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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Engineering: Graphene
Published Evolutionary history of detoxifying enzymes reconstructed
(via sciencedaily.com) Biochemists have succeeded in resurrecting the ancestral genes of five detoxifying enzymes which are present in all tetrapods to show how their divergence in function has occurred.
Published The rediscovery of an ethereal fairy lantern brightly illuminates their mysterious past
(via sciencedaily.com) After more than 30 years, botanists have rediscovered Thismia kobensis, a type of mysterious-looking rare plant commonly referred to as 'fairy lanterns'. Thismia kobensis was presumed extinct and the surprise rediscovery of this Japanese variety has illuminated hidden aspects of fairy lanterns that have puzzled and fascinated botanists for centuries.
Published Ancient proteins offer new clues about origin of life on Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source By simulating early Earth conditions in the lab, researchers have found that without specific amino acids, ancient proteins would not have known how to evolve into everything alive on the planet today -- including plants, animals, and humans.
Published New material may offer key to solving quantum computing issue
(via sciencedaily.com) A new form of heterostructure of layered two-dimensional (2D) materials may enable quantum computing to overcome key barriers to its widespread application, according to an international team of researchers.
Published How birds got their wings
(via sciencedaily.com) Modern birds capable of flight all have a specialized wing structure called the propatagium without which they could not fly. The evolutionary origin of this structure has remained a mystery, but new research suggests it evolved in nonavian dinosaurs. The finding comes from statistical analyses of arm joints preserved in fossils and helps fill some gaps in knowledge about the origin of bird flight.
Published Deadly waves: Researchers document evolution of plague over hundreds of years in medieval Denmark
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists who study the origins and evolution of the plague have examined hundreds of ancient human teeth from Denmark, seeking to address longstanding questions about its arrival, persistence and spread within Scandinavia.
Published Insect bite marks show first fossil evidence for plants' leaves folding up at night
(via sciencedaily.com) Plants can move in ways that might surprise you. Some of them even show 'sleep movements,' folding or raising their leaves each night before opening them again the next day. Now, researchers offer convincing evidence for these nightly movements, also known as foliar nyctinasty, in fossil plants that lived more than 250 million years ago.
Published A labyrinth lake provides surprising benefits for an endangered seal
(via sciencedaily.com) The endangered Saimaa ringed seal is an Ice Age relict living in the highly labyrinthine Lake Saimaa, Finland. The newly published work shows that although individual seals have greatly reduced genetic variation, the loss of variation has been complementary, preserving the adaptive potential of the whole population.
Published The quantum twisting microscope: A new lens on quantum materials
(via sciencedaily.com) One of the striking aspects of the quantum world is that a particle, say, an electron, is also a wave, meaning that it exists in many places at the same time. Researchers make use of this property to develop a new type of tool -- the quantum twisting microscope (QTM) -- that can create novel quantum materials while simultaneously gazing into the most fundamental quantum nature of their electrons.
Published Single gene causes sea anemone's stinging cell to lose its sting
(via sciencedaily.com) When scientists disabled a single regulatory gene in a species of sea anemone, a stinging cell that shoots a venomous miniature harpoon for hunting and self-defense shifted to shoot a sticky thread that entangles prey instead, according to a new study.
Published Ramping up domestic graphite production could aid the green energy transition
(via sciencedaily.com) Given the growing importance of graphite in energy storage technologies, a team of esearchers has conducted a study exploring ways to reduce reliance on imports of the in high-demand mineral, which powers everything from electric vehicles (EVs) to cell phones.
Published A new model offers an explanation for the huge variety of sizes of DNA in nature
(via sciencedaily.com) A new model offers a possible solution to the scientific question of why neutral sequences, sometimes referred to as 'junk DNA', are not eliminated from the genome of living creatures in nature and continue to exist within it even millions of years later.
Published Geckos know their own odor
(via sciencedaily.com) Geckos can use their tongue to differentiate their own odor from that of other members of their species, as researchers have shown in a new experimental study. The findings show that geckos are able to communicate socially, meaning that they are more intelligent than was previously assumed.
Published Smooth sailing for electrons in graphene
(via sciencedaily.com) Physicists have directly measured, for the first time at nanometer resolution, the fluid-like flow of electrons in graphene. The results have applications in developing new, low-resistance materials, where electrical transport would be more efficient.
Published From plastic waste to valuable nanomaterials
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists create carbon nanotubes and other hybrid nanomaterials out of plastic waste using an energy-efficient, low-cost, low-emissions process that could also be profitable.
Published Biodiversity engine for fishes: Shifting water depth
(via sciencedaily.com) Fish, the most biodiverse vertebrates in the animal kingdom, present evolutionary biologists a conundrum: The greatest species richness is found in the world's tropical waters, yet the fish groups that generate new species most rapidly inhabit colder climates at higher latitudes. A new study helps to explain this paradox. The researchers discovered that the ability of fish in temperate and polar ecosystems to transition back and forth from shallow to deep water triggers species diversification. Their findings suggest that as climate change warms the oceans at higher latitudes, it will impede the evolution of fish species.
Published Genetic switch makes the eyes of male bees large and of female bees small
(via sciencedaily.com) Bee researchers have identified a new gene in honeybees, which is responsible for the dimorphic eye differentiation between males and females of the species. The researchers have now presented this gene and the evolutionary genetic conclusions they have drawn from it.
Published Virtual and augmented reality: Researchers pioneer process to stack micro-LEDs
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers are using emerging technology to demonstrate a process that will enable more immersive and realistic virtual and augmented reality displays with the world's smallest and thinnest micro-LEDs.
Published Yellow evolution: Unique genes led to new species of monkeyflower
(via sciencedaily.com) Monkeyflowers glow in a rich assortment of colors, from yellow to pink to deep red-orange. But about 5 million years ago, some of them lost their yellow. Botanists now explain what happened genetically to jettison the yellow pigment, and the implications for the evolution of species.
Published How giants became dwarfs
(via sciencedaily.com) In certain Lake Tanganyika cichlids breeding in empty snail shells, there are two extreme sizes of males: giants and dwarfs. Researchers have analyzed the genomes of these fish and found out how the peculiar sizes of males and females evolved in conjunction with the genetic sex determination mechanism.