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Categories: Biology: Molecular, Ecology: Animals

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When humans are ill, we tend to be less active. This also applies to wild animals, but so far, it has not been known how long the reduced activity lasts or which activities are affected the most. New research shows that birds' activity decreases for up to three weeks when they become ill -- something that could mean the difference between life and death.

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Human immune cells are capable of coordinating their own movement more independently than previously thought. Researchers discovered that immune cells do not just passively follow the chemical cues in their environment. Quite the contrary, they can also shape these cues and navigate in complex environments in a self-organized manner.

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A team of researchers has revealed that the Dumpy protein, a component of extracellular matrices -- or ECM -- is the key factor in regulating the stereotypic origami-like folding of wing-cell sheets. Their findings that wing cells never divide during folding nor do they exhibit spatially distinct behaviors suggest how external cues can create consistent 3D tissue structures.

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Researchers report that the flexible shoulders and elbows that allow us to throw a football or reach a high shelf may have evolved as a natural braking system that let our primate ancestors get out of trees without dying. The researchers used sports-analysis software to compare the climbing movements of chimpanzees and small monkeys called mangabeys. While the animals climb up trees similarly, the researchers found that the shallow, rounded shoulder joints and shortened elbow bones that chimps have -- similar to humans -- allow them to fully extend their arms above their heads when climbing down, holding onto branches like a person going down a ladder to support their greater weight. When early humans left forests for the grassy savanna, these versatile appendages would have been essential for gathering food and using tools for hunting and defense. The findings are among the first to identify the significance of 'downclimbing' in the evolution of apes and early humans.

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Invasive alien species are animals that may pose a threat to biodiversity, but it's time to deal with that threat in a more ethical way.

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Important progress for RNA research: A team has discovered a new ribozyme that can label RNA molecules in living cells.

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A new study has shown that a subtype of avian flu virus, endemic in poultry farms in China, is undergoing mutational changes, which could increase the risk of the disease being passed on to humans.

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Elephants, buffaloes and other heavy herbivores are effective against invasive plants. This is the conclusion of a new study that used Indian data, including data from the world's largest survey of wildlife based on camera traps. But smaller animals can do the same: you don't need elephants to get the same effect, the researchers point out.

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Cancers, degenerative diseases: deregulation of our cells' internal communication pathways is at the root of many conditions. Microtubules -- microscopic protein filaments -- play a crucial role in controlling these exchanges. However, their mechanisms remain poorly understood. A team has identified a new mechanism, involving two proteins, that governs their growth. The discovery opens up unprecedented prospects for the development of new treatments that can act at the very heart of cells.

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Diversified farming is an important complement to forest protections for reversing tropical biodiversity declines.

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In 2012, when the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) arrived in the U.S. from its home in China, scientists, land managers, and growers were understandably concerned that the sap-feeding insect would damage native and commercial trees. New long-term research has discovered that hardwood trees, such as maple, willow and birch, may be less vulnerable than initially thought.

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When fighting disease, our immune cells need to reach their target quickly. Researchers have now discovered that immune cells actively generate their own guidance system to navigate through complex environments. This challenges earlier notions about these movements. The researchers' findings enhance our knowledge of the immune system and offer potential new approaches to improve human immune response.

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Researchers have discovered some new and surprising ways that viral RNA and influenza virus are detected by human lung cells, which has potential implications for treating people affected by such viruses.

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An international team of marine scientists has studied the DNA of family groups from four different whale species to estimate their mutation rates. Using the newly determined rates, the group found that the number of humpback whales in the North Atlantic before whaling was 86 percent lower than earlier studies suggested.

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As climate change continues to pose severe challenges to ensuring sustainable food supplies around the world, scientists are looking for ways to improve the resilience and nutritional quality of potatoes. Scientists have assembled the genome sequences of nearly 300 varieties of potatoes and its wild relatives to develop more nutritious, disease-free, and weather-proof crop. A team has now created a potato super pangenome to identify genetic traits that can help produce the next super spud.

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A member of an important class of ion channel proteins can transiently rearrange itself into a larger structure with dramatically altered properties, according to a new study. The discovery is a significant advance in cell biology, likely solves a long-standing mystery about an unusual feature of some ion channels and has implications for the development of drugs targeting these proteins and for drug delivery.

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Scientists believe a huge 14ft smalltooth sand tiger shark, which washed up at Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford, earlier this year, represents the first of its species to have been found in Ireland's waters. Two other individuals of the same species also washed up on the UK coastline, suggesting this species' geographic range has shifted. The scientists believe these rare finds may offer a window into the future, with more and more species traditionally confined to more tropical waters expected to visit Irish and British waters.

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Researchers have discovered a type of gut bacteria that might help improve insulin resistance, and thus protect against the development of obesity and type-2 diabetes. The study involved genetic and metabolic analysis of human fecal microbiomes and then corroborating experiments in obese mice.

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While the contamination of deer and roe deer decreased over time as expected, the measured levels of radioactivity in the meat of wild boar remained surprisingly high -- higher than the half-life of cesium would suggest. For many years, this 'wild boar paradox' was considered unsolved. Now an explanation has been found: It is a late aftermath of the nuclear weapons tests from the 1960s.

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Researchers applied a new technology to generate the full inventory of mutations in the bacterial species Escherichia coli where the antibiotic rifampicin attaches to and disables an essential bacterial enzyme known as RNA polymerase (RNAP).