Showing 20 articles starting at article 341
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Biology: Biotechnology, Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published New sensor gives unprecedented look at changes in cell's energy 'currency'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new sensor is giving researchers the best look yet at ATP levels inside living cells, enabling scientists to study in greater detail than ever before how fluctuations in this cellular currency affect the cell and contribute to disease.
Published Otters, especially females, use tools to survive a changing world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Sea otters are one of the few animals that use tools to access their food, and a new study has found that individual sea otters that use tools -- most of whom are female -- are able to eat larger prey and reduce tooth damage when their preferred prey becomes depleted.
Published How neighboring whale families learn each other's vocal style
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a method to investigate sperm whale communication by determining their vocal style, finding that groups living in close proximity can develop similar styles to each other.
Published How did sabre-toothed tigers acquire their long upper canine teeth?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a groundbreaking study an international team of scientists has investigated the evolutionary patterns behind the development of sabre teeth, with some unexpected results along the way.
Published Spider silk sound system
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have investigated how spiders listen to their environments through webs and found that the webs match the acoustic particle velocity for a wide range of sound frequencies. Playing sound ranging from 1 Hz to 50 kHz for the spiders and measuring the spider silk motion with a laser vibrometer, they found the sound-induced velocity of the silk was the same as the particles in the air surrounding it. This confirmed the mechanism that these spiders use to detect their prey.
Published Bioengineered enzyme creates natural vanillin from plants in one step
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Vanilla, the most widely used flavoring compound in confectionaries and cosmetics, gets its sweet flavor and aroma from the chemical compound -- 'vanillin'. However, the large-scale production of natural vanillin is impeded by the lack of microbial processes and enzymes which can commercially generate vanillin. Now, researchers have genetically engineered a novel enzyme which can convert ferulic acid from plant waste into vanillin in a one-step sustainable process.
Published Jet-propelled sea creatures could improve ocean robotics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered that colonies of gelatinous sea animals swim through the ocean in giant corkscrew shapes using coordinated jet propulsion, an unusual kind of locomotion that could inspire new designs for efficient underwater vehicles.
Published Eurasian jays can use 'mental time travel' like humans, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Eurasian jays can remember incidental details of past events, which is characteristic of episodic memory in humans, according to a new study.
Published Heating proteins to body temperature reveals new drug targets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some proteins shift their shape when exposed to different temperatures, revealing previously unknown binding sites for medications. The findings could revolutionize wide swathes of biology by fundamentally changing how protein structure is studied and leveraged for drug design.
Published Analyzing androgynous characteristics in an emperor penguin courtship call
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the emperor penguin courtship call, male vocalizations are composed of long, slow bursts with lower frequency tones than the female version. But calls of SeaWorld San Diego male penguin E-79 defied this binary. Also unusual was this penguin's male companion, E-81. The pair 'kept company' and sometimes exhibited ritual courtship displays. Researchers studied the courtship calls of E-79 and E-81, recording the birds in their below-freezing enclosure and refining the usual technique for analyzing the bursts.
Published Tiger beetles fight off bat attacks with ultrasonic mimicry
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When tiger beetles hear a bat nearby, they respond by creating a high-pitched, ultrasonic noise, and for the past 30 years, no one has known why. In a new study, scientists lay the mystery to rest by showing that tiger beetles use ultrasonic warning signals that mimic those of toxic moths.
Published Exploring the mechanism behind drug eruptions in the skin
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Although drug eruptions are often linked to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA), the mechanism of its involvement in presenting symptoms of the skin remains unclear. In a recent study, researchers used genetically engineered mice to demonstrate the role of HLA in mediating intracellular reactions in keratinocytes, leading to drug eruptions in the skin. Their findings could lead to improved preventive and treatment measures for drug eruptions.
Published Drug compounds to combat neurodegenerative diseases
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Prions are the abnormal, pathogenic agents that are transmissible and are able to induce abnormal folding of specific normal cellular proteins. Prion disease is an umbrella term for a group of fatal and currently untreatable neurodegenerative diseases that not only affect humans, but also wild and captive animals. These diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or 'mad cow disease'), and chronic wasting disease (CWD) affecting deer, elk and moose.
Published Iconic baobabs: The origin and long-distance travels of upside down trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The research cracks the code on the iconic baobab tree's origin story, revealing their surprising origins in Madagascar and incredible long-distance dispersals to Africa and Australia. The study unveils how baobabs developed unique pollination mechanisms -- some attracting hawkmoths, others lemurs, and even bats -- showcasing remarkable evolutionary adaptations. The research sheds light on how climate change has shaped the baobab's distribution and diversification over millions of years, offering valuable insights for understanding plant responses to future environmental shifts.
Published Some mice may owe their monogamy to a newly evolved type of cell
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What makes the oldfield mouse steadfastly monogamous throughout its life while its closest rodent relatives are promiscuous? The answer may be a previously unknown hormone-generating cell. Scientists discover the cells and hormones that inspire mice to nurture their young; the same hormones are also present in humans.
Published First 'warm-blooded' dinosaurs may have emerged 180 million years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The ability to regulate body temperature, a trait all mammals and birds have today, may have evolved among some dinosaurs early in the Jurassic period about 180 million years ago. The new study looked at the spread of dinosaurs across different climates on Earth throughout the Mesozoic Era (the dinosaur era lasting from 230 to 66 million years ago), drawing on 1,000 fossils, climate models and the geography of the period, and dinosaurs' evolutionary trees.
Published Genetics provide key to fight crown-of-thorns starfish
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists are one step closer to combating coral-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish, following a study into the pest's genetics.
Published High genetic diversity discovered in South African leopards
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers say the discovery of very high genetic diversity in leopards found in the Highveld region of South Africa has increased the need for conservation efforts to protect leopards in the country.
Published Creating a green composite material from Japanese washi paper
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Japanese washi paper is renowned for its aesthetic beauty and its wide-array of usages. Now, a group of researchers have made a green composite material from washi which boasts a 60% increase in strength as well as being more biodegradable. They hope that their research will revive interest in this traditional craft.
Published Persistent strain of cholera defends itself against forces of change, scientists find
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A longstanding mystery about the strain of Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae) responsible for the seventh global cholera pandemic is how this lineage has managed to out-compete other pathogenic variants. The team identified a unique quirk of the immune system that protects the bacteria from a key driver of bacterial evolution.