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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Engineering: Graphene

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An international team of marine scientists has studied the DNA of family groups from four different whale species to estimate their mutation rates. Using the newly determined rates, the group found that the number of humpback whales in the North Atlantic before whaling was 86 percent lower than earlier studies suggested.

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As climate change continues to pose severe challenges to ensuring sustainable food supplies around the world, scientists are looking for ways to improve the resilience and nutritional quality of potatoes. Scientists have assembled the genome sequences of nearly 300 varieties of potatoes and its wild relatives to develop more nutritious, disease-free, and weather-proof crop. A team has now created a potato super pangenome to identify genetic traits that can help produce the next super spud.

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Plant species from certain geographic regions are more successful in spreading outside their native ranges than others -- but why? Ecologists provide answers by exploring how the ecological and evolutionary histories of plants can influence their relationships with humans and their success as invaders.

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Researchers generated large scale gene expression data to investigate the molecular networks that operate in one of the closest algal relatives of land plants, a humble single-celled alga called Mesotaenium endlicherianum.

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We've long known that hosts malfunction without their microbiome -- whether they are missing key microbial species or are completely microbe free. This malfunctioning is usually explained by the need for microbes to perform unique and beneficial functions, but evolutionary ecologist is questioning that narrative.

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When infants are involved in agonistic conflicts, male crested macaques (Macaca nigra) are more likely to respond to screams from their own offspring. This is the conclusion of a recent study led by behavioral ecologists. The researchers studied the behavior of crested macaques in the Tangkoko Nature Reserve on Sulawesi, Indonesia, over a 24-month period (2008 to 2010).

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It has long been known that graphene has excellent electronic properties. However, it was unclear until now how stable these properties are. Are they destroyed by disturbances and additional effects, which are unavoidable in practice, or do they remain intact? Scientists have now succeeded in developing a comprehensive computer model of realistic graphene structures. It turned out that the desired effects are very stable. Even graphene pieces that are not quite perfect can be used well for technological applications.

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Scientists use cutting edge scanning technology to reconstruct 'fossil monster' that lived half a billion years ago. The creature's soft anatomy was well-preserved, allowing it to be imaged almost completely: It fills a gap in our understanding of the evolution of arthropods such as insects and crustaceans.

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Physicists have developed a technique to precisely control the alignment of supermoiré lattices by using a set of golden rules, paving the way for the advancement of next generation moiré quantum matter.

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An international research team has described seven previously unknown species of leaf insects, also known as walking leaves. The insects belong to the stick and leaf insect order, which are known for their unusual appearance: they look confusingly similar to parts of plants such as twigs, bark or -- in the case of leaf insects -- leaves. This sophisticated camouflage provides excellent protection from predators as well as presenting a challenge to researchers. Genetic analysis enabled the researchers to discover 'cryptic species', which cannot be distinguished by their external appearance alone. The findings are not only important for the systematic study of leaf insects, but also for the protection of their diversity.

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A new approach to quantum light emitters generates a stream of circularly polarized single photons, or particles of light, that may be useful for a range of quantum information and communication applications. A team stacked two different, atomically thin materials to realize this chiral quantum light source.

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A new study has found a way to prevent lithium plating in electric vehicle batteries, which could lead to faster charging times.

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A researcher made a discovery that could change our understanding of the universe. He reveals that there is a range in which fundamental constants can vary, allowing for the viscosity needed for life processes to occur within and between living cells. This is an important piece of the puzzle in determining where these constants come from and how they impact life as we know it.

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New research suggests that natural selection, famous for rewarding advantageous differences in organisms, can also preserve similarities. The researchers worked with a plant called wild radish and its stamens, or pollen-producing parts, two of which are short and four are long. Roughly 55 million years ago, wild radish ancestors had stamens of equal length. The team selectively bred -- or artificially selected -- wild radish to reduce the difference in stamen length and return the plant to a more ancestral look. This shows that today's wild radish and, likely, its family members still have the requisite genetic variability to evolve, but natural selection is preserving its different stamen lengths.

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Researchers have finally solved the long-standing puzzle of why graphene is so much more permeable to protons than expected by theory.

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Many plants and crops rely on insects to pollinate them so they can reproduce. A new study has shown that several flowering plants from the group Euonymus are pollinated by fungus gnats, a dipteran insect. Specifically, they pollinate Euonymus plants which have red-petaled flowers with short stamens and yogurt-like scent. Although fungus gnats are known to pollinate hundreds of plant species, this study shows that the particular traits of red Euonymus flowers were likely to have been acquired via pollination syndrome, evolving over a process of natural selection to be pollinated specifically by fungus gnats. This research highlights the important role of Diptera, which are commonly regarded as pests, in plant diversity and evolution.

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New research shows that a single mutation that has immediate effects on plant fitness is maintained over the long term in natural plant populations, despite theories predict the contrary. The researchers located and identified the gene that regulates the amount of an active defense hormone. Mutants in this gene are susceptible to herbivore attack. However, they compensate for impaired defenses through robust genetic networks. When fewer herbivores attack, they even grow faster and produce more offspring.

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An extremely rare collection of 160-million-year-old sea spider fossils from Southern France are closely related to living species, unlike older fossils of their kind.

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Biologists discovered that a scaffolding protein called TCOF1 is responsible for the formation of a biomolecular condensate called the fibrillar center, which forms within the cell nucleolus.

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Graphene nanoribbons have outstanding properties that can be precisely controlled. Researchers have succeeded in attaching electrodes to individual atomically precise nanoribbons, paving the way for precise characterization of the fascinating ribbons and their possible use in quantum technology.