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Categories: Biology: Cell Biology, Environmental: Wildfires

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A new study finds that greenspace -- the vegetation in a neighborhood's yards, parks and public spaces -- has a positive impact on a key genetic marker associated with exposure to stress. However, the study also finds that the positive impact of greenspace isn't enough to compensate for other environmental challenges, such as air pollution.

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A research group has developed a new method for studying how cancer cells function in softer and stiffer tissue environments. This insight challenges the existing paradigm, opening up new possibilities for research in cancer biology and tissue engineering.

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Using a small bird's nest-making process as a model, researchers have developed a nontoxic process for making cellulose gels. 

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Whaling in the 20th century destroyed 99% of the Eastern North Pacific fin whale breeding population. Because there is enough genetic diversity, current conservation measures should help the population rebound without becoming inbred. The future of fin whales in the Gulf of California depends on the recovery of the Eastern North Pacific population.

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Using lake sediment cores, scientists determined how these subalpine ecosystems recovered after 4,800 years of fire.

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Researchers say mapping the genetic code of the brushtail possum will benefit those working to both conserve and control the animal.

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The DNA double helix is composed of two DNA molecules whose sequences are complementary to each other. The stability of the duplex can be fine-tuned in the lab by controlling the amount and location of imperfect complementary sequences. Fluorescent markers bound to one of the matching DNA strands make the duplex visible, and fluorescence intensity increases with increasing duplex stability. Now, researchers have succeeded in creating fluorescent duplexes that can generate any of 16 million colors -- a work that surpasses the previous 256 colors limitation. This very large palette can be used to 'paint' with DNA and to accurately reproduce any digital image on a miniature 2D surface with 24-bit color depth.

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Using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), researchers captured unprecedented images of key immune system receptors interacting with messenger proteins, elucidating how the receptors change shape upon activation and transmit signals within the cell. The findings suggest new pathways for developing therapeutic molecules for diseases such as COVID-19, rheumatoid arthritis, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

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As Halloween approaches, so too does the anticipation of a trick-or-treating stash filled with fun-sized chocolate candy bars. But to satisfy our collective craving for this indulgence, millions of cocoa pods are harvested annually. While the beans and pulp go to make chocolate, their husks are thrown away. Now, researchers show that cocoa pod husks could be a useful starting material for flame retardants.

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The legendary Alexander Fleming, who famously discovered penicillin, once said 'never to neglect an extraordinary appearance or happening.' And the path of science often leads to just that. New research is turning the page in our understanding of harmful bacteria and how they turn on certain genes, causing disease in our bodies.

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In the world of threatened and endangered species conservation, the genomic revolution has raised some complicated questions: How can scientists justify assessing species genetic diversity without consulting entire genomes now that they can be sequenced? But then again, how can scientists justify the time and expense of genome sequencing when age-old measures of neutral genetic diversity are much cheaper and easier to obtain? A new study suggests making a transition from 'old school' genetics to 'new school' genomics for species conservation purposes probably isn't necessary in all cases.

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Researchers have discovered how the fungus Candida albicans enters the brain, activates two separate mechanisms in brain cells that promote its clearance, and, important for the understanding of Alzheimer's disease development, generates amyloid beta (Ab)-like peptides, toxic protein fragments from the amyloid precursor protein that are considered to be at the center of the development of Alzheimer's disease.

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People overeat and become overweight for a variety of reasons. The fact that flavorful high-calorie food is often available nearly everywhere at any time doesn't help. Researchers have determined for the first time why certain chemicals in cooked or processed foods, called advanced glycation end products, or AGEs, increase hunger and test our willpower or ability to make healthy choices when it comes to food.

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A research team has discovered a fundamental mechanism that helps the dreaded hospital pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii to survive. This mechanism explains why the pathogen is difficult to eradicate in hospitals and why infections flare up again and again in patients: When living conditions become too unfavorable for the bacteria, they fall into a kind of slumber. In this state, conventional diagnostic methods can no longer detect them nor is it possible to kill them off. When living conditions improve again, they awaken from this 'deep sleep'.

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The heat shock response of cells is a classic model of biological adaptation, part of the fundamental processes of life -- conserved in creatures from single-celled yeast to humans -- that allow our cells to adjust to changing conditions in their environment. For years, scientists have focused on how different genes respond to heat stress to understand this survival technique. Now, thanks to the innovative use of advanced imaging techniques, researchers are getting an unprecedented look at the inner machinery of cells to see how they respond to heat stress. 

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One of the building blocks of ocean life can adapt to cope with the effects of climate change, according to new research. The discovery holds promises for biotechnology developments that could counter the negative effects of changing environmental conditions, such as ocean warming and even the reduction in the productivity of crops. 

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Despite steps toward decreasing deforestation, uncontrolled wildfires are threatening environmental gains in Brazilian Amazonia, one of the world's most critical carbon sinks and a region of high biological and cultural diversity.  

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Newly published research on indoor air quality shows wildfire smoke may linger in homes long after the initial blaze has been put out or winds have shifted. The findings show that wildfire smoke can attach to home surfaces like carpet, drapes or counters -- extending the exposure for those inside and potentially causing health problems even after an initial cleaning activity by air purifiers.

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Fecal microbe transplants from healthy donors can treat patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infections. However, after tens of thousands transplants, little was known about which donor strains provide long-term engraftment, and which engraft early after the transplant. Most failures of fecal microbe transplantation occur in the first four weeks. Researchers have now found 19 Bacteroides vulgatus genes that were unique to three strains that show early engraftment in patients after a fecal transplant, as opposed to seven strains that did not show early engraftment.

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Researchers have extracted and analyzed DNA from fruit flies housed in museum collections in Lund, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Surprisingly, the researchers found the fruit flies collected in Sweden in the early 1800s were more genetically similar to 21st century flies than the Swedish samples from the 1930s.