Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals
Published

Highly pathogenic avian flu detected in New York City wild birds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A small number of New York City wild birds carry highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, according to a recent study.

Biology: Microbiology
Published

Repurposed beer yeast may offer a cost-effective way to remove lead from water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineered yeast-containing hydrogel capsules could be used to remove lead from contaminated water rapidly and inexpensively. The work could be especially useful in low-income areas with high lead contamination.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

First 'warm-blooded' dinosaurs may have emerged 180 million years ago      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The ability to regulate body temperature, a trait all mammals and birds have today, may have evolved among some dinosaurs early in the Jurassic period about 180 million years ago. The new study looked at the spread of dinosaurs across different climates on Earth throughout the Mesozoic Era (the dinosaur era lasting from 230 to 66 million years ago), drawing on 1,000 fossils, climate models and the geography of the period, and dinosaurs' evolutionary trees.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
Published

Virus that causes COVID-19 can penetrate blood-retinal barrier and could damage vision      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered the virus that causes COVID-19 can breach the protective blood-retinal-barrier with potential long-term consequences in the eye.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology
Published

First case of highly pathogenic avian influenza transmitted from cow to human confirmed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

in March a farm worker who reported no contact with sick or dead birds, but who was in contact with dairy cattle, began showing symptoms in the eye and samples were collected by the regional health department to test for potential influenza A. Experts have now confirmed the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza transmission from a mammal (dairy cow) to a human.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology
Published

Persistent strain of cholera defends itself against forces of change, scientists find      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A longstanding mystery about the strain of Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae) responsible for the seventh global cholera pandemic is how this lineage has managed to out-compete other pathogenic variants. The team identified a unique quirk of the immune system that protects the bacteria from a key driver of bacterial evolution.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Fruit fly testes offer potential tool against harmful insects      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A way to curb nagging insects has been flying under our radar -- an enzyme from fruit fly testes. The compound could control bugs that carry disease and harm crops by stunting their ability to procreate, researchers have found.

Biology: Microbiology
Published

Commonly used antibiotic brings more complications, death in the sickest patients      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Treatment with the commonly used antibiotic piperacillin/tazobactam was associated with a 5 percent increase in 90-day mortality, more days on a ventilator, and more time with organ failure for patients with sepsis, finds a new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals
Published

New viruses that could cause epidemics on the horizon      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Suddenly they appear and -- like the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus -- can trigger major epidemics: Viruses that nobody had on their radar. They are not really new, but they have changed genetically. In particular, the exchange of genetic material between different virus species can lead to the sudden emergence of threatening pathogens with significantly altered characteristics.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Water
Published

How do genetically identical water fleas develop into male or female?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have used a novel combination of short-read and long-read RNA sequencing to identify the different isoforms of genes expressed in the crustacean Daphnia magna. Males and females are genetically identical, but using this technique the team revealed genes that switch the predominant isoform in a male-female-dependent manner. This study may help further advance technologies in crustacean aquaculture.

Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
Published

Plant virus treatment shows promise in fighting metastatic cancers in mice      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An experimental treatment made from a plant virus is effective at protecting against a broad range of metastatic cancers in mice, shows a new study. The treatment, composed of nanoparticles fashioned from the cowpea mosaic virus -- a virus that infects black-eyed pea plants -- showed remarkable success in improving survival rates and suppressing the growth of metastatic tumors across various cancer models, including colon, ovarian, melanoma and breast cancer.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Cellular activity hints that recycling is in our DNA      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Introns are perhaps one of our genome's biggest mysteries. They are DNA sequences that interrupt the sensible protein-coding information in your genes, and need to be 'spliced out.'

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Research explores ways to mitigate the environmental toxicity of ubiquitous silver nanoparticles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have taken a key step toward closing the silver nanoparticles knowledge gap with a study that indicates the particles' shape and surface chemistry play key roles in how they affect aquatic ecosystems.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New light shed on carboxysomes in key discovery that could boost photosynthesis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has discovered how carboxysomes, carbon-fixing structures found in some bacteria and algae, work. The breakthrough could help scientists redesign and repurpose the structures to enable plants to convert sunlight into more energy, paving the way for improved photosynthesis efficiency, potentially increasing the global food supply and mitigating global warming.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology
Published

GPS-like system shows promise as HIV vaccine strategy to elicit critical antibodies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team has developed a vaccine approach that works like a GPS, guiding the immune system through the specific steps to make broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New Rhizobia-diatom symbiosis solves long-standing marine mystery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered a new partnership between a marine diatom and a bacterium that can account for a large share of nitrogen fixation in vast regions of the ocean. The newly-discovered bacterial symbiont is closely related to the nitrogen-fixing Rhizobia which live in partnership with many crop plants and may open up new avenues to engineer nitrogen-fixing plants.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology
Published

New sex-determining mechanism in African butterfly discovered      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a study of a species of African butterfly, researchers have discovered a previously undescribed molecular mechanism of how the sex of an embryo is initially specified.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

An epigenome editing toolkit to dissect the mechanisms of gene regulation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study led to the development of a powerful epigenetic editing technology. The system unlocks the ability to precisely program chromatin modifications at any specific position in the genome, to understand their causal role in transcription regulation. This innovative approach will help to investigate the role of chromatin modifications in many biological processes, and to program desired gene activity responses, which may prove useful in disease settings.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature
Published

New record holder for smallest dispersers of ingested seeds: Woodlice      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Even bugs as small as woodlice can disperse seeds they eat, setting a new record for smallest animal recorded to do so. The discovery underscores the crucial yet often overlooked role that small invertebrates play in ecosystems.