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Categories: Biology: Cell Biology, Offbeat: Plants and Animals

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Environmental: General
Published

A new 'rule of biology' may have come to light, expanding insight into evolution and aging      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A molecular biologist may have found a new 'rule of biology.' The rule challenges long-held notions that most living organisms prefer stability over instability because stability requires less energy and fewer resources.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

New sensor gives unprecedented look at changes in cell's energy 'currency'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new sensor is giving researchers the best look yet at ATP levels inside living cells, enabling scientists to study in greater detail than ever before how fluctuations in this cellular currency affect the cell and contribute to disease.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Otters, especially females, use tools to survive a changing world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sea otters are one of the few animals that use tools to access their food, and a new study has found that individual sea otters that use tools -- most of whom are female -- are able to eat larger prey and reduce tooth damage when their preferred prey becomes depleted.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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How neighboring whale families learn each other's vocal style      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a method to investigate sperm whale communication by determining their vocal style, finding that groups living in close proximity can develop similar styles to each other.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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How did sabre-toothed tigers acquire their long upper canine teeth?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a groundbreaking study an international team of scientists has investigated the evolutionary patterns behind the development of sabre teeth, with some unexpected results along the way.

Biology: Biochemistry Chemistry: Biochemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Spider silk sound system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have investigated how spiders listen to their environments through webs and found that the webs match the acoustic particle velocity for a wide range of sound frequencies. Playing sound ranging from 1 Hz to 50 kHz for the spiders and measuring the spider silk motion with a laser vibrometer, they found the sound-induced velocity of the silk was the same as the particles in the air surrounding it. This confirmed the mechanism that these spiders use to detect their prey.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Ecology: Endangered Species
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Bioengineered enzyme creates natural vanillin from plants in one step      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Vanilla, the most widely used flavoring compound in confectionaries and cosmetics, gets its sweet flavor and aroma from the chemical compound -- 'vanillin'. However, the large-scale production of natural vanillin is impeded by the lack of microbial processes and enzymes which can commercially generate vanillin. Now, researchers have genetically engineered a novel enzyme which can convert ferulic acid from plant waste into vanillin in a one-step sustainable process.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Environmental: General
Published

Regenerating worms have genetic control over their algal partners      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found a genetic pathway that facilitates inter-species communication between a marine worm, acoel, and its symbiotic algae.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Chemistry: Biochemistry Ecology: Sea Life Engineering: Robotics Research Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Jet-propelled sea creatures could improve ocean robotics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered that colonies of gelatinous sea animals swim through the ocean in giant corkscrew shapes using coordinated jet propulsion, an unusual kind of locomotion that could inspire new designs for efficient underwater vehicles.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry
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From roots to resilience: investigating the vital role of microbes in coastal plant health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Understanding how salt marsh grass stays healthy is of crucial ecological importance, and studying the ways bacteria interact with these plants is key. Thanks to recent advances in genomic technology, biologists have begun to reveal never-before-seen ecological processes.

Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Eurasian jays can use 'mental time travel' like humans, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Eurasian jays can remember incidental details of past events, which is characteristic of episodic memory in humans, according to a new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
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Heating proteins to body temperature reveals new drug targets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some proteins shift their shape when exposed to different temperatures, revealing previously unknown binding sites for medications. The findings could revolutionize wide swathes of biology by fundamentally changing how protein structure is studied and leveraged for drug design.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Analyzing androgynous characteristics in an emperor penguin courtship call      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In the emperor penguin courtship call, male vocalizations are composed of long, slow bursts with lower frequency tones than the female version. But calls of SeaWorld San Diego male penguin E-79 defied this binary. Also unusual was this penguin's male companion, E-81. The pair 'kept company' and sometimes exhibited ritual courtship displays. Researchers studied the courtship calls of E-79 and E-81, recording the birds in their below-freezing enclosure and refining the usual technique for analyzing the bursts.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Invasive Species Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Tiger beetles fight off bat attacks with ultrasonic mimicry      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When tiger beetles hear a bat nearby, they respond by creating a high-pitched, ultrasonic noise, and for the past 30 years, no one has known why. In a new study, scientists lay the mystery to rest by showing that tiger beetles use ultrasonic warning signals that mimic those of toxic moths.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Now we know, what gets roots to grow: Can help in future droughts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A biological mechanism familiar to people who fast helps plant roots grow strong. The discovery provides an answer to a long-unanswered question and a deeper understanding of the 'mouths' of plants that can help to develop climate-resilient crops.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
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An active agent against hepatitis E      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

At present, there is no specific active substance against hepatitis E. As the disease kills 70,000 people every year, researchers are actively searching for one. A team may have found what they're looking for. The researchers showed that the compound K11777 prevents host cells from helping the virus out of its shell by cleaving the viral capsid. This means it can no longer infect cells.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
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Exploring the mechanism behind drug eruptions in the skin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Although drug eruptions are often linked to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA), the mechanism of its involvement in presenting symptoms of the skin remains unclear. In a recent study, researchers used genetically engineered mice to demonstrate the role of HLA in mediating intracellular reactions in keratinocytes, leading to drug eruptions in the skin. Their findings could lead to improved preventive and treatment measures for drug eruptions.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Polyglycerol coating: A breakthrough in safer nanoparticle environmental remediation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineered nanoparticles (NPs), commonly utilized in environmental remediation, can pose significant toxicity risks upon ingestion by organisms. Researchers have now devised a solution to this challenge by creating a hydrophilic coating, utilizing polyglycerol (PG) functionalization, for NPs. This coating effectively prevents NP aggregation inside organisms' bodies and facilitates easier passage, thereby reducing accumulation. Applicable to various NPs, the novel surface functionalization approach holds promise for addressing concerns about NP toxicity in environmental remediation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
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Drug compounds to combat neurodegenerative diseases      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Prions are the abnormal, pathogenic agents that are transmissible and are able to induce abnormal folding of specific normal cellular proteins. Prion disease is an umbrella term for a group of fatal and currently untreatable neurodegenerative diseases that not only affect humans, but also wild and captive animals. These diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or 'mad cow disease'), and chronic wasting disease (CWD) affecting deer, elk and moose.