Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Scientists advocate for integration of biogeography and behavioral ecology to rapidly respond to biodiversity loss      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An interdisciplinary team of researchers is advocating for convergent research that integrates the fields of biogeography and behavioral ecology to more rapidly respond to challenges associated with climate change and biodiversity loss.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Scientists map gusty winds in a far-off neutron star system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have mapped the 'disk winds' associated with the accretion disk around Hercules X-1, a system in which a neutron star is drawing material away from a sun-like star. The findings may offer clues to how supermassive black holes shape entire galaxies.

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.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Navigating the cosmos with CHARA Array      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New instruments and plans for a seventh telescope at Georgia State's CHARA Array will allow scientists to see the stars in greater detail than ever before. The update comes after a group of international scientists gathered in Atlanta to take part in the 2023 CHARA Science Meeting to share the latest developments in high-resolution astronomical imaging using the CHARA Array.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology
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

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature
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.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Webb reveals never-before-seen details in Cassiopeia A      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The explosion of a star is a dramatic event, but the remains the star leaves behind can be even more dramatic. A new mid-infrared image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope provides one stunning example. It shows the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), created by a stellar explosion seen from Earth 340 years ago. Cas A is the youngest known remnant from an exploding, massive star in our galaxy, which makes it a unique opportunity to learn more about how such supernovae occur.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

How to see the invisible: Using the dark matter distribution to test our cosmological model      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astrophysicists have measured a value for the 'clumpiness' of the universe's dark matter (known to cosmologists as 'S8') of 0.776, which does not align with the value derived from the Cosmic Microwave Background, which dates back to the universe's origins. This has intriguing implications for the standard cosmological model.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology
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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
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.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Environmental: Ecosystems Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Microbiology
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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature
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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology
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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
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.'

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
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.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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.