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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Geoscience: Oceanography
Published Surprising insight into cancer comes from unique plant species that find different solutions to evolutionary challenges



A study has shown that different plant species tackle the same evolutionary hurdle in different ways, and the findings may give insight into aggressive forms of cancer.
Published Protecting surf breaks mitigates climate change, helps coastal communities



Safeguarding places to hang ten and shoot the curl is an opportunity to simultaneously mitigate climate change, fuel tourism and help surrounding ecosystems, research has shown.
Published Rewriting the evolutionary history of critical components of the nervous system



A new study has rewritten the conventionally understood evolutionary history of certain ion channels -- proteins critical for electrical signaling in the nervous system. The study shows that the Shaker family of ion channels were present in microscopic single cell organisms well before the common ancestor of all animals and thus before the origin of the nervous system.
Published New study unveils 16,000 years of climate history in the tropical Andes



Researchers highlight the roles of carbon dioxide and ocean currents as key drivers of temperature fluctuations in the tropical Andes over a 16,000 year period.
Published Taking a 'one in a million' shot to tackle dopamine-linked brain disorders



With the help of a tiny, transparent worm called Caenorhabditis elegans, researchers have identified novel players in dopamine signaling by taking advantage of a powerful platform generated via the Million Mutation Project (MMP) for the rapid identification of mutant genes based on their functional impact. They can seek insights from simpler organisms whose genes bear striking similarity to those found in humans and where opportunities for genetic insights to disease can be pursued more efficiently and inexpensively.
Published Record-breaking recovery of rocks that originated in Earth's mantle could reveal secrets of planet's history



Scientists have recovered the first long section of rocks that originated in the Earth's mantle, the layer below the crust and the planet's largest component. The rocks will help unravel the mantle's role in the origins of life on Earth, the volcanic activity generated when it melts, and how it drives the global cycles of important elements such as carbon and hydrogen.
Published Mix of factors prompts owl monkeys to leave their parents



There comes a point in the lives of young owl monkeys when they leave their parents and strike out on their own to find a mate. In a new study of a wild population of Azara's owl monkeys in northern Argentina, researchers reveal that a combination of social and ecological factors influences when these tree-dwelling monkeys peel away from their parents and siblings. According to their findings -- which were based on 25 years of genetic and demographic data for several generations of owl monkeys, covering more than 330 individuals -- none of the individuals, regardless of their sex, reproduced in the same group where they were born. In all cases, the researchers found, the animals either departed from their natal group or died before reproducing.
Published Lemurs use long-term memory, smell, and social cues to find food



How do foraging animals find their food? A new study shows that lemurs use smell, social cues, and long-term memory to locate hidden fruit -- a combination of factors that may have deep evolutionary roots.
Published South Florida estuaries warming faster than Gulf of Mexico, global ocean, USF research shows



Estuaries in South Florida have experienced rapid warming over the past two decades, including a record-breaking marine heat wave in 2023, research shows. The findings paint a troubling picture for the marine life that calls Florida home. Possible causes include evaporation, water capacity and residence time (the amount of time water spends in an estuary). No single factor has been identified as dominant.
Published Living with a killer: How an unlikely mantis shrimp-clam association violates a biological principle



When clams gamble on living with a killer, sometimes their luck may run out, according to a new study.
Published Researchers find gene which determines marsupial fur color



Fur is a defining characteristic of mammals, coming in a wide variety of colors and patterns -- thanks to a world-first study, we now know which genes make a marsupial's coat black or grey.
Published The race to discover biodiversity: 11 new marine species and a new platform for rapid species description



A new paper describes a ground-breaking experiment that united 25 independent taxonomists from 10 countries. The initiative boasts the discovery of 11 new marine species from all over the globe, occurring at depths from 5.2 to 7081 meters. It also represents a significant step forward in accelerating the pace at which new marine species are described and published.
Published Greenland fossil discovery reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe



Seeds, twigs, and insect parts found under two miles of ice confirm Greenland's ice sheet melted in the recent past, the first direct evidence that the center -- not just the edges -- of the two-mile-deep ice melted away in the recent geological past. The new research indicates that the giant ice sheet is more fragile than scientists had realized until the last few years -- and reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe in a warmer future.
Published How the rising earth in Antarctica will impact future sea level rise



The rising earth beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet will likely become a major factor in future sea level rise, a new study suggests.
Published Link between global warming and rising sea levels



A new study suggests that Earth's natural forces could substantially reduce Antarctica's impact on rising sea levels, but only if carbon emissions are swiftly reduced in the coming decades. By the same token, if emissions continue on the current trajectory, Antarctic ice loss could lead to more future sea level rise than previously thought.
Published Fossil shows how penguins' wings evolved



A tiny fossil penguin plays a huge role in the evolutionary history of the bird, an international study shows.
Published Sea level changes shaped early life on Earth, fossil study reveals



Shifts in the Earth's continental plates that drove long-term changes in sea level set the stage for the evolution of the earliest animals on Earth, a study suggests.
Published Combined effects of plastic pollution and seawater flooding amplify threats to coastal plant species



A new study highlights how a combination of environmental stressors -- namely plastic pollution and seawater flooding -- can increase the threats faced by plants in some of the planet's critical ecosystems. It showed that both stressors had some effects on the species tested, but being exposed to both microplastics and flooding together -- a threat likely to increase as a result of climate change and plastic use -- had a more pronounced impact on their resource allocation.
Published Climate anomalies may play a major role in driving cholera pandemics



New research suggests that an El Nino event may have aided the establishment and spread of a novel cholera strain during an early 20th-century pandemic, supporting the idea that climate anomalies could create opportunities for the emergence of new cholera strains.
Published Half a billion-year-old spiny slug reveals the origins of mollusks



Exceptional fossils with preserved soft parts reveal that the earliest mollusks were flat, armored slugs without shells. The new species, Shishania aculeata, was covered with hollow, organic, cone-shaped spines. The fossils preserve exceptionally rare detailed features which reveal that these spines were produced using a sophisticated secretion system that is shared with annelids (earthworms and relatives).