withered to a fraction of its size and finding that it's a planet that has kept its water oceans for billions of years even after riding out the star's explosive and violent final throes. A new study of the dynamics of white dwarf systems suggests that, in theory, some watery planets may indeed thread the celestial needles necessary to await discovery and closer scrutiny.

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This study discovered mini-Neptunes around four red dwarfs using observations from a global network of ground-based telescopes and the TESS space telescope. These four mini-Neptunes are close to their parent stars, and the three of them are likely to be in eccentric orbits.

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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.

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Researchers have found that germ cells, which develop into eggs and sperm, drive sex-dependent differences in lifespan in vertebrates. Female and male germ cells increase and reduce lifespan, respectively. These effects are controlled via estrogen and growth factor hormones in females and vitamin D in males. Vitamin D supplementation extends lifespan in both males and females. The results clarify the link between reproduction and aging and show that vitamin D may improve longevity in vertebrates.

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Goldenrod can perceive other plants nearby without ever touching them, by sensing far-red light ratios reflected off leaves. When goldenrod is eaten by herbivores, it adapts its response based on whether or not another plant is nearby. Is this kind of flexible, real-time, adaptive response a sign of intelligence in plants?

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A mother's contribution to the makeup of a newborn baby's microbiota has been well documented. Now a new article shows the important contributions that fathers make to the composition of microorganisms colonizing a baby's gut as well. Furthermore, the study confirmed that maternal fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) in babies born by caesarean section can help to correct the microbiota disturbances often observed in babies who are not born vaginally.

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Mutations are changes in the molecular 'letters' that make up the DNA code, the blueprint for all living cells. Some of these changes can have little effect, but others can lead to diseases, including cancer. Now, a new study introduces an original technique, called HiDEF-seq, that can accurately detect the early molecular changes in DNA code that precede mutations.

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Using tools of modern genetics, plant biochemists have produced a new high-yielding oilseed crop variety -- a yellow-seeded variety of Camelina sativa, a close relative of canola, that accumulates 21.4% more oil than ordinary camelina.

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As space travel becomes more frequent, a new biomarker tool was developed by an international team of researchers to help improve the growing field of aerospace medicine and the health of astronauts.

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Researchers tracked how plant matter moves through bacteria's metabolism. Microbes respire three times as much carbon dioxide (CO2) from non-sugar carbons from lignin compared to sugar from cellulose. Although microbes consume both types of plant matter at the same time, each type enters a different metabolic pathway. Findings could improve predictions of how climate-dependent changes in soil carbon types will affect microbial CO2 production.

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Researchers have discovered that virus-like nanoparticles can promote the multicellular organization and reproduction of host bacteria. These particles, which are evolutionarily related to phages (viruses that infect bacteria), contain an enzyme that helps shape the multicellular architecture and ultimately enhances morphological differentiation.

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The need to transition away from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy production is critical. That's why a team of researchers is looking at a potential power source that not only produces no carbon emissions but removes carbon as it works: algae.

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An international scientific team has redefined our understanding of archaea, a microbial ancestor to humans from two billion years ago, by showing how they use hydrogen gas. The findings explain how these tiny lifeforms make energy by consuming and producing hydrogen. This simple but dependable strategy has allowed them to thrive in some of Earth's most hostile environments for billions of years.

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The structure and function of the kidneys is altered by space flight, with galactic radiation causing permanent damage that would jeopardise any mission to Mars, according to a new study led by researchers from UCL.

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Crater 2, located approximately 380,000 light years from Earth, is one of the largest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. Extremely cold and with slow-moving stars, Crater 2 has low surface brightness. How this galaxy originated remains unclear. A team of physicists now offers an explanation.

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A discovery could speed up efforts to produce new antibiotics in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

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A team has found a way to make the bacterial enzyme histidine kinase water-soluble, which could make it possible to rapidly screen potential antibiotics that might interfere with its functions.

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Astronomers have captured what appears to be a snapshot of a massive collision of giant asteroids in Beta Pictoris, a neighboring star system known for its early age and tumultuous planet-forming activity.

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Why does Hepatitis E become chronic in some patients, and why do medications not work? To find out, an international research team led by scientists from Bochum observed a patient with chronic Hepatitis E infection over a year. Repeated sequencing of the virus RNA showed that the virus incorporated various parts of the host's messenger RNA into its genome. This resulted in a replication advantage, which may have contributed to the infection becoming chronic.

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Astrophysicists calculate the likelihood that Earth was exposed to cold, harsh interstellar clouds, a phenomenon not previously considered in geologic climate models.