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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Computer Science: Encryption
Published Earth's first plants likely to have been branched


A new discovery changes ideas about the origin of branching in plants.
Published Pathogen mapped: Evolution and potential treatments


A parasite which has devastating impacts on agriculture and human health is the first pathogen to have its proteins located and mapped within its cells -- providing clues to their function and helping to identify potential drug targets.
Published Genome of a drought-tolerant plant: Many genes are involved in 'resurrection'


Some plants can survive months without water, only to turn green again after a brief downpour. A recent study shows that this is not due to a 'miracle gene.' Rather, this ability is a consequence of a whole network of genes, almost all of which are also present in more vulnerable varieties.
Published Babies or beauty? Ancient origin of how female butterflies invest


When resources are scarce, most animals have to choose. A new study reveals an ancient origin to how female butterflies invest.
Published Genome research: Origin and evolution of vine


Cultivation and growth of grapevines have strongly influenced European civilizations, but where the grapevine comes from and how it has spread across the globe has been highly disputed so far. In an extensive genome project, researchers have determined its origin and evolution from the wild vine to today's cultivar by analyzing thousands of vine genomes collected along the Silk Road from China to Western Europe.
Published How fishermen benefit from reversing evolution of cod


Intense fishing and over-exploitation have led to evolutionary changes in fish stocks like cod, reducing both their productivity and value on the market. These changes can be reversed by more sustainable and far-sighted fisheries management. A new study shows that reversal of evolutionary change would only slightly reduce the profit of fishing, but would help regain and conserve natural genetic diversity.
Published Bigger flowers, greater rewards: Plants adapt to climate disruptions to lure pollinators


There's been a well-documented shift toward earlier springtime flowering in many plants as the world warms. The trend alarms biologists because it has the potential to disrupt carefully choreographed interactions between plants and the creatures -- butterflies, bees, birds, bats and others -- that pollinate them.
Published Agriculture needs fresh approach to tackle insect resistance to biopesticides, new analysis finds


Insect pests which attack crops have extraordinary powers to develop resistance to greener pesticides and a new way to manage resistance risks is needed, according to a recent analysis.
Published Scientists transform algae into unique functional perovskites with tunable properties


Scientists have transformed single-cell algae into functional perovskite materials. The team has converted mineral shells of algae into lead halide perovskites with tunable physical properties. The new perovskites have unique nano-architectures unachievable by conventional synthetic production. The method can be applied to the mass production of perovskites with tunable structural and electro-optical properties from single-celled organisms.
Published Surprising similarities in stone tools of early humans and monkeys


Researchers have discovered artefacts produced by old world monkeys in Thailand that resemble stone tools, which historically have been identified as intentionally made by early hominins. Until now, sharp-edged stone tools were thought to represent the onset of intentional stone tool production, one of the defining and unique characteristics of hominin evolution. This new study challenges long held beliefs about the origins of intentional tool production in our own lineage.
Published Jewel beetles evolve to see new colors by duplicating their genes


Jewel beetles are striking insects, easily recognized by their vivid colors and metallic sheen. New research investigated the complex evolutionary history of jewel beetles' vision.
Published New breakthrough enables perfectly secure digital communications


Researchers have achieved a breakthrough to enable 'perfectly secure' hidden communications for the first time. The method uses new advances in information theory methods to conceal one piece of content inside another in a way that cannot be detected. This may have strong implications for information security, besides further applications in data compression and storage.
Published Illuminating the evolution of social parasite ants


The findings offer a new way to understand how some ants become total layabouts.
Published Fluorescent protein sheds light on bee brains


An international team of bee researchers has integrated a calcium sensor into honey bees to enable the study of neural information processing including response to odors. This also provides insights into how social behavior is located in the brain.
Published Pink + pink = gold: hybrid hummingbird's feathers don't match its parents


Scientists thought a gold-throated hummingbird was a new species. DNA revealed that it's a hybrid of two different species, each with pink throats. The discovery sheds light on how birds produce feather colors and how hummingbirds evolved their dazzling hues.
Published Better metric for prioritizing conservation of 'evolutionarily distinctive' species


Researchers have published an updated metric for prioritizing species' conservation that incorporates scientific uncertainty and complementarity between species, in addition to extinction risk and evolutionary distinctiveness.
Published Parental investment may have aided evolution of larger brains


A review of evidence from prior research provides new support for the possibility that the evolution of larger brains in some species was enabled through increased energy investment by parents in their offspring.
Published Jurassic shark: Shark from the Jurassic period was already highly evolved


Cartilaginous fish have changed much more in the course of their evolutionary history than previously believed. Evidence for this thesis has been provided by new fossils of a ray-like shark, Protospinax annectans, which demonstrate that sharks were already highly evolved in the Late Jurassic.
Published Who are the first ancestors of present-day fish?


What is the origin of the ancestors of present-day fish? What species evolved from them? A 50-year-old scientific controversy revolved around the question of which group, the 'bony-tongues' or the 'eels', was the oldest. A study has just put an end to the debate by showing through genomic analysis that these fishes are in fact one and the same group, given the rather peculiar name of 'Eloposteoglossocephala'. These results shed new light on the evolutionary history of fish.
Published Evolutionary history of detoxifying enzymes reconstructed


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.