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Categories: Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms, Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published Jellyfish, with no central brain, shown to learn from past experience



Even without a central brain, jellyfish can learn from past experiences like humans, mice, and flies, scientists report for the first time. They trained Caribbean box jellyfish (Tripedalia cystophora) to learn to spot and dodge obstacles. The study challenges previous notions that advanced learning requires a centralized brain and sheds light on the evolutionary roots of learning and memory.
Published Conversations with plants: Can we provide plants with advance warning of impending dangers?



Plant scientists have engineered a light-controlled gene expression system (optogenetics system) from a prokaryotic system into a eukaryotic system that is tailored for plants.
Published This parasitic plant convinces hosts to grow into its own flesh--it's also an extreme example of genome shrinkage



Balanophora shed one third of its genes as it evolved into a streamlined parasitic plant -- an extreme degree of genome shrinkage even among parasites. Along the way this subtropical plant developed the ability to induce the host plant to grow into the parasite's own flesh -- forming chimeric organs that mix host and parasite tissues.
Published Dinosaur feathers reveal traces of ancient proteins



Palaeontologists have discovered X-ray evidence of proteins in fossil feathers that sheds new light on feather evolution.
Published Archaeologists discover world's oldest wooden structure



Half a million years ago, earlier than was previously thought possible, humans were building structures made of wood, according to new research.
Published Slow growth in crocodile ancestors pre-dated their semi-aquatic lifestyle



A groundbreaking study is reshaping our understanding of crocodile evolution by pinpointing the onset of slow growth rates to the Late Triassic period, much earlier than the previously assumed Early Jurassic timeline. The research highlights newly discovered fossil crocodile ancestors (known as crocodylomorphs) that exhibited slow growth rates, similar to modern-day crocodilians. Intriguingly, these early crocodylomorphs were not the lethargic, semi-aquatic creatures we are familiar with today; they were small, active, and fully terrestrial. The study also suggests that this slow-growth strategy was not a mere evolutionary quirk but a survival mechanism, as only the slow-growing crocodylomorphs managed to survive the End-Triassic mass extinction. This stands in stark contrast to the fast-growing dinosaurs of the same era, setting the stage for the divergent evolutionary paths that would later define their modern descendants.
Published A newly identified virus emerges from the deep



Marine virologists analyzed sediment from the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth, and identified a new bacteriophage.
Published Spider silk is spun by silkworms for the first time, offering a green alternative to synthetic fibers


Scientists have synthesized spider silk from genetically modified silkworms, producing fibers six times tougher than the Kevlar used in bulletproof vests. The study is the first to successfully produce full-length spider silk proteins using silkworms. The findings demonstrate a technique that could be used to manufacture an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic commercial fibers such as nylon.
Published Prehistoric fish fills 100 million year gap in evolution of the skull



X-rays of an ancient jawless fish shows earliest-known example of internal cartilage skull, unlike that of any other known vertebrate.
Published Researchers issue urgent call to save the world's largest flower -Rafflesia -- from extinction



A new study finds that most Rafflesia species, which produce the world's largest flowers, face extinction. Lack of protection at local, national, and international levels means that remaining populations are under critical threat.
Published 16 strange new parasitoid wasp species discovered in Vietnam



Researchers have discovered 16 new species of strange-looking parasitoid wasps from the Loboscelidia group. The study also revealed for the first time the unique parasitic behavior of a captive female from one species, who after parasitizing her host egg, buried the egg in a hole in the soil.
Published RNA for the first time recovered from an extinct species



A new study shows the isolation and sequencing of more than a century-old RNA molecules from a Tasmanian tiger specimen preserved at room temperature in a museum collection. This resulted in the reconstruction of skin and skeletal muscle transcriptomes from an extinct species for the first time. The researchers note that their findings have relevant implications for international efforts to resurrect extinct species, including both the Tasmanian tiger and the woolly mammoth, as well as for studying pandemic RNA viruses.
Published That smell: New gut microbe produces smelly toxic gas but protects against pathogens



Microbiologists have discovered a new intestinal microbe that feeds exclusively on taurine and produces the foul-smelling gas hydrogen sulfide. The researchers have thus provided another building block in the understanding of those microbial processes that have fascinating effects on health. This is also true of Taurinivorans muris: the bacterium shows a protective function against Klebsiella and Salmonella, two important pathogens.
Published Brain-altering parasite turns ants into zombies at dawn and dusk



It takes over the brains of ants, causing them to cling to blades of grass against their will. The lancet liver fluke has an exceptional lifecycle strategy, in which snails, ants and grazing animals are unwitting actors. Researchers now reveal more about the mind-bending workings of this tiny parasite.
Published Super antifreeze in cells: The ability to survive in ice and snow developed in animals far earlier than we thought



More than 400 million years ago, an insect-like animal called the springtail developed a small protein that prevents its cells from freezing.
Published Floating sea farms: A solution to feed the world and ensure fresh water by 2050



The sun and the sea -- both abundant and free -- are being harnessed in a unique project to create vertical sea farms floating on the ocean that can produce fresh water for drinking and agriculture.
Published What do neurons, fireflies and dancing the Nutbush have in common?


Synchronicity is all around us, but it is poorly understood. Computer scientists have now developed new tools to understand how human and natural networks fall in and out of sync.
Published Fiber from crustaceans, insects, mushrooms promotes digestion



Crustaceans, insects and mushrooms are rich sources of the dietary fiber chitin, which activates the immune system and benefits metabolism, according to a new study in mice.
Published Researchers grow embryonic humanized kidneys inside pigs for 28 days



Researchers have successfully created chimeric embryos containing a combination of human and pig cells. When transferred into surrogate pig mothers, the developing humanized kidneys had normal structure and tubule formation after 28 days. This is the first time that scientists have been able to grow a solid humanized organ inside another species, though previous studies have used similar methods to generate human tissues such as blood or skeletal muscle in pigs.
Published Fossil spines reveal deep sea's past



Right at the bottom of the deep sea, the first very simple forms of life on earth probably emerged a long time ago. Today, the deep sea is known for its bizarre fauna. Intensive research is being conducted into how the number of species living on the sea floor have changed in the meantime. Some theories say that the ecosystems of the deep sea have emerged again and again after multiple mass extinctions and oceanic upheavals. Today's life in the deep sea would thus be comparatively young in the history of the Earth. But there is increasing evidence that parts of this world are much older than previously thought.