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Categories: Biology: Biotechnology, Paleontology: General
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 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 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 Homo sapiens likely arose from multiple closely related populations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In testing the genetic material of current populations in Africa and comparing against existing fossil evidence of early Homo sapiens populations there, researchers have uncovered a new model of human evolution -- overturning previous beliefs that a single African population gave rise to all humans.
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 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 Out of this world control on Ice Age cycles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team, composed of climatologists and an astronomer, have used an improved computer model to reproduce the cycle of ice ages (glacial periods) 1.6 to 1.2 million years ago. The results show that the glacial cycle was driven primarily by astronomical forces in quite a different way than it works in the modern age. These results will help us to better understand the past, present, and future of ice sheets and the Earth's climate.
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 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.
Published Researcher uses mammal DNA to zoom into the human genome with unprecedented resolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have precisely identified base pairs of the human genome that remained consistent over millions of years of mammalian evolution, and which play a crucial role in human disease. The team analyzed the genomes of 240 mammals, including humans and identified base pairs that were 'constrained' -- meaning they remained generally consistent -- across mammal species over the course of evolution. The most constrained base pairs in mammals were over seven times more likely to be causal for human disease and complex trait, and over 11 times more likely when researchers looked at the most constrained base pairs in primates alone.
Published A look inside stem cells helps create personalized regenerative medicine
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have examined a specific type of stem cell with an intracellular toolkit to determine which cells are most likely to create effective cell therapies.
Published Brain-belly connection: Gut health may influence likelihood of developing Alzheimer's
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study pinpoints 10 bacterial groups associated with Alzheimer's disease, provides new insights into the relationship between gut makeup and dementia.
Published Bacteria killing material could tackle hospital superbugs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have used a common disinfectant and antiseptic to create a new antimicrobial coating material that effectively kills bacteria and viruses, including MRSA and SARS-COV-2.
Published Culprit behind destruction of New York's first dinosaur museum revealed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new paper rewrites the history of the darkest, most bizarre event in the history of palaeontology.
Published Bacteria: Radioactive elements replace essential rare earth metals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bacteria can use certain radioactive elements to sustain their metabolism.
Published How bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bacteria can rapidly evolve resistance to antibiotics by adapting special pumps to flush them out of their cells, according to new research. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing problem of global significance. The rise of resistant 'superbugs' threatens our ability to use antimicrobials like antibiotics to treat and prevent the spread of infections caused by microorganisms. It is hoped that the findings will improve how antibiotics are used to help prevent further spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Published Human ancestors preferred mosaic landscapes and high ecosystem diversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study finds that early human species adapted to mosaic landscapes and diverse food resources, which would have increased our ancestor's resilience to past shifts in climate.
Published Giants of the Jurassic seas were twice the size of a killer whale
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There have been heated debates over the size of Jurassic animals. The speculation was set to continue, but now a chance discovery in an Oxfordshire museum has led to palaeontologists publishing a paper on a Jurassic species potentially reaching a whopping 14.4 meters -- twice the size of a killer whale.
Published A jumping conclusion: Fossil insect ID'd as new genus, species of prodigious leaper, the froghopper
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A fossil arthropod entombed in 100-million-year-old Burmese amber has been identified as a new genus and species of froghopper, known today as an insect with prodigious leaping ability in adulthood following a nymphal stage spent covered in a frothy fluid.
Published Earth's first animals had particular taste in real estate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Even without body parts that allowed for movement, new research shows -- for the first time -- that some of Earth's earliest animals managed to be picky about where they lived.