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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published Snakes do it faster, better: How a group of scaly, legless lizards hit the evolutionary jackpot
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More than 100 million years ago, the ancestors of the first snakes were small lizards that lived alongside other small, nondescript lizards in the shadow of the dinosaurs.
Published Copies of antibiotic resistance genes greatly elevated in humans and livestock
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have uncovered a key link between the spread of antibiotic resistance genes and the evolution of resistance to new drugs in certain pathogens. Bacteria exposed to higher levels of antibiotics often harbor multiple identical copies of protective antibiotic resistance genes which are linked to 'jumping genes' that can move from strain to strain. Duplicate genes provide a mechanism for resistance to spread and enable evolving resistance to new drugs.
Published Graphene research: Numerous products, no acute dangers found by study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Graphene is an enormously promising material. It consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern and has extraordinary properties: exceptional mechanical strength, flexibility, transparency and outstanding thermal and electrical conductivity. If the already two-dimensional material is spatially restricted even more, for example into a narrow ribbon, controllable quantum effects can be created. This could enable a wide range of applications, from vehicle construction and energy storage to quantum computing.
Published Weedy rice gets competitive boost from its wild neighbors
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Weedy rice is an agricultural pest with a global economic impact. It is an aggressive weed that outcompetes cultivated rice and causes billions of dollars in yield losses worldwide. A study offers new insights into genetic changes that give weedy rice its edge over cultivated rice in tropical regions of the world.
Published Butterfly and moth genomes mostly unchanged despite 250 million years of evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Comparison of over 200 high-quality butterfly and moth genomes reveals key insights into their biology, evolution and diversification over the last 250 million years, as well as clues for conservation.
Published An awkward family reunion: Sea monsters are our cousins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The sea lamprey, a 500-million-year-old animal with a sharp-toothed suction cup for a mouth, is the thing of nightmares. A new study discovered that the hindbrain -- the part of the brain controlling vital functions like blood pressure and heart rate -- of both sea lampreys and humans is built using an extraordinarily similar molecular and genetic toolkit.
Published New water batteries stay cool under pressure
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A global team of researchers has invented recyclable 'water batteries' that won't catch fire or explode. The team use water to replace organic electrolytes -- which enable the flow of electric current between the positive and negative terminals -- meaning their batteries can't start a fire or blow up -- unlike their lithium-ion counterparts.
Published An environmentally friendly way to turn seafood waste into value-added products
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Reduce, reuse, recycle, and repurpose: These are all ways we can live more sustainably. One tricky aspect of recycling, though, is that sometimes the recycling process is chemically intensive, and this is the case for recycling one of the world's most abundant materials -- chitin. Researchers have tackled this problem and found a way to sustainably recover chitin from seafood waste.
Published Revolutionary breakthrough in solar energy: Most efficient QD solar cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has unveiled a novel ligand exchange technique that enables the synthesis of organic cation-based perovskite quantum dots (PQDs), ensuring exceptional stability while suppressing internal defects in the photoactive layer of solar cells.
Published Angle-dependent holograms made possible by metasurfaces
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists unveil metasurface technology, allowing for angle-dependent holograms.
Published Engineering a coating for disease-free produce
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Texas A&M researchers combine food-grade wax with essential oils to defend produce from bacteria.
Published The cultural evolution of collective property rights
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Common pool resources comprise around 65 percent of Earth's surface and vast tracts of the ocean. While examples of successful governance of these resources exist, the circumstances and mechanisms behind their development have remained unclear. Researchers have developed a simulation model to examine the emergence, stability and temporal dynamics of collective property rights.
Published Plastic recycling with a protein anchor
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Polystyrene is a widespread plastic that is essentially not recyclable when mixed with other materials and is not biodegradable. A research team has now introduced a biohybrid catalyst that oxidizes polystyrene microparticles to facilitate their subsequent degradation. The catalyst consists of a specially constructed 'anchor peptide' that adheres to polystyrene surfaces and a cobalt complex that oxidizes polystyrene.
Published Scientists may have cracked the 'aging process' in species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research shows the relationship between a species' age and its risk of going extinct could be accurately predicted by an ecological model called the 'neutral theory of biodiversity.'
Published Bat 'nightclubs' may be the key to solving the next pandemic
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are studying how bats can carry deadly viruses, but not develop symptoms. They found that what happens during swarming behavior -- like social gatherings for bats -- may hold the key to understanding their viral tolerance and translate to human health in fighting off diseases like Ebola and COVID-19.
Published Toxoplasmosis: Evolution of infection machinery
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified a protein that evolved concurrently with the emergence of cellular compartments crucial for the multiplication of the toxoplasmosis pathogen.
Published New chip opens door to AI computing at light speed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have developed a new chip that uses light waves, rather than electricity, to perform the complex math essential to training AI. The chip has the potential to radically accelerate the processing speed of computers while also reducing their energy consumption.
Published First human trial shows 'wonder' material can be developed safely
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A revolutionary nanomaterial with huge potential to tackle multiple global challenges could be developed further without acute risk to human health, research suggests.
Published Big new idea introduced with the help of tiny plankton
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new model bridges the rules of life at the individual scale and the ecosystem level, which could open new avenues of exploration in ecology, global change biology, and ultimately ecosystem management.
Published Ancient retroviruses played a key role in the evolution of vertebrate brains
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that ancient viruses may be to thank for myelin -- and, by extension, our large, complex brains. The team found that a retrovirus-derived genetic element or 'retrotransposon' is essential for myelin production in mammals, amphibians, and fish. The gene sequence, which they dubbed 'RetroMyelin,' is likely a result of ancient viral infection, and comparisons of RetroMyelin in mammals, amphibians, and fish suggest that retroviral infection and genome-invasion events occurred separately in each of these groups.