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Categories: Biology: Microbiology, Environmental: General
Published Environmental laws failing to slow deforestation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Australia's environmental laws are failing to stop high rates of tree clearing to make way for agriculture, development and mining.
Published Mother's gut microbiome during pregnancy shapes baby's brain development
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study in mice has found that the bacteria Bifidobacterium breve in the mother's gut during pregnancy supports healthy brain development in the fetus.
Published Incorporating humidity improves estimations of climate impacts on health
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Governments, medical institutions and other bodies require accurate models on health-related matters in order to better organize their activities. Climate change has measurable impacts on society, including on human mortality. However, current models to assess the health impacts of climate change do not account for every environmental parameter, especially humidity, which could influence heat stress perceived by the human body, leaving room for improvement. Researchers have now incorporated humidity data from hundreds of cities into so-called heat stress indicators (HSIs) and assessed their performances in predicting heat-related deaths.
Published How early-life antibiotics turn immunity into allergy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have shown how and why the depletion of microbes in a newborn's gut by antibiotics can lead to lifelong respiratory allergies. The research team identified a specific cascade of events that lead to allergies and asthma, opening many new avenues for exploring potential preventions and treatments.
Published Demand for low-quality credits undermines the voluntary carbon market, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have shown that the 20 companies retiring the most offsets from the voluntary carbon market -- or VCM -- over the past four years have largely relied on low-quality, low-cost credits. These include major oil companies, airlines and aircraft makers, automotive manufacturers, logistics operators, and others.
Published New worm study paves way for better RNA-based drugs to treat human disease
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered RNA mechanisms that may lead to more effective, durable and targeted treatments for conditions like high cholesterol, liver diseases and cancers.
Published Scientists discover new code governing gene activity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A newly discovered code within DNA -- coined 'spatial grammar' -- holds a key to understanding how gene activity is encoded in the human genome. This breakthrough finding revealed a long-postulated hidden spatial grammar embedded in DNA. The research could reshape scientists' understanding of gene regulation and how genetic variations may influence gene expression in development or disease.
Published Peering into the mind of artificial intelligence to make better antibiotics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Artificial intelligence (AI) has exploded in popularity as of late. But just like a human, it's hard to read an AI model's mind. Explainable AI (XAI) could help us do just that by providing justification for a model's decisions. And now, researchers are using XAI to scrutinize predictive AI models more closely, which could help make better antibiotics.
Published Action plan to help patients with lung disease cope with wildfire smoke
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A multidisciplinary team has developed an action plan to help patients with respiratory diseases mitigate the consequences of poor air quality from wildfires.
Published Researchers develop index to quantify circular bioeconomy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As the world faces the challenges of mitigating climate change and providing resources for a growing population, there is increasing focus on developing circular economies for sustainable production. But to evaluate strategies and impacts, it is necessary to have reliable metrics. Researchers have now developed a Circularity Index that provides a comprehensive method to quantify circularity in bioeconomic systems. In a new paper, they outline the method and apply it to two case studies -- a corn/soybean farming operation and the entire U.S. food and agriculture system.
Published Key biofuel-producing microalga believed to be a single species is actually three
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When a global pandemic forced previous a graduate student out of the lab and onto the computer, he found a world of difference hidden in the long-studied species of Botryoccocus braunii -- and discovered that it isn't one species at all, but three.
Published Less severe forest fires can reduce intensity of future blazes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Low- and moderate-severity forest wildfires can reduce the intensity of future fires, according to new research on 'reburns.'
Published Forest loss intensifies climate change by increasing temperatures and cloud level, which leads to decrease of water
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that deforestation during the last two decades induced a higher warming and cloud level rise than that caused by climate change, which threatens biodiversity and water supply in African montane forests.
Published New insights on how bird flu crosses the species barrier
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The avian influenza virus needs to mutate to cross the species barrier and to infect and replicate within mammalian cells. Scientists have now deciphered the structure of the avian influenza virus's polymerase when it interacts with a human protein essential for the virus to replicate within the cell. The structure of this replication complex provides important information about the mutations that avian influenza polymerase must undergo to adapt to mammals, including humans. These results can help scientists monitor the evolution and adaptability of bird flu strains, such as H5N1 or H7N9, towards infecting other species.
Published Urban street networks, building density shape severity of floods
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The design of streets and layout of buildings have an impact on a city's resilience in the face of increasingly severe floods brought on by climate change. Researchers look at buildings and other urban structures as physicists consider elements in complex material systems. With this insight, the researchers have developed a new approach to urban flood modelling and found their results helpful in analyzing city-to-city variations in flood risk globally.
Published Searching old stem cells that stay young forever
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is potentially immortal. Using molecular genetic methods, developmental biologists have now identified possible candidates for multipotent stem cells in the sea anemone for the first time. These stem cells are regulated by evolutionary highly conserved genes.
Published Preservation of organic carbon in the ocean floor
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The preservation of organic carbon in marine sediments has long been a key question remaining unclear in understanding the long-term carbon cycling on Earth. Recently, scientists have gained new insights into the dynamic cycling of iron-bound organic carbon in subseafloor sediments.
Published Low cortisol, hair-trigger stress response in the brain may underlie Long COVID
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new animal study shows that exposure to immune-stimulating proteins left behind by COVID-19 leads to lower cortisol, brain inflammation and a heightened reaction to subsequent stressors.
Published What time the malaria-bearing mosquito bites you might make a difference
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Circadian rhythms appear to influence vulnerability to malaria parasites.
Published Mining the microbiome: Uncovering new antibiotics inside the human gut
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers surveyed the gut microbiomes of nearly 2,000 people, discovering dozens of potential new antibiotics. The lead candidate, prevotellin-2, demonstrated anti-infective capabilities on par with polymyxin B, an FDA-approved antibiotic used today to treat multidrug-resistant infections, suggesting that the human gut microbiome may contain antibiotics that will someday find clinical application.