Showing 20 articles starting at article 1781

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Biology: Genetics, Geoscience: Earth Science

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Billions of sea anemones adorn the bottom of the Earth's oceans -- yet they are among the rarest of fossils because their squishy bodies lack easily fossilized hard parts. Now a team of paleontologists has discovered that countless sea anemone fossils have been hiding in plain sight for nearly 50 years. It turns out that fossils long-interpreted as jellyfish were anemones. To do so, a team of scientists has simply turned the ancient animals upside down.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team has shed new light on the importance of plant roots for below-ground life, particularly in the tropics. Millions of small creatures toiling in a single hectare of soil including earthworms, springtails, mites, insects, and other arthropods are crucial for decomposition and soil health. For a long time, it was believed that leaf litter is the primary resource for these animals. However, this recent study is the first to provide proof that resources derived from plant roots drive soil animal communities in the tropics.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

The Phlegraean volcanic fields just west of Naples, Italy, are among the top eight emitters of volcanic carbon dioxide in the world. Since 2005, the Solfatara crater -- one of many circular depressions in the landscape left by a long history of eruptions --has been emitting increased volumes of gas. Today it emits 4,000-5,000 tons of carbon dioxide each day, equivalent to the emissions from burning ~500,000 gallons of gasoline. Researchers estimate that as much as 20%--40% of the current carbon dioxide emissions are from the dissolution of calcite in the rocks, while 60%--80% is from underground magma.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers describe a new manner of detecting microbial infection that intercepts pathogen-derived signals of growth to assess the relative threat of virulent bacteria. A nuclear hormone receptor in the nematode C. elegans senses a toxic metabolite produced by the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to activate innate immunity. These data reveal an ancient strategy that informs the origins of pathogen detection and may be among the most primordial forms of immune sensing in animals.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Milutin Milankovitch hypothesized that the timing of glacial transitions has been controlled by the orbital parameters of the Earth, which suggests that there may be some predictability in the climate, a notoriously complex system. Now researchers propose a new paradigm to simplify the verification of the Milankovitch hypothesis. The new 'deterministic excitation paradigm' combines the physics concepts of relaxation oscillation and excitability to link Earth's orbital parameters and the glacial cycles in a more generic way.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new study of daily ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) across the globe, a new study has found that only 0.18% of the global land area and 0.001% of the global population are exposed to levels of PM2.5 -- the world's leading environmental health risk factor -- below levels of safety recommended by Word Health Organization (WHO). Importantly while daily levels have reduced in Europe and North America in the two decades to 2019, levels have increased Southern Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 70% of days globally seeing levels above what is safe.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

The DNA sequence of a gene in wheat responsible for resisting a devastating virus has been discovered, providing vital clues for managing more resistant crops and maintaining a healthy food supply.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

New methodology and tools provide an opportunity to watch in unprecedented detail as a phage attacks a bacterium.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Mineral particles played a key role in raising oxygen levels in the Earth's atmosphere billions of years ago, with major implications for the way intelligent life later evolved, according to new research.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists reveal new information about the role humans have played in large-scale land loss in the Mississippi River Delta -- crucial information in determining solutions to the crisis.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A cheap charcoal air filter can reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) inside vehicles by as much as 90%, compared to levels outside the vehicle.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Obese fruit flies are the experimental subjects in a study of the causes of muscle function decline due to obesity. In humans, skeletal muscle plays a crucial role in metabolism, and muscle dysfunction due to human obesity can lead to insulin resistance and reduced energy levels.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Once upon a time, prevailing scientific opinion might have pronounced recently published research as unneeded. Now, climate change implications have heightened the need for this line of research. Flowers emit scent chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Earlier this year, a study identified a protein that plays a key role in helping petunias emit volatiles.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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

     (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.

     (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.

     (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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A detailed atlas of gene expression in the zebrafish brain.

     (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.

     (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.