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Categories: Biology: General, Offbeat: Earth and Climate

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With glaciers melting at unprecedented rates due to climate change, invertebrates that live in the cold meltwater rivers of the European Alps will face widespread habitat loss, warn researchers. Many of the species are likely to become restricted to cold habitats that will only persist higher in the mountains, and these areas are also likely to see pressures from the skiing and tourism industries or from the development of hydroelectric plants.

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Scientists have observed a star swallowing a planet for the first time. Earth will meet a similar fate in 5 billion years.

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An international research team has for the first time successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Paleolithic artefact: a pierced deer tooth discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. To preserve the integrity of the artefact, they developed a new, nondestructive method for isolating DNA from ancient bones and teeth. From the DNA retrieved they were able to reconstruct a precise genetic profile of the woman who used or wore the pendant, as well as of the deer from which the tooth was taken. Genetic dates obtained for the DNA from both the woman and the deer show that the pendant was made between 19,000 and 25,000 years ago. The tooth remains fully intact after analysis, providing testimony to a new era in ancient DNA research, in which it may become possible to directly identify the users of ornaments and tools produced in the deep past.

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A research team has developed a novel machine-learning algorithm that can reveal the hidden structure in data recorded from the brain, predicting complex information such as what mice see.

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A research group has succeeded in regulating the flow of single molecules in solution by opening and closing the nanovalve mounted on the nanofluidic device by applying external pressure. The research group fabricated a device with a ribbon-like, thin, soft glass sheet on the top, and at the bottom a hard glass substrate having nanochannels and nanovalve seats. By applying external pressure to the soft glass sheet to open and close the valve, they succeeded in directly manipulating and controlling the flow of individual molecules in solution. They also observed an effect of fluorescence signal amplification when single fluorescent molecules are confined in the tiny nanospace inside the valve. The effect can be ascribed to the nanoconfinement, which suppresses the random motion of the molecules.

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In the face of global warming and other environmental changes, corals in the Atlantic Ocean have declined precipitously in recent years, while corals in the Pacific and Indian Oceans are faring better. By describing several species of symbiotic algae that these corals need to grow, an international team has found that these mutualistic relationships from the Indo-Pacific may be more flexible and ultimately resilient to higher ocean temperatures than those in the Atlantic.

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A team of researchers develops stem cell adhesive for arthritis treatment using mussel adhesion protein and hyaluronic acid.

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Scientists have developed a new extraction protocol for RNA-seq and metabolomic analysis, offering a more complete picture of cellular activity than either technique on its own. The protocol employs a streamlined extraction from a single sample, which reduces variation, improves efficiency, preserves data fidelity and maximizes use of precious biospecimens.

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Gene-editing therapy aimed at two targets -- HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, and CCR5, the co-receptor that helps the virus get into cells -- can effectively eliminate HIV infection, new research shows. The study combines a dual gene-editing strategy with antiretroviral drugs to cure animals of HIV-1.

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Researchers have proposed a new evolutionary model for the origin of a kingdom of viruses called Bamfordvirae, suggesting a billion-years evolutionary arms race between two groups within this kingdom and their hosts.

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The first building blocks of life on Earth may have formed thanks to eruptions from our Sun, a new study finds. A series of chemical experiments show how solar particles, colliding with gases in Earth's early atmosphere, can form amino acids and carboxylic acids, the basic building blocks of proteins and organic life.

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According to researchers, a new analysis of an 80-million-year-old permineralized pollen cone found in the Campanian Holz Shale formation located in Silverado Canyon, California, offers a more accurate cycad natural history -- one where the plants diversified during the Cretaceous.

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Like animals, many plant species are struggling to adapt to a human-dominated planet. However, plants are often overlooked in conservation efforts, even though they are cheaper and easier to protect than animals and play a pivotal role in bolstering our food, fuel, and medical systems. A plant ecologist suggests an approach for preventing all future land plant extinctions across the globe which includes training more plant experts, building an online 'metaherbarium,' and creating 'microreserves.'

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Dynamic network in the pores of the nuclear envelope blocks dangerous invaders.

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Greenlandic ice is teeming with life, both on the surface and underneath. There are microscopic organisms that until recently science had no idea existed. There is even evidence to suggest that the tiny creatures color the ice and make it melt faster.

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New findings in color vision research imply that humans can perceive a greater range of blue tones than monkeys do. Distinct connections found in the human retina may indicate recent evolutionary adaptations for sending enhanced color vision signals from the eye to the brain.

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Discovery of a new protein complex helps scientists understand how plants interpret changes in temperature over time

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A new study on herpes infections of the eye helps shed light on the question of viral reinfections by identifying a key protein involved in viral reinfections that could be targeted by antiviral drugs.

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A machine-learning approach can give scientists insight into the environmental preferences of microbes, based only on their genes. The approach has practical research implications: it could help researchers more efficiently grow bacteria in the laboratory. It could also lead to smarter use of microbes in agriculture, ecological restoration, and even probiotics.

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Researchers have discovered that the electrical fields and activity that exist through a cell's membrane also exist within and around another type of cellular structure called biological condensates. Like oil droplets floating in water, these structures exist because of differences in density. Their foundational discovery could change the way researchers think about biological chemistry. It could also provide a clue as to how the first life on Earth harnessed the energy needed to arise.