Biology: Biochemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

This elephant's self-taught banana peeling offers glimpse of elephants' broader abilities      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Elephants like to eat bananas, but they don't usually peel them first in the way humans do. A new report however, shows that one very special Asian elephant named Pang Pha picked up banana peeling all on her own while living at the Berlin Zoo. She reserves it for yellow-brown bananas, first breaking the banana before shaking out and collecting the pulp, leaving the thick peel behind.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Thermodynamics Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals Physics: Optics
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New textile unravels warmth-trapping secrets of polar bear fur      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have invented a fabric that concludes the 80-year quest to make a synthetic textile modeled on polar bear fur. The results are already being developed into commercially available products.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Researchers create embryo-like structures from monkey embryonic stem cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human embryo development and early organ formation remain largely unexplored due to ethical issues surrounding the use of embryos for research as well as limited availability of materials to study. Investigators now report on the creation of embryo-like structures from monkey embryonic stem cells. The investigators also transferred these embryo-like structures into the uteruses of female monkeys and determined that the structures were able to implant and elicit a hormonal response similar to pregnancy.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: The Solar System
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How were amino acids, one of the key building blocks of life, formed before the origin of life on Earth?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The amino acid abundances of two Ryugu particles were measured and compared with their rocky components. The results demonstrate the important role that water plays in the formation of amino acids on the giant precursors of asteroids like Ryugu. Our solar system formed from a molecular cloud, which was composed of gas and dust that was emitted into the interstellar medium (ISM), a vast space between stars. On collapse of the molecular cloud, the early sun was formed, with a large disk of gas and dust orbiting it. The dusty material collided to produce rocky material that would eventually grow in size to give large bodies called planetesimals.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

A miniature heart in a petri dish: Organoid emulates development of the human heart      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team has induced stem cells to emulate the development of the human heart. The result is a sort of 'mini-heart' known as an organoid. It will permit the study of the earliest development phase of our heart and facilitate research on diseases.

Biology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Sleight-of-hand magic trick only fools monkeys with opposable thumbs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An illusion involving a hidden thumb confounds capuchin and squirrel monkeys for the same reason it does humans -- it misdirects expected outcomes of actions they can carry out. However, marmosets have five equidistant digits, and were rarely fooled by the magician. The research adds to evidence that animals struggle to predict movements outside of their own 'biomechanical ability'.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
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Analysis of dinosaur eggshells: Bird-like Troodon laid 4 to 6 eggs in a communal nest      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international research team has determined that Troodon, a dinosaur very close to modern birds, was a warm-blooded animal (an endotherm), but had a reproductive system similar to that of modern reptiles. The scientists applied a new method which allowed for accurate determination of the temperature when the egg's carbonate shell was formed. Furthermore, the researchers showed that Troodon laid 4 to 6 eggs per clutch. As nests with up to 24 Troodon eggs had been found, the scientists conclude that several Troodon females laid their eggs in communal nests.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Researchers discover birds with neurotoxin-laden feathers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An expedition into the jungle of New Guinea has resulted in the discovery of two new species of poisonous birds. Genetic changes in these bird species have allowed them to carry a powerful neurotoxin.

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

Predatory dinosaurs such as T. rex sported lizard-like lips      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study suggests that predatory dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, did not have permanently exposed teeth as depicted in films such as Jurassic Park, but instead had scaly, lizard-like lips covering and sealing their mouths.

Biology: Botany Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Scientists analyze sounds emitted by plants      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have recorded and analyzed sounds distinctly emitted by plants. The click-like sounds, similar to the popping of popcorn, are emitted at a volume similar to human speech, but at high frequencies, beyond the hearing range of the human ear.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Research into birds killed in window collisions reveals their microbiomes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers collected the bodies of birds that crashed into buildings while migrating, and used these specimens to learn about the relationship between birds and the microbes living in their guts -- which appears to be wildly different from mammals and their microbiomes.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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What should we call evolution driven by genetic engineering? Genetic welding, says researcher      (via sciencedaily.com) 

With CRISPR-Cas9 technology, humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations. An evolutionary geneticist proposes that we call this evolutionary meddling 'genetic welding.' He argues that we must scientifically and ethically scrutinize the potential consequences of genetic welding before we put it into practice.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Energy: Technology Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Meet the hybrid micro-robot: The tiny robot that is able to navigate in a physiological environment and capture targeted damaged cells      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a hybrid micro-robot, the size of a single biological cell (about 10 microns across), that can be controlled and navigated using two different mechanisms -- electric and magnetic. The micro-robot is able to navigate between different cells in a biological sample, distinguish between different types of cells, identify whether they are healthy or dying, and then transport the desired cell for further study, such as genetic analysis.

Biology: Botany Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Deceptive daisy's ability to create fake flies explained      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have discovered how a South African daisy makes fake lady flies on its petals to trick male flies into pollinating it.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Imaging captures social dynamics of 'pee-shy' mice      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Urine scent marks are the original social media, allowing animals to advertise their location, status and identity. Now research is shining a new light -- via thermal imaging of mice -- on how this behavior changes depending on shifting social conditions.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Researchers get to the 'bottom' of how beetles use their butts to stay hydrated      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Beetles are champions at surviving in extremely dry environments. In part, this property is due to their ability to suck water from the air with their rear ends. A new study explains just how. Beyond helping to explain how beetles thrive in environments where few other animals can survive, the knowledge could eventually be used for more targeted and delicate control of global pests such as the grain weevil and red flour beetle.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Honey, the 3D print--I mean, dessert--is ready!      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Cooking devices that incorporate three-dimensional (3D) printers, lasers, or other software-driven processes may soon replace conventional cooking appliances such as ovens, stovetops, and microwaves. But will people want to use a 3D printer -- even one as beautifully designed as a high-end coffee maker -- on their kitchen counters to calibrate the exact micro- and macro-nutrients they need to stay healthy? Will 3D food printing improve the ways we nourish ourselves? What sorts of hurdles will need to be overcome to commercialize such a technology? Researchers explore the benefits and drawbacks of 3D-printed food technology, cooking 3D-printed food with lasers as part of the system, how 3D-printed food compares to the 'normal' food we eat, and the future landscape of our kitchens.

Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Characterizing abnormal neural networks in dogs with anxiety      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers report abnormalities in functional neural networks of dogs diagnosed with anxiety. The study shows that compared with healthy dogs, those with anxiety exhibit stronger connections between the amygdala and other regions of the anxiety network. The findings might also help reveal how functional connections between anxiety-related regions of the brain are altered in cases of human anxiety disorders.