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Categories: Biology: Biochemistry, Environmental: Ecosystems
Published Genome recording makes living cells their own historians
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Genomes can now be used to store information about a variety of transient biological events inside of living cells, as they happen, like a flight recorder collecting data from an aircraft. The method, called ENGRAM, aims to turn cells into their own historians. ENGRAM couples each kind of biological signal or event inside a cell to a symbolic barcode. This new strategy traces and archives the type and timing of biological signals inside the cell by inserting this information into the genome. For example, this record-keeping can track the commands that turn genes on or off.
Published Influenza viruses can use two ways to infect cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Most influenza viruses enter human or animal cells through specific pathways on the cells' surface. Researchers have now discovered that certain human flu viruses and avian flu viruses can also use a second entry pathway, a protein complex of the immune system, to infect cells. This ability helps the viruses infect different species -- and potentially jump between animals and humans.
Published Llama nanobodies: A breakthrough in building HIV immunity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biology researchers have developed a new antibody therapy that can neutralize a wide variety of HIV-1 strains. They found success in an unlikely source -- llamas.
Published A new addition to the CRISPR toolbox: Teaching the gene scissors to detect RNA
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source CRISPR-Cas systems, defense systems in bacteria, have become a plentiful source of technologies for molecular diagnostics. Researchers have now expanded this extensive toolbox further. Their novel method, called PUMA, enables the detection of RNA with Cas12 nucleases, which naturally target DNA. PUMA promises a wide range of applications and high accuracy.
Published Nature-based solutions to disaster risk from climate change are cost effective
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new global assessment of scientific literature finds that nature-based solutions (NbS) are an economically effective method to mitigate risks from a range of disasters -- from floods and hurricanes to heatwaves and landslides -- which are only expected to intensify as Earth continues to warm.
Published Scientists use machine learning to predict diversity of tree species in forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers used machine learning to generate highly detailed maps of over 100 million individual trees from 24 sites across the U.S. These maps provide information about individual tree species and conditions, which can greatly aid conservation efforts and other ecological projects.
Published Unique characteristics of previously unexplored protein discovered
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research achieves scientific breakthrough in understanding cell division.
Published Immune system in the spotlight
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Our immune system is always on alert, detecting and eliminating pathogens and cancer cells. Cellular control mechanisms cause diseased cells to present antigens on their surface like signs for the immune system. For analysis of the necessary complex antigen processing and transport processes in real time, researchers have developed a 'cage' that is opened with light to release trapped antigens at a specific place and time.
Published Ancient microbes offer clues to how complex life evolved
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered that a single-celled organism, a close relative of animals, harbors the remnants of ancient giant viruses woven into its own genetic code. This finding sheds light on how complex organisms may have acquired some of their genes and highlights the dynamic interplay between viruses and their hosts.
Published Harnessing big data helps scientists home in on new antimicrobials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a strategy to identify new antimicrobial drugs with therapeutic promise from bacterial datasets, providing clues for discovering alternatives to traditional antibiotics.
Published Oil and natural gas development in Permian is a key source of ozone pollution in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research shows that ozone concentrations at Carlsbad Caverns National Park frequently exceed Environmental Protection Agency health standards, likely due to oil and natural gas development in the Permian Basin and surrounding region.
Published E. coli variant may cause antimicrobial resistance in dogs, humans
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers studying antimicrobial-resistant E. coli -- the leading cause of human death due to antimicrobial resistance worldwide -- have identified a mechanism in dogs that may render multiple antibiotic classes ineffective.
Published Local dragonflies expose mercury pollution patterns
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has unveiled surprising findings about mercury pollution: where it comes from and how it moves through the environment vary significantly depending on the ecosystem. In drier regions, most mercury is deposited through rain and snow. In wetter, forested areas, gaseous mercury from the air sticks to leaves, which then fall and carry the toxin into the ground.
Published Researchers find that frogs can quickly increase their tolerance to pesticides
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Although there is a large body of research on pests evolving tolerances for the pesticides meant to destroy them, there have been considerably fewer studies on how non-target animals in these ecosystems may do the same.
Published Unlocking the mystery of preexisting drug resistance: New study sheds light on cancer evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The evolution of resistance to diseases, from infectious illnesses to cancers, poses a formidable challenge. Despite the expectation that resistance-conferring mutations would dwindle in the absence of treatment due to a reduced growth rate, preexisting resistance is pervasive across diseases that evolve -- like cancer and pathogens -- defying conventional wisdom.
Published Loss of oxygen in lakes and oceans a major threat to ecosystems, society, and planet
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Oxygen is a fundamental requirement of life, and the loss of oxygen in water, referred to as aquatic deoxygenation, is a threat to life at all levels. In fact, researchers describe how ongoing deoxygenation presents a major threat to the stability of the planet as a whole.
Published Building a roadmap to bioengineer plants that produce their own nitrogen fertilizer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nitrogen fertilizers make it possible to feed the world's growing population, but they are also costly adn harm ecosystems. However, a few plants have evolved the ability to acquire their own nitrogen with the help of bacteria, and a new study helps explain how they did it, not once, but multiple times.
Published Wildfire smoke has a silver lining: It can help protect vulnerable tree seedlings
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Forest scientists studying tree regeneration have found that wildfire smoke comes with an unexpected benefit: It has a cooling capacity that can make life easier for vulnerable seedlings.
Published Wildlife tracking technology that adheres to fur delivers promising results from trials on wild polar bears
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Studying polar bears just became a lot easier with new 'burr on fur' trackers which confirmed scientists' belief that subadult and adult males spend most of their time on land lazing around, conserving energy until the ice returns. A team used three different 'burr on fur' prototypes to study their effectiveness.
Published Big boost for new epigenetics paradigm: CoRSIVs, first discovered in humans, now found in cattle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study opens new possibilities to improve production efficiency in the cattle industry and potentially animal agriculture more broadly.