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Categories: Biology: Microbiology, Ecology: Extinction

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The digestive tract of fruit flies remodels itself to accommodate beneficial microbiome species and maintain long-term stability of the gut environment, according to new research.

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Life comes in all shapes in sizes, but some sizes are more popular than others, new research has found. A survey of body sizes of all Earth's living organisms has uncovered an unexpected pattern. Contrary to what current theories can explain, our planet's biomass -- the material that makes up all living organisms -- is concentrated in organisms at either end of the size spectrum.

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Researchers have developed a method to measure coral biodiversity through extracting the environmental DNA (or eDNA) from a liter of surface seawater collected from above a reef. The method has been confirmed to work through observations made by scientific divers in the same areas of ocean. This has paved the way for large-scale comprehensive surveys of reef-building coral to take place and removes the reliance of direct observations made through scientific scuba diving or snorkeling.

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Have a cough, sore throat and congestion? Any number of respiratory viruses could be responsible. Today, scientists report using a single-atom-thick nanomaterial to build a device that can simultaneously detect the presence of the viruses that cause COVID-19 and the flu -- at much lower levels and much more quickly than conventional tests for either.

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Solving the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis are not separate issues. Animals remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year. Restoring species will help limit global warming, new science reveals.

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New study demonstrates that the most endangered turtles and crocodile species are those that have evolved unique life strategies. Many of the most threatened species carry out important ecosystem functions that other species depend on. Habitat loss was identified as the key overall threat to turtles and crocodiles, followed by climate change and global trade. Unique species faced additional pressure from local consumption, diseases, and pollution.

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Researchers collected the bodies of birds that crashed into buildings while migrating, and used these specimens to learn about the relationship between birds and the microbes living in their guts -- which appears to be wildly different from mammals and their microbiomes.

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Even supposedly adaptable mammal species face increased risk of extinction.

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With CRISPR-Cas9 technology, humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations. An evolutionary geneticist proposes that we call this evolutionary meddling 'genetic welding.' He argues that we must scientifically and ethically scrutinize the potential consequences of genetic welding before we put it into practice.

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A team of scientists designed a molecule that disrupts the infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could be used to develop new treatments for COVID-19 and other viral diseases.

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When the Kinks' Ray Davies penned the tune 'Last of the Steam-Powered Trains,' the vanishing locomotives stood as nostalgic symbols of a simpler English life. But for a paleontologist, the replacement of steam-powered trains with diesel and electric engines, as well as cars and trucks, might be a model of how some species in the fossil record died out.

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The community of microbes living in and on our bodies may be acting as a reservoir for antibiotic resistance, according to new research.

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While sampling for insects on former California Gov. Jerry Brown's ranch, a University of California, Berkeley, entomologist collected a rare species of beetle that had never been named or described -- and which, according to records, had not been observed by scientists in over 55 years. The new species will be named Bembidion brownorum, in honor of Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Brown.

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A nutrition scientist who has spent his career studying breast milk has demonstrated how beneficial microbes in the gut of infants use nitrogen from human milk to support pediatric nutrition and development.

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To develop treatments that may one day entirely rid the body of HIV infection, scientists have long sought to identify all of the places that the virus can hide its genetic code. Now, in a study using blood samples from men and women with HIV on long-term suppressive therapy, a team of scientists reports new evidence that one such stable reservoir of HIV genomes can be found in circulating white blood cells called monocytes.

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Researchers have developed a hybrid micro-robot, the size of a single biological cell (about 10 microns across), that can be controlled and navigated using two different mechanisms -- electric and magnetic. The micro-robot is able to navigate between different cells in a biological sample, distinguish between different types of cells, identify whether they are healthy or dying, and then transport the desired cell for further study, such as genetic analysis.

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Phosphorus is a natural mineral found in fertilizer that is essential for plant growth and development, and Earth's agricultural-grade phosphorus reserves are expected to be depleted in 50 to 100 years. A new discovery is changing their understanding of iron toxicity in plants caused by low phosphorus levels.

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A parasite which has devastating impacts on agriculture and human health is the first pathogen to have its proteins located and mapped within its cells -- providing clues to their function and helping to identify potential drug targets.

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Newly developed mRNA vaccines against Zika virus and HIV-1 produced strong antibody responses that transferred from pregnant rabbits to their offspring, researchers report. As noted by the authors, the results support further development of their vaccine platform, LIONTM/repRNA, for maternal and neonatal settings to protect against mother-to-child transmission of pathogens in animals and humans.

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MitoQ, a mitochondrial antioxidant that is available to the public as a diet supplement, was found in a mouse study to reverse the detrimental effects that HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) have on mitochondria in the brain, heart, aorta, lungs, kidney and liver.