Showing 20 articles starting at article 1121

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Biology: Genetics, Paleontology: Fossils

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a twist on the question, 'Which came first, the chicken or the egg?', scientists have long faced a similar question about how human adenovirus replicates: 'Which comes first, assembly of the viral particle, or packaging of the viral genome?' Now, in a new study, scientists have answered that question, showing that viral proteins use a process called phase separation to coordinate production of viral progeny.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biologists have explored the genetic mechanisms underlying the transition from freezing Antarctic waters to more temperature waters by Antarctic Notothenioid fish.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The amino acid abundances of two Ryugu particles were measured and compared with their rocky components. The results demonstrate the important role that water plays in the formation of amino acids on the giant precursors of asteroids like Ryugu. Our solar system formed from a molecular cloud, which was composed of gas and dust that was emitted into the interstellar medium (ISM), a vast space between stars. On collapse of the molecular cloud, the early sun was formed, with a large disk of gas and dust orbiting it. The dusty material collided to produce rocky material that would eventually grow in size to give large bodies called planetesimals.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team has induced stem cells to emulate the development of the human heart. The result is a sort of 'mini-heart' known as an organoid. It will permit the study of the earliest development phase of our heart and facilitate research on diseases.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fresh insights into how our bodies interact with the microbes living in our guts suggest that a two-drug combination may offer a new way to treat inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While pollinator populations of many species have plummeted worldwide, one bee species is blowing up the map with its rapid population expansion. The key to this insect's success? Its passion for pumpkins, zucchinis, and other squashes, and the massive increase in cultivation of these crops across North America over the last 1,000 years. A new study found that the squash bee (Eucera pruinosa) has evolved in response to intensifying agriculture -- namely squashes in the genus Curcurbita. The research has demonstrated the role of agriculture as an evolutionary force acting on a wild insect pollinator and may have implications for food security.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A family of 'promiscuous' proteins found in all land plants is responsible for many different plant functions, despite remaining relatively unchanged for over 450 million years.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For more than 50 years, it has been suspected that fat cells constantly remodel the lipids they store. Researchers have now demonstrated this process directly for the first time using culture cells. Among other things, the study shows that the cells quickly eliminate harmful fatty acids. They refine others into molecules that can be used more effectively. In the long term, this turns the components of palm fat into the building blocks of high-quality olive oil, for example.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A lower body temperature is one of the most effective mechanisms to prolong the lifespan of animals. New research has now described precisely how this works. The scientists show that cold can prevent the pathological aggregation of proteins typical for two aging-associated neurodegenerative diseases.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Wastewater is a more potent environment for antibiotic resistance to evolve than previously known. A study shows that wastewaters have unique characteristics, allowing resistance genes to start their journey from harmless bacteria to those that cause disease.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Today, ants are pretty much everywhere. To learn more about how these insects conquered the world, scientists used a combination of fossils, DNA, and data on the habitat preferences of modern species to piece together how ants and plants have been evolving together over the past 60 million years. They found that when flowering plants spread out from forests, the ants followed, kicking off the evolution of the thousands of ant species alive today.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Shigella bacteria can infect humans but not mice. A team can now explain why. Their findings may explain the multifariousness of a key weapon of our immune system.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research has discovered a cold 'coping' mechanism that is under the control of the plant biological clock and could offer solutions to breeding more resilience into crops less suited to cold climates.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The fruit of the cocklebur plant, which grows worldwide and is often considered a noxious weed, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components that could make it useful as a skin protectant, according to new research.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Ancient 2m-long amphibians swam like crocodiles long before true crocodiles existed, according to a new study.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A group of researchers discovered that the rhodopsin -- a protein in the eye that detects light -- of whale sharks has changed to efficiently detect blue light, which penetrates deep-sea water easily. The amino acid substitutions -- one of which is counterintuitively associated with congenital stationary night blindness in humans -- aid in detecting the low levels of light in the deep-sea. Although these changes make the whale shark rhodopsin less thermally stable the deep-sea temperature, allows their rhodopsin to keep working. This suggests that the unique adaptation evolved to function in the low-light low-temperature environment where whale sharks live.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers discover that actin acts in the cell nucleus and is partly responsible for the expression of male sexual characteristics.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

With CRISPR-Cas9 technology, humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations. An evolutionary geneticist proposes that we call this evolutionary meddling 'genetic welding.' He argues that we must scientifically and ethically scrutinize the potential consequences of genetic welding before we put it into practice.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers identify the most promising advancements and greatest challenges of artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts. The team describes the components required to construct synthetic mitochondria and chloroplasts and identifies proteins as the most important aspects for molecular rotary machinery, proton transport, and ATP production. The authors believe it is important to create artificial cells with biologically realistic energy-generation methods that mimic natural processes; replicating the entire cell could lead to future biomaterials.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of scientists designed a molecule that disrupts the infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could be used to develop new treatments for COVID-19 and other viral diseases.