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Categories: Biology: General, Paleontology: Climate
Published First comprehensive look at effects of 2020-2021 California megafires on terrestrial wildlife habitat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In 2020 and 2021, California experienced fire activity unlike anything recorded in the modern record. When the smoke cleared, the amount of burned forest totaled ten times more than the annual average going back to the late 1800s. We know that wildlife in western forests evolved with changing habitat and disturbances like wildfire. Each species responds differently, some benefiting from openings, others losing critical habitat. What we don't know is how increasing fire severity at large scales is impacting their habitat and survival, because many species are not adapted to these types of 'megafires.'
Published A stronger core for better plant breeding
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new software tool with enhanced genome-sequencing powers has been developed, increasing the speed and accuracy at which researchers can improve plants through breeding.
Published Curators and cavers: How a tip from a citizen scientist led to deep discoveries in Utah's caves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists and colleagues from Utah's caving community have published the first research from their collaborative fieldwork effort deep in Utah's caves. The journal's feature article reveals why caves make such compelling research archives; what was uncovered in Boomerang Cave in northern Utah; why skeletal remains provide new access to hard-to-get data from the recent past; and offers a new zoological baseline for mammalian changes in an alpine community.
Published Sophisticated swarming: Bacteria support each other across generations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When bacteria build communities, they cooperate and share nutrients across generations. Researchers have been able to demonstrate this for the first time using a newly developed method. This innovative technique enables the tracking of gene expression during the development of bacterial communities over space and time.
Published Tiny beads preserve enzymes for biocatalysis
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some enzymes, such as the one derived from fungi and investigated in this study, are able to produce valuable substances such as the fragrance (R)-1-phenylethanol. To this end, they convert a less expensive substrate using a co-substrate. A research team came up with the idea of supplying them with this co-substrate using a plasma -- a somewhat crazy idea, as plasmas generally have a destructive effect on biomolecules. However, by employing several tricks, the researchers did indeed succeed. They have now refined one of these tricks and thus improved the process: They attach the enzymes to tiny beads in order to hold them in place at the bottom of the reactor, where they are protected from the damaging effects of the plasma.
Published Trilobites rise from the ashes to reveal ancient map
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ten newly discovered species of trilobites, hidden for 490 million years in a little-studied part of Thailand, could be the missing pieces in an intricate puzzle of ancient world geography.
Published Looking for 'LUCA' and the timing of cellular evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source LUCA, the 'last universal common ancestor' of all living organisms, lived 4.32 to at most 4.52 billion years ago. What LUCA looked like is unknown, but it must have been a cell with among others ribosomal proteins and an ATP synthase.
Published Laser-powered 'tweezers' reveal universal mechanism viruses use to package up DNA
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have used laser-powered ‘optical tweezers’ to reveal a universal motor mechanism used by viruses for packaging their DNA into infectious particles.
Published How gut microbes help alleviate constipation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have identified the genes in the probiotic Bifidobacteria longum responsible for improving gut motility. A research team found that B. longum strains possessing the abfA cluster of genes can ameliorate constipation through enhanced utilization of an indigestible fiber called arabinan in the gut.
Published Could eating turkey ease colitis?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source According to data in mice, extra tryptophan could reduce the risk of future colitis flares.
Published Unearthing how a carnivorous fungus traps and digests worms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new analysis sheds light on the molecular processes involved when a carnivorous species of fungus known as Arthrobotrys oligospora senses, traps and consumes a worm.
Published Bacteria store memories and pass them on for generations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered that bacteria can create something like memories about when to form strategies that can cause dangerous infections in people, such as resistance to antibiotics and bacterial swarms when millions of bacteria come together on a single surface. The discovery -- which has potential applications for preventing and combatting bacterial infections and addressing antibiotic-resistant bacteria -- relates to a common chemical element bacterial cells can use to form and pass along these memories to their progeny over later generations.
Published Coffee grounds may hold key to preventing neurodegenerative diseases
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers found that caffeic-acid based Carbon Quantum Dots (CACQDs), which can be derived from spent coffee grounds, have the potential to protect brain cells from the damage caused by several neurodegenerative diseases.
Published Protect delicate polar ecosystems by mapping biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Concerted action is required to mitigate the impact of warming on polar ecosystems and sustainably manage these unique habitats.
Published New approaches in the fight against drug resistance in malaria
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Malaria is one of the most widespread and deadly infectious diseases worldwide. New compounds are continuously required due to the risk of malaria parasites becoming resistant to the medicines currently used. A team of researchers has now combined the anti-malaria drug artemisinin with coumarin, which, like artemisinin, is also found in plants, and developed an auto-fluorescent compound from both bioactive substances.
Published Why do some people get headaches from drinking red wine?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers think that a flavanol found naturally in red wines can interfere with the proper metabolism of alcohol and can lead to a headache.
Published New computer code for mechanics of tissues and cells in three dimensions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biological materials are made of individual components, including tiny motors that convert fuel into motion. This creates patterns of movement, and the material shapes itself with coherent flows by constant consumption of energy. Such continuously driven materials are called 'active matter'. The mechanics of cells and tissues can be described by active matter theory, a scientific framework to understand shape, flows, and form of living materials. The active matter theory consists of many challenging mathematical equations. Scientists have now developed an algorithm, implemented in an open-source supercomputer code, that can for the first time solve the equations of active matter theory in realistic scenarios. These solutions bring us a big step closer to solving the century-old riddle of how cells and tissues attain their shape and to designing artificial biological machines.
Published Researchers develop comprehensive genetic map for bison, discover gene responsible for albinism
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have determined the gene mutation responsible for an observable trait in bison -- albinism.
Published Half of tested caviar products from Europe are illegal, and some aren't even caviar
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Wild caviar, a pricey delicacy made from sturgeon eggs, has been illegal for decades since poaching brought the fish to the brink of extinction. Today, legal, internationally tradeable caviar can only come from farmed sturgeon, and there are strict regulations in place to help protect the species. However, by conducting genetic and isotope analyses on caviar samples from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine -- nations bordering the remaining wild sturgeon populations -- a team of sturgeon experts found evidence that these regulations are actively being broken. Their results show that half of the commercial caviar products they sampled are illegal, and some don't even contain any trace of sturgeon.
Published Deep dive on sea level rise: New modelling gives better predictions on Antarctic ice sheet melt
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using historical records from around Australia, an international team of researchers have put forward the most accurate prediction to date of past Antarctic ice sheet melt, providing a more realistic forecast of future sea level rise. The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest block of ice on earth, containing over 30 million cubic kilometers of water. Hence, its melting could have a devasting impact on future sea levels. To find out just how big that impact might be, the research team turned to the past.