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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
Published Climate anomalies may play a major role in driving cholera pandemics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research suggests that an El Nino event may have aided the establishment and spread of a novel cholera strain during an early 20th-century pandemic, supporting the idea that climate anomalies could create opportunities for the emergence of new cholera strains.
Published Half a billion-year-old spiny slug reveals the origins of mollusks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Exceptional fossils with preserved soft parts reveal that the earliest mollusks were flat, armored slugs without shells. The new species, Shishania aculeata, was covered with hollow, organic, cone-shaped spines. The fossils preserve exceptionally rare detailed features which reveal that these spines were produced using a sophisticated secretion system that is shared with annelids (earthworms and relatives).
Published Sustainable catalysts: Crystal phase-controlled cobalt nanoparticles for hydrogenation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Controlling the crystal phase of cobalt nanoparticles leads to exceptional catalytic performance in hydrogenation processes, scientists report. Produced via an innovative hydrosilane-assisted synthesis method, these phase-controlled reusable nanoparticles enable the selective hydrogenation of various compounds under mild conditions without the use of harmful gases like ammonia. These efforts could lead to more sustainable and efficient catalytic processes across many industrial fields.
Published Warming stops tiny organisms working together
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hotter conditions prevent two tiny organisms working together for mutual benefit, new research shows.
Published Mass extinction 66 million years ago triggered rapid evolution of bird genomes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Study finds that the mass extinction caused by an asteroid about 66 million years ago led to critical changes in bird genomes that ultimately sparked the incredibly diversity living birds.
Published The next generation of RNA chips
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team has succeeded in developing a new version of RNA building blocks with higher chemical reactivity and photosensitivity. This can significantly reduce the production time of RNA chips used in biotechnological and medical research. The chemical synthesis of these chips is now twice as fast and seven times more efficient.
Published Researchers explore cancer susceptibility in birds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In one of the largest studies of cancer susceptibility across bird species, researchers describe an intriguing relationship between reproductive rates and cancer susceptibility.
Published More electricity from the sun
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A coating of solar cells with special organic molecules could pave the way for a new generation of solar panels. This coating can increase the efficiency of monolithic tandem cells made of silicon and perovskite while lowering their cost -- because they are produced from industrial, microstructured, standard silicon wafers.
Published Scientists discover entirely new wood type that could be highly efficient at carbon storage
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers undertaking an evolutionary survey of the microscopic structure of wood from some of the world's most iconic trees and shrubs have discovered an entirely new type of wood.
Published Researchers identify unique phenomenon in Kagome metal
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study focuses on how a particular Kagome metal interacts with light to generate what are known as plasmon polaritons -- nanoscale-level linked waves of electrons and electromagnetic fields in a material, typically caused by light or other electromagnetic waves.
Published Organic nanozymes have broad applications from food and agriculture to biomedicine
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nanozymes are tiny, engineered substances that mimic the catalytic properties of natural enzymes, and they serve a variety of purposes in biomedicine, chemical engineering, and environmental applications. They are typically made from inorganic materials, including metal-based elements, which makes them unsuitable for many purposes due to their toxicity and high production costs. Organic-based nanozymes partially overcome some of these problems and have the potential for a broader range of applications, including food and agriculture, but they are still in the early stages of development. A new paper provides an overview of the current state of organic nanozymes and their future potential.
Published Platypus and chicken reveal how chromosomes balance between the sexes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Geneticists uncover new insights into how sex chromosome systems work in the platypus and the chicken -- which will lead to better understandings of our own sex chromosome evolution and gene regulation.
Published How researchers turn bacteria into cellulose-producing mini-factories
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have modified certain bacteria with UV light so that they produce more cellulose. The basis for this is a new approach with which the researchers generate thousands of bacterial variants and select those that have developed into the most productive.
Published Scientists untangle interactions between the Earth's early life forms and the environment over 500 million years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The atmosphere, the ocean and life on Earth interacted over the past 500-plus million years in ways that improved conditions for early organisms to thrive. Now, an interdisciplinary team of scientists has produced a perspective article of this co-evolutionary history.
Published Plant-inspired polymers for water purification
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have synthesized a bio-inspired polymer for water purification. The polymer was designed to mimic phytochelatin, a plant protein that selectively captures and neutralizes harmful heavy metal ions. The hyperconfinement of the polymer enabled a flow-through system and effectively removed cadmium ions from contaminated water, making it safe to drink. The system was selective for heavy metals and provides a new way to remove specific contaminants from water.
Published Pioneering measurement of the acidity of ionic liquids using Raman spectroscopy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study has made it possible to estimate experimentally the energy required to transfer protons from water to ionic liquids.
Published The ancestor of all modern birds probably had iridescent feathers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Birds tend to be more colorful in the tropics, and scientists wanted to find out how they got there: if colorful feathers evolved in the tropics, or if tropical birds have brightly-colored ancestors that came to the region from somwhere else. Scientists built a database of 9,409 birds to explore the spread of color across the globe. They found that iridescent, colorful feathers originated 415 times across the bird tree of life, and in most cases, arose outside of the tropics -- and that the ancestor of all modern birds likely had iridescent feathers, too.
Published Lampreys possess a 'jaw-dropping' evolutionary origin
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Lampreys are one of only two living jawless vertebrates Jaws are formed by a key stem cell population called the neural crest New research reveals the gene regulatory changes that may explain morphological differences between jawed and jawless vertebrates.
Published 'Miracle' filter turns store-bought LEDs into spintronic devices
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists transformed existing optoelectronic devices into ones that can control electron spin at room temperature, without a ferromagnet or magnetic field. Researchers replaced the electrodes of store-bought LEDs with a patented spin filter made from hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite.
Published Ancient marine animal had inventive past despite being represented by few species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Brachiopods were evolving in new directions but this did not turn into evolutionary success in terms of the numbers of species, researchers have found.