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Categories: Biology: Molecular, Offbeat: General

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One of the building blocks of ocean life can adapt to cope with the effects of climate change, according to new research. The discovery holds promises for biotechnology developments that could counter the negative effects of changing environmental conditions, such as ocean warming and even the reduction in the productivity of crops. 

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Fecal microbe transplants from healthy donors can treat patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile infections. However, after tens of thousands transplants, little was known about which donor strains provide long-term engraftment, and which engraft early after the transplant. Most failures of fecal microbe transplantation occur in the first four weeks. Researchers have now found 19 Bacteroides vulgatus genes that were unique to three strains that show early engraftment in patients after a fecal transplant, as opposed to seven strains that did not show early engraftment.

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To study muscle diseases, scientists rely on the mouse as a model organism. Researchers have now developed a new method that is not only faster and more efficient than conventional ones but also greatly reduces the number of experimental animals needed for studying the function of genes in muscle fibers.

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A new Paroedura gecko species was reported at two small forest sites, Anja Reserve and Tsaranoro Valley forest, in the south-central plateau of Madagascar. Thanks to the recently collected samples, it was described and named after its preferred habitat, the boulders surrounded by the last remaining forests at these sites. Its conservation status was evaluated as Critically Endangered given its tiny distributional range.

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Researchers have obtained new insights into how African-American and Hispanic-American people’s genes influence their ability to use Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids for good health. The findings are an important step toward “precision nutrition” – where a diet tailored to exactly what our bodies need can help us live longer, healthier lives.

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DNA analysis of mummified feces reveals two pre-Columbian Caribbean cultures ate a wide variety of plants, like maize, sweet potato, and peanuts -- and tobacco and cotton traces were detected too, according to a new study.

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Evolutionary biologists have for the first time decoded the genetic lineage of a famous killer whale and a pod that once worked alongside whale hunters off the coast of Australia. In the Australian tradition of claiming New Zealand's celebrities as its own, Old Tom, the leader of a pod of killer whales that famously helped whalers hunt baleen whales in the 20th century, has ancestral links to modern-day killer whales in New Zealand, according to new DNA research. Old Tom also shared a common ancestor with killer whales from Australasia, the North Pacific, and North Atlantic Oceans, but is most similar to modern New Zealand killer whales. However, most of Tom's DNA code is not found in other killer whales globally suggesting that the killer whales of Eden may have become extinct locally.

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Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are an astronomical mystery, with their exact cause and origins still unconfirmed. These intense bursts of radio energy are invisible to the human eye, but show up brightly on radio telescopes. Previous studies have noted broad similarities between the energy distribution of repeat FRBs, and that of earthquakes and solar flares. However, new research has looked at the time and energy of FRBs and found distinct differences between FRBs and solar flares, but several notable similarities between FRBs and earthquakes. This supports the theory that FRBs are caused by 'starquakes' on the surface of neutron stars. This discovery could help us better understand earthquakes, the behavior of high-density matter and aspects of nuclear physics.

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Researchers created and used complex neural networks to recreate speech from brain recordings, and then used that recreation to analyze the processes that drive human speech.

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People who carry three gene variants that have been inherited from Neanderthals are more sensitive to some types of pain, according to a new study.

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Researchers describe an acoustic meta-surface that uses pingpong balls, with small holes punctured in each, as Helmholtz resonators to create inexpensive but effective low-frequency sound insulation. The coupling between two resonators led to two resonance frequencies, and more resonant frequencies meant the device was able to absorb more sound. At the success of two coupled resonators, the researchers added more, until their device resembled a square sheet of punctured pingpong balls, multiplying the number of resonant frequencies that could be absorbed.

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Twelve people crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat. One of them was Ciara Burns, a scientist, who monitored her own heartbeat. Now the data was analyzed and the results were published: It turns out that the variability of the heart rate provides a lot of information about physical and mental wellbeing.

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A study found that a new combination of treatments safely decreased growth of pancreatic cancer in mice by preventing cancer cells from scavenging for fuel.

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Researchers have unveiled a new mechanism for regulating mitochondrial function. The findings reveal the critical role played by the enzymatic activity of the lysine acetyltransferase MOF in maintaining mitochondrial integrity and function through acetylation of mitochondrial electron transport chain component COX17. Cells lacking MOF-mediated COX17 acetylation exhibit dramatic mitochondrial defects and impaired ability to produce energy. Underscoring the clinical relevance of these findings, the team also showed that cells from human patients with a developmental disorder caused by mutations in MOF also exhibited respiratory defects that could be ameliorated by interventions such as acetylation-mimetic COX17 or mitochondrially targeted MOF.

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Palaeontologists discover molecular evidence of phaeomelanin, the pigment that produces ginger coloration. Phaeomelanin is now toxic to animals – this discovery may be first step in understand its evolution. 

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Researchers have discovered the master regulator responsible for balancing the expression of X chromosome genes between males and females in the malaria mosquito. This discovery helps scientists better understand the evolution of the epigenetic mechanisms responsible for equalizing gene expression between the sexes. The findings may contribute to the development of new ways to prevent the spread of malaria.

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New research reaffirms that human footprints found in White Sands National Park, NM, date to the Last Glacial Maximum, placing humans in North America thousands of years earlier than once thought.  In September 2021, scientists announced that ancient human footprints discovered in White Sands National Park were between 21,000 and 23,000 years old. This discovery pushed the known date of human presence in North America back by thousands of years and implied that early inhabitants and megafauna co-existed for several millennia before the terminal Pleistocene extinction event. In a follow-up study, researchers used two new independent approaches to date the footprints, both of which resulted in the same age range as the original estimate. 

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Researchers have identified a 'guard mechanism' for a protein which attacks microbes in infected cells, opening the possibility of new treatments for Toxoplasma, Chlamydia, Tuberculosis and even cancer.

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Scientists testing a new method of sequencing single cells have unexpectedly changed our understanding of the rules of genetics. The genome of a protist has revealed a seemingly unique divergence in the DNA code signalling the end of a gene, suggesting the need for further research to better understand this group of diverse organisms.  

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Imagine a life form that doesn't resemble any of the organisms found on the tree of life. One that has its own unique control system, and that a doctor would want to send into your body. It sounds like a science fiction movie, but according to nanoscientists, it can—and should—happen in the future.