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Categories: Biology: Biochemistry, Engineering: Graphene
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.
Published Rooting out how plants control nitrogen use
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nitrogen is such a crucial nutrient for plants that vast quantities of nitrogen-containing fertilizers are spread on farmlands worldwide. However, excess nitrogen in the soil and in drainage run-off into lakes and rivers causes serious ecological imbalances. A recent study has uncovered the regulatory mechanisms at work when plants utilize nitrogenous fertilizers in their roots, a positive step in the quest to generate crops that require less fertilizer while still producing the yields needed to feed the world.
Published What is it good for? Absolutely one thing: Luna moths use their tails solely for bat evasion
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists recently discovered that Luna moths use their long tails as decoys to throw bats off their trail. But their tails also make Luna moths might also make them stand out to potential mates and make them more conspicuous to lurking predators. A pair of complementary studies looked to see whether these colorful, bat-deflecting appendages might come with any additional costs or benefitt
Published Scientists show how we can anticipate rather than react to extinction in mammals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Most conservation efforts are reactive. Typically, a species must reach threatened status before action is taken to prevent extinction, such as establishing protected areas. A new study shows that we can use existing conservation data to predict which currently unthreatened species could become threatened and take proactive action to prevent their decline before it is too late.
Published Engineered plants produce sex perfume to trick pests and replace pesticides
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tobacco plants have been engineered to manufacture an alluring perfume of insect sex pheromones, which could be used to confuse would-be pests looking for love and reduce the need for harmful pesticides.
Published Here's how a worm's embryonic cells changed its development potential
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have spotted how specific proteins within the chromosomes of roundworms enable their offspring to produce specialized cells generations later, a startling finding that upends classical thinking that hereditary information for cell differentiation is mostly ingrained within DNA and other genetic factors.
Published In Florida study, nonnative leaf-litter ants are replacing native ants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new look at decades of data from museum collections and surveys of leaf-litter ants in Florida reveals a steady decline in native ants and simultaneous increase in nonnative ants -- even in protected natural areas of the state, researchers report.
Published Woolly mammoths evolved smaller ears and woolier coats over the 700,000 years that they roamed the Siberian steppes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers compared the genomes of woolly mammoths with modern day elephants to find out what made woolly mammoths unique, both as individuals and as a species. The investigators report that many of the woolly mammoth's trademark features -- including their woolly coats and large fat deposits -- were already genetically encoded in the earliest woolly mammoths, but these and other traits became more defined over the species' 700,000+ year existence. They also identified a gene with several mutations that may have been responsible for the woolly mammoth's miniscule ears.
Published Simple but revolutionary modular organoids
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team has developed an ingenious device, using layers of hydrogels in a cube-like structure, that allows researchers to construct complex 3D organoids without using elaborate techniques. The group also recently demonstrated the ability to use the device to build organoids that faithfully reproduce the asymmetric genetic expression that characterizes the actual development of organisms.
Published Environmental impact reports hugely underestimate consequences for wildlife
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research shows that environmental impact reports hugely underestimate the consequences of new developments for wildlife. This is because they don't take into account how birds and other animals move around between different sites. The research shows how a planned airport development in Portugal could affect more than 10 times the number of Black-tailed Godwits estimated in a previous Environmental Impact Assessment. The team have been studying these Godwits across Europe for over 30 years but they say that any species that moves around is likely to be under-represented by such reports.
Published Case for Candida auris wastewater surveillance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers say tracking methodology in Southern Nevada fungal outbreak provides blueprint for monitoring and responding to emerging global public health threat.
Published Researchers clear the way for well-rounded view of cellular defects
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research investigates how cells divide, particularly in the fibrous environment of living tissue. Cells are typically studied in a flat environment, and the difference between flat and fibrous landscapes opens new windows into the behavior of cells and the diseases that impact them.
Published Fully recyclable printed electronics ditch toxic chemicals for water
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have produced fully recyclable printed electronics that replace the use of chemicals with water in the fabrication process. By bypassing the need for hazardous chemicals, the demonstration points down a path industry could follow to reduce its environmental footprint and human health risks.
Published Broccoli consumption protects gut lining, reduces disease, in mice
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Broccoli is known to be beneficial to our health. For example, research has shown that increased consumption of the cruciferous vegetable decreases incidence of cancer and type 2 diabetes. In a recent study, researchers found that broccoli contains certain molecules that bind to a receptor within mice and help to protect the lining of the small intestine, thereby inhibiting the development of disease. The findings lend support to the idea that broccoli truly is a 'superfood.'
Published Blind dating in bacteria evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers reconstructed long-extinct proteins of a UV protection system of cyanobacteria. The surprising result: the proteins were already compatible with each other when they first met. This discovery expands the knowledge horizon on the rules of evolution.
Published Sierra squirrels find their niche amid a changing climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study of squirrels in California's Sierra Nevada mountains finds that climate is just one factor impacting where species make their homes in a changing world.
Published 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.
Published Activating adult-born neurons through deep brain stimulation alleviates Alzheimer's symptoms in rodent models
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source People with Alzheimer's disease develop defects in cognitive functions like memory as well as problems with noncognitive functions that can lead to anxiety and depression. Investigators used mice to study a process through which new neurons are generated in adulthood, called adult hippocampus neurogenesis (AHN). The research showed that deep brain stimulation of new neurons helped restore both cognitive and noncognitive functions in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.
Published Discovery of ferroelectricity in an elementary substance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered a new single-element ferroelectric material that alters the current understanding of conventional ferroelectric materials and has future applications in data storage devices.
Published Newly discovered probiotic could protect Caribbean corals threatened by deadly, devastating disease
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered the first effective bacterial probiotic for treating and preventing stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), a mysterious ailment that has devastated Florida's coral reefs since 2014 and is rapidly spreading throughout the Caribbean. The probiotic treatment provides an alternative to the use of the broad-spectrum antibiotic amoxicillin, which has so far been the only proven treatment for the disease but which runs the risk of promoting antibiotic-resistant bacteria.