Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology
Published

Illuminating the evolution of social parasite ants      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The findings offer a new way to understand how some ants become total layabouts.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology
Published

Fluorescent protein sheds light on bee brains      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international team of bee researchers has integrated a calcium sensor into honey bees to enable the study of neural information processing including response to odors. This also provides insights into how social behavior is located in the brain.

Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology
Published

Researchers provide proof of the helical coiling of condensed chromosomes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In early cytological studies chromatids of metaphase chromosomes were suggested to coil into a spiral called chromonema. This assumption was recently supported by chromosomce conformation capture sequencing. Still, the direct visualization of the coiled chromonema confirming the helical model was lacking. Now, an international research team provides the direct proof of the helical coiling of condensed chromatids via super-resolution microscopy of specifically labelled chromonema regions.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Developmental Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

New study unveils epigenetic 'traffic lights' controlling stop and go for gene activity      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A major new study reveals a 'traffic light' mechanism controlling genetic activity within cells -- a system which could potentially be targeted by cancer drugs already in development. The research describes how 'epigenetic' changes to the structure of DNA can act as a stop-go signal in determining whether a gene should be read. Unlike our genetic make-up, which is well understood, the world of epigenetics is still largely unexplored and referred to as the 'dark matter' of the genome.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

Will future computers run on human brain cells?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A 'biocomputer' powered by human brain cells could be developed within our lifetime, according to researchers who expect such technology to exponentially expand the capabilities of modern computing and create novel fields of study.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Nanotechnology Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Plants and Animals Physics: Optics
Published

Tiny new climbing robot was inspired by geckos and inchworms      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A tiny robot that could one day help doctors perform surgery was inspired by the incredible gripping ability of geckos and the efficient locomotion of inchworms.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Evolutionary history of detoxifying enzymes reconstructed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Biochemists have succeeded in resurrecting the ancestral genes of five detoxifying enzymes which are present in all tetrapods to show how their divergence in function has occurred.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Published

Real or fake text? We can learn to spot the difference      (via sciencedaily.com) 

While apprehensions about employment and schools dominate headlines, the truth is that the effects of large-scale language models such as ChatGPT will touch virtually every corner of our lives. These new tools raise society-wide concerns about artificial intelligence's role in reinforcing social biases, committing fraud and identity theft, generating fake news, spreading misinformation and more. A team of researchers is seeking to empower tech users to mitigate these risks. The authors demonstrate that people can learn to spot the difference between machine-generated and human-written text.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient proteins offer new clues about origin of life on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By simulating early Earth conditions in the lab, researchers have found that without specific amino acids, ancient proteins would not have known how to evolve into everything alive on the planet today -- including plants, animals, and humans.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Developmental Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Cells avoid multitasking      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Textbooks will tell you that in dividing cells, production of new DNA peaks during the S-phase, while production of other macromolecules, such as proteins, lipids, and polysaccharides, continues at more or less the same level. Molecular biologists have now discovered that this is not true: protein synthesis shows two peaks and lipid synthesis peaks once.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Developmental Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Successful cure of HIV infection after stem cell transplantation, study suggests      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for the treatment of severe blood cancers is the only medical intervention that has cured two people living with HIV in the past. An international group of physicians and researchers has now identified another case in which HIV infection has been shown to be cured in the same way. The successful healing process of this third patient was for the first time characterized in great detail virologically and immunologically over a time span of ten years.

Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

The achilles heel of the influenza virus: Ubiquitin protein may be an approach for future medicines      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Influenza viruses are becoming increasingly resilient to medicines. For this reason, new active ingredients are needed. Important findings in this regard have been provided: for the virus to proliferate, the polymerase of the influenza A virus has to be modified many times through enzymes in the host cells. The team of researchers was able to produce a comprehensive map of types of modification. Medicines directed against the enzymes woud be resilient to rapid mutations in the virus, thus offering great potential for the future.

Biology: Botany Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Scientists unlock key to drought-resistant wheat plants with longer roots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Growing wheat in drought conditions may be easier in the future. Researchers found the right number of copies of a specific group of genes can stimulate longer root growth, enabling wheat plants to pull water from deeper supplies.

Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Psyllium fiber protects against colitis by activating bile acid sensor, biomedical sciences researchers find      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Psyllium fiber protects against ulcerative colitis and suppresses inflammation by activating the bile acid nuclear receptor, a mechanism that was previously unrecognized, according to a new study.

Biology: Genetics Mathematics: Modeling
Published

MoBIE enables modern microscopy with massive data sets      (via sciencedaily.com) 

High-resolution microscopy techniques, for example electron microscopy or super-resolution microscopy, produce huge amounts of data. The visualization, analysis and dissemination of such large imaging data sets poses significant challenges. Now, these tasks can be carried out using MoBIE, which stands for Multimodal Big Image Data Exploration, a new user-friendly, freely available tool. This means that researchers such as biologists, who rely on high-resolution microscopy techniques, can incorporate multiple data sets to study the processes of life at the very smallest scales.

Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Animals
Published

Deer protected from deadly disease by newly discovered genetic differences      (via sciencedaily.com) 

It was the height of summer 2022 when the calls started coming in. Scores of dead deer suddenly littered rural properties and park preserves, alarming the public and inconveniencing landowners. According to officials at the Urbana Park District, it was Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), a midge-borne viral illness that pops up in white-tailed deer populations around the state every few years. And when susceptible deer are infected, they die within days. Now, scientists have found gene variants in deer associated with the animals' susceptibility to EHD.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Robot helps students with learning disabilities stay focused      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineering researchers are successfully using a robot to help keep children with learning disabilities focused on their work.