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Categories: Biology: Genetics, Ecology: Extinction

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Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
Published

Altering the circadian clock adapts barley to short growing seasons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To ensure that plants flower at the right time of year, they possess an internal clock, which enables them to measure the amount of daylight during a day. Biologists now describe that the mutation of a specific gene makes the flowering time of barley almost entirely independent of day length. This mutation can be useful for breeding varieties adapted to altered climatic conditions with relatively mild winters and hot, dry summers.

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

Compound vital for all life likely played a role in life's origin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A chemical compound essential to all living things has been synthesized in a lab in conditions that could have occurred on early Earth, suggesting it played a role at the outset of life.

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

Metabolic diseases may be driven by gut microbiome, loss of ovarian hormones      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mice that received fecal implants from donors that had their ovaries removed gained more fat mass and had greater expression of liver genes associated with inflammation, Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis. The findings may shed light on the greater incidence of metabolic dysfunction in postmenopausal women.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity
Published

Increasingly similar or different? Centuries-long analysis suggests biodiversity is differentiating and homogenizing to a comparable extent      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The tendency of communities and the species within them to become more similar or more distinct across landscapes -- biotic homogenization and differentiation -- are approximately balanced, according to a new study. This analysis is the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive assessment of how local and regional biodiversity changes combine across landscapes over centuries.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Butterfly and moth genomes mostly unchanged despite 250 million years of evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Comparison of over 200 high-quality butterfly and moth genomes reveals key insights into their biology, evolution and diversification over the last 250 million years, as well as clues for conservation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

An awkward family reunion: Sea monsters are our cousins      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The sea lamprey, a 500-million-year-old animal with a sharp-toothed suction cup for a mouth, is the thing of nightmares. A new study discovered that the hindbrain -- the part of the brain controlling vital functions like blood pressure and heart rate -- of both sea lampreys and humans is built using an extraordinarily similar molecular and genetic toolkit.

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

New system triggers cellular waste disposal      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Established treatments for cancer and other diseases often focus on inhibiting harmful enzymes to mitigate their effects. However, a more innovative approach has emerged: harnessing the cell's natural waste disposal system not just to deactivate but to entirely eradicate these proteins. Researchers have previously demonstrated the efficacy of this approach through two distinct methods. Now they unveil a third system capable of targeting and disposing of previously inaccessible proteins.

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

Bridging diet, microbes, and metabolism: Implications for metabolic disorders      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mounting evidence suggests that the secret to understanding human health and combating metabolic diseases lies hidden within the microscopic world of our gut bacteria. Recent research reveals that a specific fatty acid produced by gut bacteria directly influences fat metabolism in animals. This research is pivotal as it sheds light on the complex interplay between the diet, gut microbiota, and host metabolic health, offering insights that could open new avenues in our approach to managing metabolic disorders.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Photosynthetic mechanism of purple sulfur bacterium adapted to low-calcium environments      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) convert light energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis. Interestingly, certain species can photosynthesize even in environments with low-calcium levels. Using cryo-electron microscopy, researchers unveiled the structure of light-harvesting complexes and elucidated the mechanism that facilitates photosynthesis under low-calcium conditions.

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

Researchers are using RNA in a new approach to fight HIV      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A pharmacy associate professor has developed a novel nanomedicine loaded with genetic material called small interfering RNAs (siRNA) to fight human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) using gene therapy.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems
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Artificial reefs help preserve coral reefs by shifting divers away from the natural ones, according to new long-term study of one in Eilat      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Divers are essentially tourists who love coral reefs and invest a lot of time and effort to watch them. Unfortunately, divers also cause damage to corals, often unintentionally, through disturbing and resuspending sand, touching them, hitting them with their equipment, and scaring fish away. Artificial reefs have been proposed as a means of diverting diving pressure from the natural reef to alternative sites, thus preserving both dive tourism and the coral reef.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
Published

Nature's checkup: Surveying biodiversity with environmental DNA sequencing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A thousand kilometers south of Tokyo, far into the largest ocean on Earth, lies a chain of small, volcanic islands -- the Ogasawara Islands. Nature has been able to develop on its own terms here, far from both humans and the warm Kuroshio current, which acts like a shuttle, moving marine species from Taiwan, over the Ryukyu Islands, and up the Pacific coast of mainland Japan. With upwards of 70 % of trees and many animal species being endemic to the archipelago, the islands have been dubbed 'the Galapagos of the East', as they are valuable as both a biodiversity hotspot and a cradle of scientific discovery.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity
Published

Scientists may have cracked the 'aging process' in species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research shows the relationship between a species' age and its risk of going extinct could be accurately predicted by an ecological model called the 'neutral theory of biodiversity.'

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

Eating too much protein is bad for your arteries, and this amino acid is to blame      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Consuming over 22% of dietary calories from protein can lead to increased activation of immune cells that play a role in atherosclerotic plaque formation and drive the disease risk, new study showed.

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

Toxoplasmosis: Evolution of infection machinery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified a protein that evolved concurrently with the emergence of cellular compartments crucial for the multiplication of the toxoplasmosis pathogen.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Asexual propagation of crop plants gets closer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When the female gametes in plants become fertilized, a signal from the sperm activates cell division, leading to the formation of new plant seeds. This activation can also be deliberately triggered without fertilization, as researchers have shown. Their findings open up new avenues for the asexual propagation of crop plants.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Root microbes may be the secret to a better tasting cup of tea      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

You'd think the complex flavor in a quality cup of tea would depend mainly on the tea varieties used to make it. But a new study shows that the making of a delicious cup of tea depends on another key ingredient: the collection of microbes found on tea roots. By altering that assemblage, the authors showed that they could make good-quality tea even better.