Showing 20 articles starting at article 561

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Engineering: Graphene

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The genomes of two hornet species, the European hornet and the Asian hornet (or yellow-legged hornet) have been sequenced.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Evolution of two contagious cancers affecting Tasmanian devils underlines unpredictability of disease threat. Scientists have traced the family trees of two transmissible cancers that affect Tasmanian devils and have pinpointed mutations which may drive growth of deadly diseases.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Organic solar cells show great promise for clean energy applications. However, photovoltaic modules made from organic semiconductors do not maintain their efficiency for long enough under sunlight for real world applications. Scientists have now revealed an important reason why organic solar cells rapidly degrade under operation. This new insight will drive the design of more stale materials for organic semiconductor-based photovoltaics, thus enabling cheap and renewable electricity generation.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The diverse swimming techniques of the ancient reptiles that ruled the Mesozoic seas have been revealed.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed the first cardiac implant made from graphene, a two-dimensional super material with ultra-strong, lightweight and conductive properties. Similar in appearance to a child's temporary tattoo, the new graphene 'tattoo' implant is thinner than a single strand of hair yet still functions like a classical pacemaker.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The nano-scale electronic parts in devices like smartphones are solid, static objects that once designed and built cannot transform into anything else. But physicists have reported the discovery of nano-scale devices that can transform into many different shapes and sizes even though they exist in solid states.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Insect pollination is a decisive process for the survival and evolution of angiosperm (flowering) plants and, to a lesser extent, gymnosperms (without visible flower or fruit). There is a growing interest in studies on the origins of the relationship between insects and plants, especially in the current context of the progressive decline of pollinating insects on a global scale and its impact on food production. Pollinating insects can be recognized in the fossil record, although to date, there has been no protocol for their differentiation. Fossil pollinators have been found in both rock and amber deposits, and it is in rock deposits that the first evidence of plant pollination by insects is being studied across the globe. But how can we determine which was a true insect pollinator in the past?

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research has traced the evolutionary adaptations of octopus and squid sensing capabilities. The researchers describe for the first time the structure of an octopus chemotactile receptor, which octopus arms use for taste-by-touch exploration of the seafloor.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed a software package to help answer key questions about genetic factors associated with shared characteristics among different species.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Pollinators such as honeybees produce special enzymes that detoxify defence chemicals produced by plants, new research shows.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has recently made a significant discovery about the evolutionary age of different type of cells in a small animal called Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). By using single-cell transcriptomic data and refined phylostratigraphy, the team determines the transcriptomic age of individual cells, which means they are able to estimate the evolutionary origin of different cells based on the age of the genes expressed in the cells.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have described a new species of bat based on the oldest bat skeletons ever recovered. The study on the extinct bat, which lived in Wyoming about 52 million years ago, supports the idea that bats diversified rapidly on multiple continents during this time.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a series of experiments, a team of researchers have compared de novo proteins with random-sequence proteins, looking at their stability and solubility. The results are set to advance basic research in this new field.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers report record-high magnetoresistance that appears in graphene under ambient conditions.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Genes are not the only drivers of evolution. The iconic fins of skates are caused by changes in the non-coding genome and its three-dimensional structure, an international research team reports.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered that Staphylococcus aureus can rapidly evolve within a single person's microbiome. They found that in people with eczema, S. aureus tends to evolve to a variant with a mutation in a specific gene that helps it grow faster on the skin.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study of Britain's native flowering plants has led to new insights into the mysterious process that allows wild plants to breed across species -- one of plants' most powerful evolutionary forces.  When wild flowering plants are sizing up others they may often end up in a marriage between close relatives rather than neighbors, a new study has revealed.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new look at decades of data from museum collections and surveys of leaf-litter ants in Florida reveals a steady decline in native ants and simultaneous increase in nonnative ants -- even in protected natural areas of the state, researchers report.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers compared the genomes of woolly mammoths with modern day elephants to find out what made woolly mammoths unique, both as individuals and as a species. The investigators report that many of the woolly mammoth's trademark features -- including their woolly coats and large fat deposits -- were already genetically encoded in the earliest woolly mammoths, but these and other traits became more defined over the species' 700,000+ year existence. They also identified a gene with several mutations that may have been responsible for the woolly mammoth's miniscule ears.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have produced fully recyclable printed electronics that replace the use of chemicals with water in the fabrication process. By bypassing the need for hazardous chemicals, the demonstration points down a path industry could follow to reduce its environmental footprint and human health risks.