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Categories: Biology: Cell Biology, Paleontology: Dinosaurs

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Scientists have found a 'tipping point' in the evolution of fungi that throttles their growth and sculpts their shapes. The findings demonstrate how small changes in environmental factors can lead to huge changes in evolutionary outcomes.

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How was complex life able to develop on the inhospitable early Earth? At the beginning there must have been ribonucleic acid (RNA) to carry the first genetic information. To build up complexity in their sequences, these biomolecules need to release water. On the early Earth, which was largely covered in seawater, that was not so easy to do.

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Millions of people are spreading tuberculosis unknowingly - now scientists say they are close to developing a new test that is as simple as the lateral flows used during the Covid pandemic.

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Could life be found in frozen sea spray from moons orbiting Saturn or Jupiter? New research finds that life can be detected in a single ice grain containing one bacterial cell or portions of a cell. The results suggest that if life similar to that on Earth exists on these planetary bodies, that this life should be detectable by instruments launching in the fall.

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Aging may be less about specific 'aging genes' and more about how long a gene is. Many of the changes associated with aging could be occurring due to decreased expression of long genes, say researchers. A decline in the expression of long genes with age has been observed in a wide range of animals, from worms to humans, in various human cell and tissue types, and also in individuals with neurodegenerative disease. Mouse experiments show that the phenomenon can be mitigated via known anti-aging factors, including dietary restriction.

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New research finds a direct communication path between the lungs and the brain which may change the way we treat respiratory infections and chronic conditions. The lungs are using the same sensors and neurons in the pain pathway to let the brain know there's an infection. The brain then prompts the symptoms associated with sickness. Findings indicate we may have to treat the nervous system as well as the infection.

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A research consortium made a recent discovery that the natural molecule trigonelline present in coffee, fenugreek, and also in the human body, can help to improve muscle health and function.

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A research team has begun translating the complex molecular language of petunias. Their grammar and vocabulary are well hidden, however, within the countless proteins and other compounds that fill floral cells. Being rooted to the ground, plants can't run away from insects, pathogens or other threats to their survival. But plant scientists have long known that they do send warnings to each other via scent chemicals called volatile organic compounds.

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The largest living animal, the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) which averages about 27 meters in length, has slowly recovered from whaling only to face the rising challenges of global warming, pollution, disrupted food sources, shipping, and other human threats. In a major new study, biologists have taken a stock of the number, distribution and genetic characteristics of blue whale populations around the world and found the greatest differences among the eastern Pacific, Antarctic subspecies and pygmy subspecies of the eastern Indian and western Pacific.

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To 'breathe' in an environment without oxygen, bacteria in the ground beneath our feet depend upon a single family of proteins to transfer excess electrons, produced during the 'burning' of nutrients, to electric hairs called nanowires projecting from their surface.

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Researchers have found that a specific subtype of a microbe commonly found in the mouth is able to travel to the gut and grow within colorectal cancer tumors. This microbe is also a culprit for driving cancer progression and leads to poorer patient outcomes after cancer treatment. The findings could help improve therapeutic approaches and early screening methods for colorectal cancer, which is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in adults in the U.S. according to the American Cancer Society.

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Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are showing up in ever more devices, and the increasing use of this technology means more lithium is expected to find its way into the environment as a contaminant. In new research, a team has explored how this ion accumulates in a common Southern crustacean, the crawfish, with implications for the environment and public health.

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Psychologists have discovered a circuit in the brain of mice that makes them crave food and seek it out, even when they are not hungry. When stimulated, this cluster of cells propels mice to forage vigorously and to prefer fatty and pleasurable foods like chocolate over healthier foods like carrots.

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A new study shows the keto diet prevents early memory decline in mice. A molecule in the diet plays a key role in slowing Alzheimer's disease.

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Biologists have published a chromosomally assembled reference genome for the European brown hare. The genome consists of 2.9 billion base pairs, which form 23 autosomal chromosomes, and X and Y sex chromosomes. The timing of the genome release is very appropriate as the brown hare also represents the original Easter Bunny familiar from European folklore.

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A new study finds a complex interplay between diet, genes, and the gut microbiota that could explain why IBD develops.

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Once thrown away, disposable diapers and sanitary pads can take hundreds of years to decompose, because they contain plastics and other synthetic polymers. But now, researchers are replacing these materials with components made from protein biomass that is often discarded. They are sustainable and biodegradable, and they could potentially allow future diapers and pads to be flushed down a toilet or used as fertilizer.

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Researchers have discovered that the mere act of attaching their microparticle 'backpacks' to neutrophils is enough to activate them against cancer -- no drugs needed. In experiments, backpack-bearing neutrophils shrank tumors and extended the survival of mice with cancer, and treated animals retained an immune memory of the disease. This approach opens the door to a new class of drug-free immunotherapy for cancer.

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In a series of trials involving trained distance runners, researchers found that ingesting a cranberry supplement for 28 consecutive days led to noticeable improvements in both performance and muscle fatigue following 1,500-metre time trials. Reoxygenation rates were faster and running speeds improved by 1.5 per cent. The researchers found that 28 days of cranberry extract consumption by elite level endurance runners demonstrated a trend toward increased speed in 1,500-metre time trials but not in 400-metre ones. However, they did notice that lactate buildup was reduced following the 400-metre but not the 1,500-metre compared to baseline. The data also indicated that the cranberry extract promoted better oxygen extraction by the muscle, improved lactate clearance and slower muscle deoxygenation.

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Human sweat contains a protein that may protect against Lyme disease. About one-third of the population carries a genetic variant of this protein that is associated with Lyme disease in genome-wide association studies.