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Categories: Biology: Molecular, Ecology: Animals

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New study demonstrates that the most endangered turtles and crocodile species are those that have evolved unique life strategies. Many of the most threatened species carry out important ecosystem functions that other species depend on. Habitat loss was identified as the key overall threat to turtles and crocodiles, followed by climate change and global trade. Unique species faced additional pressure from local consumption, diseases, and pollution.

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Researchers collected the bodies of birds that crashed into buildings while migrating, and used these specimens to learn about the relationship between birds and the microbes living in their guts -- which appears to be wildly different from mammals and their microbiomes.

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Even supposedly adaptable mammal species face increased risk of extinction.

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Free-range organic chicken or factory farming? Scientists have developed a new detection method that can reveal such differences in husbandry. The so-called epigenetic method is based on the analysis of the characteristic patterns of chemical markers on the genome of the animals.

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Researchers identify the most promising advancements and greatest challenges of artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts. The team describes the components required to construct synthetic mitochondria and chloroplasts and identifies proteins as the most important aspects for molecular rotary machinery, proton transport, and ATP production. The authors believe it is important to create artificial cells with biologically realistic energy-generation methods that mimic natural processes; replicating the entire cell could lead to future biomaterials.

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A team of scientists designed a molecule that disrupts the infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could be used to develop new treatments for COVID-19 and other viral diseases.

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While sampling for insects on former California Gov. Jerry Brown's ranch, a University of California, Berkeley, entomologist collected a rare species of beetle that had never been named or described -- and which, according to records, had not been observed by scientists in over 55 years. The new species will be named Bembidion brownorum, in honor of Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Brown.

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To develop treatments that may one day entirely rid the body of HIV infection, scientists have long sought to identify all of the places that the virus can hide its genetic code. Now, in a study using blood samples from men and women with HIV on long-term suppressive therapy, a team of scientists reports new evidence that one such stable reservoir of HIV genomes can be found in circulating white blood cells called monocytes.

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Squids and octopuses are masters of camouflage. But some aspects of how they become reversibly transparent are still 'unclear,' because researchers can't culture cephalopod skin cells in the lab. Now, researchers have replicated the tunable transparency of squid skin in mammalian cells, which are more easily cultured.

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Researchers have developed a hybrid micro-robot, the size of a single biological cell (about 10 microns across), that can be controlled and navigated using two different mechanisms -- electric and magnetic. The micro-robot is able to navigate between different cells in a biological sample, distinguish between different types of cells, identify whether they are healthy or dying, and then transport the desired cell for further study, such as genetic analysis.

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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.

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MitoQ, a mitochondrial antioxidant that is available to the public as a diet supplement, was found in a mouse study to reverse the detrimental effects that HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) have on mitochondria in the brain, heart, aorta, lungs, kidney and liver.

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The diet quality of fish across large parts of the world's oceans could decline by up to 10 per cent as climate change impacts an integral part of marine food chains, a major study has found.

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Researchers have found that the body's process of removing old and damaged cell parts, is also an essential part of tackling infections that take hold within our cells, like TB. If this natural process can be harnessed with new treatments, it could present an alternative to, or improve use of antibiotics, especially where bacteria have become resistant to existing drugs.

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Researchers have uncovered a key role for a new type of cell in touch detection in the skin of the fruit fly.

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Damage in the human genome can be repaired. But this works better in germ cells, sperm and eggs, than in normal body cells. Responsible for this is the DREAM protein complex, which prevents the activation of all available repair mechanisms. A research team has now shown that normal body cells can also be repaired better once this complex has been deactivated. In the long run, the scientists hope to develop better therapies to prevent cancer and aging-associated diseases.

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Scientists have significantly advanced the race to control plant responses to temperature on a rapidly warming planet. Key to this breakthrough is miRNA, a molecule nearly 200,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

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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.

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Memory B cells play a critical role to provide long-term immunity after a vaccination or infection. Researchers have now described a distinct and novel subset of memory B cells that predict long-lived antibody responses to influenza vaccination in humans. These effector memory B cells appear to be poised for a rapid serum antibody response upon secondary challenge one year later.

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By combining lab experiments and mathematical modelling, researchers have found a way to predict the movement of species that could guide conservation efforts to reconnect fragmented habitats.