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Categories: Biology: General, Geoscience: Earthquakes
Published Cancer cells use a new fuel in absence of sugar
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered a new nutrient source that pancreatic cancer cells use to grow. The molecule, uridine, offers insight into both biochemical processes and possible therapeutic pathways. The findings show that cancer cells can adapt when they don't have access to glucose.
Published Perfect 'pathogen' storm: Vibrio bacteria, Sargassum and plastic marine debris
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Little is known about the ecological relationship of Vibrio bacteria with Sargassum. Evidence also is sparse as to whether vibrios colonizing plastic marine debris and Sargassum could potentially infect humans. As summer kicks off and efforts are underway to find solutions to repurpose Sargassum, could these substrates pose a triple threat to public health? Results of a study representing the first Vibrio spp. genome assembled from plastic finds Vibrio pathogens have the unique ability to 'stick' to microplastics, harboring potent opportunistic pathogens.
Published Watch these cells rapidly create protrusions for exploration and movement
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In order to move, cells must be able to rapidly change shape. A team of researchers show that cells achieve this by storing extra 'skin' in folds and bumps on their surface. This cell surface excess can be rapidly deployed to cover temporary protrusions and then folded away for next time.
Published Scales or feathers? It all comes down to a few genes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scales, spines, feathers and hair are examples of vertebrate skin appendages, which constitute a remarkably diverse group of micro-organs. Despite their natural multitude of forms, these appendages share early developmental processes at the embryonic stage. Researchers have discovered how to permanently transform the scales that normally cover the feet of chickens into feathers, by specifically modifying the expression of certain genes.
Published Adult friendships can triumph over childhood trauma, even in baboons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Drawing on 36 years of data, a new study of 199 baboons in southern Kenya finds that adversity early in life can take years off the lifespan, but strong social bonds with other baboons in adulthood can help get them back. Baboons who formed stronger social bonds -- measured as how often they groomed with their closest friends -- added 2.2 years to their lives, no matter what hardships they faced when they were younger.
Published Study finds carrying pollen heats up bumble bees, raises new climate change questions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study finds carrying pollen is a workout that significantly increases the body temperature of bumble bees. This new understanding of active bumble bee body temperatures raises questions about how these species will be impacted by a warmer world due to climate change.
Published Impact of ancient earthquake revealed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source By combining the scientific powerhouses of genetics and geology, researchers have identified a new area of coastal uplift, which had been hiding in plain sight.
Published What did the earliest animals look like?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Surprisingly, genome comparisons have failed to resolve a major question in animal evolution: Which living animals are the descendants of the earliest animals to evolve in the world's oceans? Scientists performed a detailed chromosomal analysis that comes down definitively in favor of comb jellies, or ctenophores, as the most recent common ancestor of all animals, or the sister taxa to all animals. Sponges evolved later.
Published A channel involved in pain sensation can also suppress it
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Pain is good. It's the body's way to keep an animal from harming itself or repeating a dangerous mistake. But sometimes the debilitating sensation can get in the way. So evolution has devised ways to tamp that response down under certain circumstances.
Published Researchers pinpoint brain cells that drive appetite in obesity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A group of brain cells discovered by researchers reveals a potential new approach to anti-obesity treatment.
Published Researchers reveal DNA repair mechanism
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study adds to an emerging, radically new picture of how bacterial cells continually repair faulty sections of their DNA.
Published Jaw shapes of 90 shark species show: Evolution driven by habitat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers investigated how the jaw shape of sharks has changed over the course of evolution. Their conclusion: in the most widespread shark species, the jaws show relatively little variation in shape over millions of years; most variable jaws were found for deep-sea sharks.
Published Rare tropical plant gains appetite for meat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Under certain circumstances, a rare tropical plant develops into a carnivore. A research team has now deciphered the mechanism responsible for this.
Published Joro spiders aren't scary: They're shy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Despite their intimidating appearance, the giant yellow and blue-black spiders spreading across the Southeastern U.S. owe their survival to a surprising trait: They're rather timid. The Joro spider may be the shyest spider ever documented.
Published How superbug A. baumannii survives metal stress and resists antibiotics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The deadly hospital pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii can live for a year on a hospital wall without food and water. Then, when it infects a vulnerable patient, it resists antibiotics as well as the body's built-in infection-fighting response. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes it as one of the three top pathogens in critical need of new antibiotic therapies. Now, an international team, led by Macquarie University researchers Dr. Ram Maharjan and Associate Professor Amy Cain, have discovered how the superbug can survive harsh environments and then rebound, causing deadly infections. They have found a single protein that acts as a master regulator. When the protein is damaged, the bug loses its superpowers allowing it to be controlled, in a lab setting. The research is published this month in Nucleic Acids Research.
Published Researchers discover brain circuit underlying spontaneous synchronized movement of individuals in groups
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Individual fish in schools scatter in unison when a predator is in their midst. Such precisely coordinated group movements and immobility during threats have long been observed in insects and mammals. Now, a brain pathway has been discovered that enables individual animals to rapidly coordinate a unified response, with no rehearsal required.
Published Phage structure captured, to benefit biotech applications
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have mapped out what a commonly-used form of phage looks like, which will help design better uses in future.
Published Crushed clams, roaming rays: Acoustic tags reveal predator interactions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Inspired by clam fishermen reports, researchers used passive acoustic telemetry to gauge the interactions between two highly mobile rays. They monitored the tagged rays in the wild over two years to see how often and when they visited clam leases, designated underwater locations used to produce hard clams of all sizes from littlenecks to chowders. Results provide both good news and bad news for clammers. Rays spent even more time in these clam lease sites than clammers reported or suspected, but it's not necessarily where they prefer hanging out.
Published Most species, including humans, who experience early life adversity suffer as adults. How are gorillas different?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There's something most species -- from baboons to humans to horses -- have in common: When they suffer serious adversity early in life, they're more likely to experience hardship later on in life.
Published Butterfly tree of life reveals an origin in North America
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered where butterflies originated and which plants the first butterflies relied on for food. To reach these conclusions, researchers created the world's largest butterfly tree of life, which they used as a guide to trace trace the evolution of butterflies through time in a four-dimensional puzzle that led back to North and Central America.