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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Environmental: Wildfires
Published A new model offers an explanation for the huge variety of sizes of DNA in nature


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


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 New technique maps large-scale impacts of fire-induced permafrost thaw in Alaska


Researchers have developed a machine learning-based ensemble approach to quantify fire-induced thaw settlement across the entire Tanana Flats in Alaska, which encompasses more than 3 million acres. They linked airborne repeat lidar data to time-series Landsat products (satellite images) to delineate thaw settlement patterns across six large fires that have occurred since 2000. The six fires resulted in a loss of nearly 99,000 acres of evergreen forest from 2000 to 2014 among nearly 155,000 acres of fire-influenced forests with varying degrees of burn severity. This novel approach helped to explain about 65 percent of the variance in lidar-detected elevation change.
Published Biodiversity engine for fishes: Shifting water depth


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


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 Yellow evolution: Unique genes led to new species of monkeyflower


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


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.
Published 'We're not all that different': Study IDs bacterial weapons that could be harnessed to treat human disease


When it comes to fighting off invaders, bacteria operate in a remarkably similar way to human cells, possessing the same core machinery required to switch immune pathways on and off, according to new research.
Published Surprises in sea turtle genes could help them adapt to a rapidly changing world


Around 100 million years ago, a group of land-dwelling turtles took to the oceans, eventually evolving into the sea turtles that we know today. However, the genetic foundations that have enabled them to thrive in oceans throughout the world have remained largely unknown.
Published How species partnerships evolve


Biologists explored how symbiotic relationships between species evolve to become specific or general, cooperative or antagonistic.
Published Wildfires are increasingly burning California's snowy landscapes and colliding with winter droughts to shrink California's snowpack


A research team examined what happens to mountain snowpacks when sunny, midwinter dry spells occur in forests impacted by severe wildfire.
Published 319-million-year-old fish preserves the earliest fossilized brain of a backboned animal


The CT-scanned skull of a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish, pulled from a coal mine in England more than a century ago, has revealed the oldest example of a well-preserved vertebrate brain.
Published Western wildfires destroying more homes per square mile burned


Between 2010 and 2020, human ignitions started 76% of the Western wildfires that destroyed structures, and those fires tended to be in flammable areas where buildings are increasingly common. Three times as many homes and other structures burned in these ten years than in the previous decade.
Published With rapidly increasing heat and drought, can plants adapt?


As deserts expanded their range over the past 5-7 million years, many plants invaded the new biome and rapidly diversified, producing amazing adaptations to drought and heat. Can plants continue to adapt to increasing aridity caused by climate change? A new study that addressed the origins of desert adaptation concluded that one group of desert plants, rock daisies, came preadapted to aridity, likely helping them survive desert conditions. Not all plants may be so lucky.
Published Understanding plants can boost wildland-fire modeling in uncertain future


A new conceptual framework for incorporating the way plants use carbon and water, or plant dynamics, into fine-scale computer models of wildland fire provides a critical first step toward improved global fire forecasting.
Published When bugs swipe left


A single protein called Gr8a is expressed in different organs in male and female flies and appears to play an inhibitory role in mating decision-making. The findings point to one of the ways that flies could put up behavioral barriers to protect against mating with the wrong kind of partner.
Published Mixing between species reduces vulnerability to climate change


New research provides rare evidence that natural hybridization can reduce the risk of extinction of species threatened by climate change. Researchers have identified genes that enable Rainbowfish to adapt to climate variations across the Australia using environmental models to work out how much evolution will likely be required for populations to keep pace with future climate change.
Published Ancestral variation guides future environmental adaptations


The speed of environmental change is very challenging for wild organisms. When exposed to a new environment individual plants and animals can potentially adjust their biology to better cope with new pressures they are exposed to -- this is known as phenotypic plasticity. New research shows that early plasticity can influence the ability to subsequently evolve genetic adaptations to conquer new habitats.
Published Rapid plant evolution may make coastal regions more susceptible to flooding and sea level rise, study shows


Evolution has occurred more rapidly than previously thought in the Chesapeake Bay wetlands, which may decrease the chance that coastal marshes can withstand future sea level rise, researchers at the University of Notre Dame and collaborators demonstrated in a recent publication in Science.
Published Ancient mint plants may lead to new medicines/products


The mint family of herbs, which includes sage, rosemary, basil, and even woody plants like teak, offers an invigorating jolt to our senses of smell and taste. Researchers have found that these plants have diversified their specialized natural characteristics through the evolution of their chemistry, which could lead to potential future applications that range from medicine to pesticide production.