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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published Parasites of viruses drive superbug evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered a previously unknown mechanism by which bacteria share their genetic material through virus parasites. The insights could help scientists to better understand how bacteria rapidly adapt and evolve, and how they become more virulent and resistant to antibiotics.
Published How the hospital pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii quickly adapts to new environmental conditions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hospital-acquired infections are often hard to treat because the corresponding pathogens become increasingly resistant against antibiotics. The bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii is particularly feared, and there is great pressure to devise novel therapeutic approaches to combat it. Bioinformaticians have now detected an unexpectedly wide diversity of certain cell appendages in A. baumannii that are associated with pathogenicity. This could lead to treatment strategies that are specifically tailored to a particular pathogen.
Published DNA tilts and stretches underlie differences in mutation rates across genomes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have changed the way to look at DNA. They show that DNA is much more than a linear sequence of building blocks; it has a 3D structure that influences the variation of human genome-wide mutation rates meaningfully and consistently, and this is likely conserved among species.
Published Researchers are using monkey poop to learn how an endangered species chooses its mates
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Northern muriquis, which live in the Atlantic forest of Brazil, are one of the most endangered species of monkey in the world. To better understand what goes on in the mating lives of muriquis, researchers turned to the monkeys' poop to help gain insight into how the primates choose their mates.
Published The history and future of ancient einkorn wheat Is written in its genes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have sequenced the complete genome for einkorn wheat, the world's first domesticated crop and traced its evolutionary history. The information will help researchers identify genetic traits like tolerance to diseases, drought and heat, and re-introduce those traits to modern bread wheat.
Published Oldest known species of swimming jellyfish identified
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Royal Ontario Museum announces the oldest swimming jellyfish in the fossil record with the newly named Burgessomedusa phasmiformis. This 505-million-year-old swimming jellyfish from the Burgess Shale highlights diversity in the Cambrian ecosystem.
Published Scientists uncover a surprising connection between number theory and evolutionary genetics
(via sciencedaily.com) An interdisciplinary team of mathematicians, engineers, physicists, and medical scientists has uncovered an unexpected link between pure mathematics and genetics, that reveals key insights into the structure of neutral mutations and the evolution of organisms.
Published When cheating pays -- survival strategy of insect uncovered
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have revealed the unique 'cheating' strategy a New Zealand insect has developed to avoid being eaten -- mimicking a highly toxic species.
Published Researchers find evolutionary adaption in trout of Wyoming's Wind River Mountains
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists found that trout from lakes stocked decades ago in the Wind River Mountains have higher numbers of gill rakers, which are bony or cartilage structures in the gullets of fish that act as sieves to retain zooplankton and nourish the trout. The difference is likely a result of the trout adapting to the food sources of the once-fishless high-mountain lakes -- a change that has taken place in a relatively short period of time and at a rate that is generally consistent with the historic timing of stocking for each of the lakes.
Published Bees evolved from ancient supercontinent, diversified faster than suspected
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The origin of bees is tens of millions of years older than most previous estimates, a new study shows. A team led by Washington State University researchers traced the bee genealogy back more than 120 million years to an ancient supercontinent, Gondwana, which included today's continents of Africa and South America.
Published A wearable ultrasound scanner could detect breast cancer earlier
(via sciencedaily.com) In hopes of improving the survival rate for breast cancer patients, researchers designed a wearable ultrasound device that could allow women to detect tumors when they are still in early stages.
Published Mutation accessibility fuels influenza evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists showed that fixed mutations within a viral population most likely stem from how easy it is to acquire that mutation (i.e., mutation accessibility) rather than just its benefit.
Published Bees and wasps use the same architectural solutions to join large hexagons to small hexagons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bees and wasps have converged on the same architectural solutions to nest-building problems, according to new research.
Published 'Swine flu' strain has passed from humans to swine nearly 400 times since 2009
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study of the strain of influenza A responsible for the 2009 H1N1 pandemic -- pdm09 -- shows that the virus has passed from humans to swine about 370 times since 2009, and subsequent circulation in swine has resulted in the evolution of pdm09 variants that then jumped from swine to humans.
Published A quick look inside a human being
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Physicists have succeeded in making a new imaging technique ready for use on humans. Radioactive markers and radiation are not necessary for this.
Published New archosaur species shows that precursor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs was armored
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have described a new species of armored reptile that lived near the time of the first appearance of dinosaurs. With bony plates on its backbone, this archosaur fossil reveals that armor was a boomerang trait in the story of dinosaur and pterosaur evolution: the group's ancestors were armored, but this characteristic was lost and then independently re-evolved multiple times later among specialized dinosaurs like ankylosaurs, stegosaurs, and others.
Published Scientists develop AI-based tracking and early-warning system for viral pandemics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Machine-learning system effectively predicts emergence of prominent variants.
Published Controlling signal routing in quantum information processing
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Routing signals and isolating them against noise and back-reflections are essential in many practical situations in classical communication as well as in quantum processing. In a theory-experimental collaboration, a team has achieved unidirectional transport of signals in pairs of 'one-way streets'. This research opens up new possibilities for more flexible signaling devices.
Published Acoustics researchers decompose sound accurately into its three basic components
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Any sound can now be perfectly replicated by a combination of whistles, clicks, and hisses, with implications for sound processing across the media landscape.
Published Robotic glove that 'feels' lends a 'hand' to relearn playing piano after a stroke
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new soft robotic glove is lending a 'hand' and providing hope to piano players who have suffered a disabling stroke or other neurotrauma. Combining flexible tactile sensors, soft actuators and AI, this robotic glove is the first to 'feel' the difference between correct and incorrect versions of the same song and to combine these features into a single hand exoskeleton. Unlike prior exoskeletons, this new technology provides precise force and guidance in recovering the fine finger movements required for piano playing and other complex tasks.