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Categories: Biology: Molecular, Ecology: Animals
Published Dog attacks on mountain tapirs highlight a growing threat to endangered wildlife
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers who captured footage of dog attacks on endangered mountain tapirs in Colombia are calling for action to protect threatened wildlife.
Published Tracking a protein's fleeting shape changes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a powerful, new technique to generate 'movies' of changing protein structures and speeds of up to 50 frames per second.
Published Making crops colorful for easier weeding
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To make weeding easier, scientists suggest bioengineering crops to be colorful or to have differently shaped leaves so that they can be more easily distinguished from their wild and weedy counterparts. This could involve altering the crops' genomes so that they express pigments that are already produced by many plants, for example, anthocyanins, which make blueberries blue, or carotenoids, which make carrots orange. Then, they say, weeding robots could be trained to remove only the weeds using machine learning.
Published Researchers uncover human DNA repair by nuclear metamorphosis
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered a DNA repair mechanism that advances understanding of how human cells stay healthy, and which could lead to new treatments for cancer and premature aging.
Published Reproductive success improves after a single generation in the wild for descendants of some hatchery-origin Chinook salmon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers who created 'family trees' for nearly 10,000 fish found that first-generation, wild-born descendants of hatchery-origin Chinook salmon in an Oregon river show improved fitness.
Published New tagging method provides bioadhesive interface for marine sensors on diverse, soft, and fragile species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tagging marine animals with sensors to track their movements and ocean conditions can provide important environmental and behavioral information. Existing techniques to attach sensors currently largely rely on invasive physical anchors, suction cups, and rigid glues. While these techniques can be effective for tracking marine animals with hard exoskeletons and large animals such as sharks, individuals can incur physiological and metabolic stress during the tagging process, which can affect the quality of data collection. A newly developed soft hydrogel-based bioadhesive interface for marine sensors, referred to as BIMS, holds promise as an effective, rapid, robust, and non-invasive method to tag and track all sorts of marine species, including soft and fragile species. The BIMS tagging, which is also simple and versatile, can help researchers better understand animal behavior while also capturing oceanographic data critical for helping to better understand some impacts of climate change and for resource management.
Published How blue-green algae manipulate microorganisms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team discovers previously unknown gene that indirectly promotes photosynthesis Protein regulator NirP1 influences the coordination of the nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism 'Such protein regulators could in future be deployed in 'green' and 'blue' biotechnology for targeted control of the metabolism,' says geneticist.
Published Unlocking the 'chain of worms'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of scientists has published a single-cell atlas for Pristina leidyi (Pristina), the water nymph worm, a segmented annelid with extraordinary regenerative abilities that has fascinated biologists for more than a century.
Published Tropical forests can't recover naturally without fruit-eating birds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Natural forest regeneration is hailed as a cost-effective way to restore biodiversity and sequester carbon. However, the fragmentation of tropical forests has restricted the movement of large birds limiting their capacity to disperse seeds and restore healthy forests.
Published Newly sequenced genome reveals coffee's prehistoric origin story -- and its future under climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study charts the family history of Arabica, the world's most popular coffee species, through Earth's heating and cooling periods over the last millennia.
Published Starving cells hijack protein transport stations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Study details how nutrient-starved cells divert protein transport stations to cellular recycling centers to be broken down, highlighting a novel approach cells use to deal with stressful conditions.
Published Cell's 'garbage disposal' may have another role: Helping neurons near skin sense the environment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The typical job of the proteasome, the garbage disposal of the cell, is to grind down proteins into smaller bits and recycle some of those bits and parts. That's still the case, for the most part, but researchers, studying nerve cells grown in the lab and mice, say that the proteasome's role may go well beyond that.
Published How seaweed became multicellular
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A deep dive into macroalgae genetics has uncovered the genetic underpinnings that enabled macroalgae, or 'seaweed,' to evolve multicellularity. Three lineages of macroalgae developed multicellularity independently and during very different time periods by acquiring genes that enable cell adhesion, extracellular matrix formation, and cell differentiation, researchers report. Surprisingly, many of these multicellular-enabling genes had viral origins. The study, which increased the total number of sequenced macroalgal genomes from 14 to 124, is the first to investigate macroalgal evolution through the lens of genomics.
Published Microbial food as a strategy food production of the future
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have summarized microbial food production strategies.
Published Decoding the language of cells: Unveiling the proteins behind cellular organelle communication
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A collaboration unveils a novel strategy for identifying key proteins in organelle communication. This approach advances our ability to pinpoint proteins essential for organelle interactions within specific spatial and temporal contexts.
Published Iconic savanna mammals face genetic problems due to fences and roads
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Wildebeest migrations have become a rarer sight in Africa as humans continue to interrupt their historic migratory routes with roads, fences, cities, livestock and farmland. This has led to genetic decay in those herds that are no longer able to roam freely, according to new research.
Published Innovative antiviral defense with new CRISPR tool
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The rise of RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2 highlights the need for new ways to fight them. RNA-targeting tools like CRISPR/Cas13 are powerful but inefficient in the cytoplasm of cells, where many RNA viruses replicate. Scientists have devised a solution: Cas13d-NCS. This new molecular tool allows CRISPR RNA molecules that are located within the nucleus of a cell to move to the cytoplasm, making it highly effective at neutralizing RNA viruses. This advancement opens doors for precision medicine and proactive viral defense strategies.
Published Africa's iconic flamingos threatened by rising lake levels
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source It is one of the world's most spectacular sights -- huge flocks or 'flamboyances' of flamingos around East Africa's lakes -- as seen in the film Out of Africa or David Attenborough's A Perfect Planet. But new research has revealed how the lesser flamingo is at danger of being flushed out of its historic feeding grounds, with serious consequences for the future of the species.
Published First step to untangle DNA: Supercoiled DNA captures gyrase like a lasso ropes cattle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers reveal how DNA gyrase resolves DNA entanglements. The findings not only provide novel insights into this fundamental biological mechanism but also have potential practical applications. Gyrases are biomedical targets for the treatment of bacterial infections and the similar human versions of the enzymes are targets for many anti-cancer drugs. Better understanding of how gyrases work at the molecular level can potentially improve clinical treatments.
Published Brainless memory makes the spinal cord smarter than previously thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered the neural circuitry in the spinal cord that allows brain-independent motor learning. The study found two critical groups of spinal cord neurons, one necessary for new adaptive learning, and another for recalling adaptations once they have been learned. The findings could help scientists develop ways to assist motor recovery after spinal cord injury.