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Categories: Biology: Molecular, Ecology: Endangered Species
Published Tracking a new path to octopus and squid sensing capabilities
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 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.
Published How a virus causes chromosomal breakage, leading to cancer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers describe how the Epstein-Barr virus exploits genomic weaknesses to cause cancer while reducing the body's ability to suppress it.
Published Where did the first sugars come from?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Origin-of-life chemists propose that glyoxylate could have been the original source of sugars on the 'prebiotic' Earth
Published Wildfires and animal biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Wildfires. Many see them as purely destructive forces, disasters that blaze through a landscape, charring everything in their paths. But a new study reminds us that wildfires are also generative forces, spurring biodiversity in their wakes.
Published Professor unearths the ancient fossil plant history of Burnaby Mountain
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research led by a paleobotanist provides clues about what plants existed in the Burnaby Mountain area (British Columbia, Canada) 40 million years ago during the late Eocene, when the climate was much warmer than it is today.
Published Biologists determine the evolutionary age of individual cell types providing critical insights for animal development
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 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.
Published Oldest bat skeletons ever found described from Wyoming fossils
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 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.
Published Multifunctional patch offers early detection of plant diseases, other crop threats
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed an electronic patch that can be applied to the leaves of plants to monitor crops for different pathogens -- such as viral and fungal infections -- and stresses such as drought or salinity. In testing, the researchers found the patch was able to detect a viral infection in tomatoes more than a week before growers would be able to detect any visible symptoms of disease.
Published Study compares de novo proteins with randomly produced proteins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 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.
Published Increased droughts are disrupting carbon-capturing soil microbes, concerning ecologists
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Soil stores more carbon than plants and the atmosphere combined, and soil microbes are largely responsible for putting it there. However, the increasing frequency and severity of drought, such as those that have been impacting California, could disrupt this delicate ecosystem. Microbial ecologists warn that soil health and future greenhouse gas levels could be impacted if soil microbes adapt to drought faster than plants do.
Published Oral barrier is similar in ceramide composition to skin barrier
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Acylceramides and protein-bound ceramides are vital for the formation of the oral barrier in mice, similar to their role in skin, protecting from infection.
Published Genes are read faster and more sloppily in old age
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have demonstrated the following findings which apply across the animal kingdom: with increasing age, the transcriptional elongation speed of genes increases, whereby the quality of the gene products suffers. With dietary restrictions, these processes could be reversed.
Published British flower study reveals surprise about plants' sex life
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 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.
Published Study predicts poor survival rates if Ebola infects endangered mountain gorillas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source If infected with the Ebola virus, less than 20 percent of Africa's endangered mountain gorillas would be expected to survive more than 100 days, finds a new study.
Published Male yellow crazy ants are real-life chimeras
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers discovered that males of the yellow crazy ant have maternal and paternal genomes in different cells of their body and are thus chimeras.
Published Early crop plants were more easily 'tamed'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Borrowing a page from what we know about animal behavior, archaeologists say that we should reassess our understanding of the process of plant domestication.
Published Rooting out how plants control nitrogen use
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nitrogen is such a crucial nutrient for plants that vast quantities of nitrogen-containing fertilizers are spread on farmlands worldwide. However, excess nitrogen in the soil and in drainage run-off into lakes and rivers causes serious ecological imbalances. A recent study has uncovered the regulatory mechanisms at work when plants utilize nitrogenous fertilizers in their roots, a positive step in the quest to generate crops that require less fertilizer while still producing the yields needed to feed the world.
Published Scientists show how we can anticipate rather than react to extinction in mammals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Most conservation efforts are reactive. Typically, a species must reach threatened status before action is taken to prevent extinction, such as establishing protected areas. A new study shows that we can use existing conservation data to predict which currently unthreatened species could become threatened and take proactive action to prevent their decline before it is too late.
Published Engineered plants produce sex perfume to trick pests and replace pesticides
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tobacco plants have been engineered to manufacture an alluring perfume of insect sex pheromones, which could be used to confuse would-be pests looking for love and reduce the need for harmful pesticides.
Published Here's how a worm's embryonic cells changed its development potential
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have spotted how specific proteins within the chromosomes of roundworms enable their offspring to produce specialized cells generations later, a startling finding that upends classical thinking that hereditary information for cell differentiation is mostly ingrained within DNA and other genetic factors.