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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Environmental: Wildfires
Published Wildfires and farming activities may be top sources of air pollution linked to increased risk, cases of dementia
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source No amount of air pollution is good for the brain, but wildfires and the emissions resulting from agriculture and farming in particular may pose especially toxic threats to cognitive health, according to new research.
Published Behind the rind: New genomic insights into watermelon evolution, quality, and resilience
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have constructed a comprehensive 'super-pangenome' for watermelon and its wild relatives, uncovering beneficial genes lost during domestication that could improve disease resistance and fruit quality of this vital fruit crop.
Published High-precision genome sequencing of buckwheat breeds hope for future harvests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Buckwheat's high-precision chromosomal-level genome sequence has been deciphered, a key step toward unraveling the evolution of the buckwheat genome and the origins of the cultivated crop. By altering specific genes using a method independent of common genome-editing techniques, the researchers successfully developed a self-fertile buckwheat variety as well as a new type of the crop with a sticky, mochi-like texture. This breeding method may contribute to a more diverse range of orphan crops than what is possible with existing genome editing technologies.
Published Hidden moles in hidden holes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of scientists has for the first time identified two new underground mammals that could have been living, undetected, in eastern Turkey for up to 3 million years. They say it is rare to find new species of mammals today, and evidence that the true nature of biodiversity can be under-estimated.
Published Evolving elegance: Scientists connect beauty and safeguarding in ammonoid shells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source With 350 million years of evolution culminating in almost two centuries of scientific discourse, a new hypothesis emerges. Researchers propose a new explanation for why ammonoids evolved a highly elaborate, fractal-like geometry within their shells. Their analysis shows that the increasing complexity of shell structures provided a distinct advantage by offering improved protection against predators.
Published Global consortium creates large-scale, cross-species database and universal 'clock' to estimate age in all mammalian tissues
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team details changes in DNA that researchers found are shared by humans and other mammals throughout history and are associated with life span and numerous other traits.
Published Biologists find what colors a butterfly's world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As butterflies flit among flowers, they don't all view blossoms the same way. In a phenomenon called sexually dimorphic vision, females of some butterfly species perceive ultraviolet color while the males see light and dark. Biologists have discovered that in at least one species, the variation results from a vision gene's jump onto a sex chromosome. It's the first known finding that this kind of genetic change causes sexually dimorphic vision.
Published The oldest and fastest evolving moss in the world might not survive climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A 390-million-year-old moss called Takakia lives in some of Earth's most remote places, including the icy cliffs of the Tibetan Plateau. In a decade-long project, a team of scientists climbed some of the tallest peaks in the world to find Takakia, sequence its DNA for the first time, and study how climate change is impacting the moss. Their results show that Takakia is one of the fastest evolving species ever studied -- but it likely isn't evolving fast enough to survive climate change.
Published Wildfires emit potent climate-warming organic particles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers found that wildfires are causing a much greater warming effect than has been accounted for by climate scientists. The work, which focuses on the role of 'dark brown carbon' -- an abundant but previously unknown class of particles emitted as part of wildfire smoke -- highlights an urgent need to revise climate models and update approaches for the changing environment.
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 Scientists dig into wildfire predictions, long-term impacts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Wildfires are an ancient force shaping the environment, but they have grown in frequency, range and intensity in response to a changing climate. Scientists are working on several fronts to better understand and predict these events and what they mean for the carbon cycle and biodiversity.
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.