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Categories: Biology: Evolutionary, Biology: Molecular
Published Machine learning method reveals chromosome locations in individual cell nucleus
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have made a significant advancement toward understanding how the human genome is organized inside a single cell. This knowledge is crucial for analyzing how DNA structure influences gene expression and disease processes.
Published Different means to the same end: How a worm protects its chromosomes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered that a worm commonly used in the study of biology uses a set of proteins unlike those seen in other studied organisms to protect the ends of its DNA.
Published Toothed whale echolocation organs evolved from jaw muscles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Genetic analysis finds evidence suggesting that acoustic fat bodies in the heads of toothed whales were once the muscles and bone marrow of the jaw.
Published Bringing multidrug-resistant pathogens to their knees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections that cannot be treated by any known antibiotics pose a serious global threat. A research team has now introduced a method for the development of novel antibiotics to fight resistant pathogens. The drugs are based on protein building blocks with fluorous lipid chains.
Published Mediterranean marine worm has developed enormous eyes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists are amazed at the discovery of a bristle worm with such sharp-seeing eyes that they can measure up to those of mammals and octopuses. The researchers suspect that these marine worms may have a secretive language, which uses UV light only seen by their own species. The advanced vision of such a primitive creature helps to finally settle an epic debate about the evolution of eyes.
Published In the evolution of walking, the hip bone connected to the rib bones
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new reconstruction of the 375-million-year-old fossil fish Tiktaalik -- a close relative of limbed vertebrates -- used micro-CT to reveal bones still embedded in matrix. The reconstruction shows that the fish's ribs likely attached to its pelvis, an innovation thought to be crucial to supporting the body and for the eventual evolution of walking.
Published Dinosaur study challenges Bergmann's rule
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study calls into question Bergmann's rule, an 1800s-era scientific principle stating that animals in high-latitude, cooler climates tend to be larger than close relatives living in warmer climates.
Published Can language models read the genome? This one decoded mRNA to make better vaccines
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers developed a foundational language model to decode mRNA sequences and optimize those sequences for vaccine development. The tool shows broader promise as a means for studying molecular biology.
Published The life aquatic: A game changer for frog vision, but little difference between night and day
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Frogs display a remarkable diversity of species as a whole, but does the same hold true for their visual abilities? A new study sought to answer this question by collaborating with researchers in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, French Guiana, Gabon, Seychelles, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States, to get a sample of a diverse array of frogs to study the visual pigments found in their eyes. The researchers found this diversity is largely 'reflected' in the pigments, especially for aquatic frogs versus those living on the ground or in trees. They found little difference with the small groups of frogs that have adapted to daytime conditions as opposed to their nocturnal cousins.
Published Heat flows the secret to order in prebiotic molecular kitchen
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biophysicists have demonstrated how heat flows through rock fissures could have created the conditions for the emergence of life.
Published New tools reveal how genes work and cells organize
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered how certain proteins can attach to special structures in RNA, called G-quadruplexes. Additionally, they have developed computational tools capable of predicting these protein-RNA interactions. The newfound ability to predict these interactions can help future work in understanding molecular pathways in the cell and pave the way for developing drugs targeting these RNA G-quadruplex binding proteins, that are found to be involved in disease such as cancer.
Published New sunflower family tree reveals multiple origins of flower symmetry
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new sunflower family tree used skimmed genomes to increase the number of species sampled, revealing that flower symmetry evolved multiple times independently, a process called convergent evolution, among the members of this large plant family.
Published Evolution in action? New study finds possibility of nitrogen-fixing organelles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study finds that UCYN-A, a species of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, may be evolving organelle-like characteristics.
Published New discovery unravels malaria invasion mechanism
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A recent breakthrough sheds light on how the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, invades human red blood cells. The study reveals the role of a sugar called sialic acid in this invasion process. The findings have major implications for malaria vaccine and drug development.
Published First view of centromere variation and evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A genomic study of human and selected nonhuman primate centromeres has revealed their unimaginable diversity and speed of evolutionary change. Although centromeres are vital to proper cell replication by assuring faithful transmision of genetic materials when cells divide, the complexity of their genomic organization had been almost impossible to study. The lack of centromere sequences hindered exploration of how these regions help maintain genetic integrity. Now, advanced technologies have shown scientists how greatly centromeres differ in size and structure.
Published These plants evolved in Florida millions of years ago: They may be gone in decades
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scrub mints are among the most endangered plants you've probably never heard of. More than half of the 24 species currently known to exist are considered threatened or endangered at the state or federal level. In a new study, researchers show there are likely more scrub mint species waiting to be scientifically described. And at least one species has been left without federal protection because of a technicality.
Published We've had bird evolution all wrong
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Genomic anamolies dating back to the time of the dinosaurs misled scientists about the evolutionary history of birds.
Published Computational tools fuel reconstruction of new and improved bird family tree
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using cutting-edge computational methods and supercomputing infrastructure, researchers have built the largest and most detailed bird family tree to date -- an intricate chart delineating 93 million years of evolutionary relationships between 363 bird species, representing 92% of all bird families. The updated tree reveals sharp increases in effective population size, substitution rates and relative brain size in early birds in the aftermath of the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. And by closely examining one of the branches of this tree, researchers found that flamingos and doves are more distantly related than previous genome-wide analyses had shown.
Published When inequality is more than 'skin-deep': Social status leaves traces in the epigenome of spotted hyenas in Tanzania
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research consortium provides evidence that social behavior and social status are reflected at the molecular level of gene activation (epigenome) in juvenile and adult free-ranging spotted hyenas. They analyzed non-invasively collected gut epithelium samples from both high-ranking and low-ranking female hyenas and showed that rank differences were associated with epigenetic signatures of social inequality, i.e., the pattern of activation or switching off of genes that regulate important physiological processes such as energy conversion and immune response in several genome regions.
Published How the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus enters our cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified how the tick-borne Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus enters our cells. The results are an important step in the development of drugs against the deadly disease.