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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Chemistry: Biochemistry

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Researchers have built a pilot-scale solar reactor that produces usable heat and oxygen, in addition to generating hydrogen with unprecedented efficiency for its size.

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Insect pollination is a decisive process for the survival and evolution of angiosperm (flowering) plants and, to a lesser extent, gymnosperms (without visible flower or fruit). There is a growing interest in studies on the origins of the relationship between insects and plants, especially in the current context of the progressive decline of pollinating insects on a global scale and its impact on food production. Pollinating insects can be recognized in the fossil record, although to date, there has been no protocol for their differentiation. Fossil pollinators have been found in both rock and amber deposits, and it is in rock deposits that the first evidence of plant pollination by insects is being studied across the globe. But how can we determine which was a true insect pollinator in the past?

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Research has traced the evolutionary adaptations of octopus and squid sensing capabilities. The researchers describe for the first time the structure of an octopus chemotactile receptor, which octopus arms use for taste-by-touch exploration of the seafloor.

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A research group has succeeded in selectively recovering trace rare earth elements in synthetic seawater and environmental water, such as hot spring water, using baker's yeast with a phosphate group added. The phosphorylated yeast is expected to be utilized as a material for recovering useful metals and removing toxic metals, thereby contributing to the realization of a metal resource-circulating society.

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We typically think of robots as metal objects, filled with motors and circuits. But the field of molecular robotics is starting to change that. Like the formation of complex living organisms, molecular robots derive their form and functionality from assembled molecules stored in a single unit, i.e., a body. Yet manufacturing this body at the microscopic level is an engineering nightmare. Now, a team has created a simple workaround.

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Scientists have developed a software package to help answer key questions about genetic factors associated with shared characteristics among different species.

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Young babies and newborn mice can naturally heal damage to the bones that form the top of the skull, but this ability is lost in adults. Researchers developed a novel approach that promoted bone regeneration in mice without implantation of bone tissue or biomaterials.

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The flow of matter, from macroscopic water currents to the microscopic flow of electric charge, underpins much of the infrastructure of modern times. In the search for breakthroughs in energy efficiency, data storage capacity, and processing speed, scientists search for ways in which to control the flow of quantum aspects of matter such as the 'spin' of an electron -- its magnetic moment -- or its 'valley state', a novel quantum aspect of matter found in many two dimensional materials. A team of researchers has recently discovered a route to induce and control the flow of spin and valley currents at ultrafast times with specially designed laser pulses, offering a new perspective on the ongoing search for the next generation of information technologies.

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Pollinators such as honeybees produce special enzymes that detoxify defence chemicals produced by plants, new research shows.

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A new, inexpensive technology can limit the buildup of algae on the walls of photobioreactors that can help convert carbon dioxide into useful products. Reducing this fouling avoids costly cleanouts and allows more photosynthesis to happen within tanks.

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A wearable electrical-stimulation and vibration-therapy system designed by engineering students might be just what the doctor ordered for people experiencing foot pain and balance loss due to diabetic neuropathy.

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A research team has recently made a significant discovery about the evolutionary age of different type of cells in a small animal called Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). By using single-cell transcriptomic data and refined phylostratigraphy, the team determines the transcriptomic age of individual cells, which means they are able to estimate the evolutionary origin of different cells based on the age of the genes expressed in the cells.

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Scientists have described a new species of bat based on the oldest bat skeletons ever recovered. The study on the extinct bat, which lived in Wyoming about 52 million years ago, supports the idea that bats diversified rapidly on multiple continents during this time.

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To make human-robot interactions safer and more fruitful, robots should be capable of sensing their environment. In a recent study, researchers developed a novel robotic link with tactile and proximity sensing capabilities. Additionally, they created a simulation and learning framework that can be employed to train the robotic link to sense its environment. Their findings will pave the way to a future where humans and robots can operate harmoniously in close proximity.

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In a series of experiments, a team of researchers have compared de novo proteins with random-sequence proteins, looking at their stability and solubility. The results are set to advance basic research in this new field.

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Developing and testing new treatments or vaccines for humans almost always requires animal trials, but these experiments can sometimes take years to complete and can raise ethical concerns about the animals' treatment. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have developed a new testing platform that encapsulates B cells -- some of the most important components of the immune system -- into miniature 'organoids' to make vaccine screening quicker and greatly reduce the number of animals needed.

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Genes are not the only drivers of evolution. The iconic fins of skates are caused by changes in the non-coding genome and its three-dimensional structure, an international research team reports.

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Researchers have discovered that Staphylococcus aureus can rapidly evolve within a single person's microbiome. They found that in people with eczema, S. aureus tends to evolve to a variant with a mutation in a specific gene that helps it grow faster on the skin.

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A study of Britain's native flowering plants has led to new insights into the mysterious process that allows wild plants to breed across species -- one of plants' most powerful evolutionary forces.  When wild flowering plants are sizing up others they may often end up in a marriage between close relatives rather than neighbors, a new study has revealed.

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Researchers have designed a low-cost, energy-efficient robotic hand that can grasp a range of objects -- and not drop them -- using just the movement of its wrist and the feeling in its 'skin'.