Showing 20 articles starting at article 1421
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Biology: Microbiology, Offbeat: Space
Published How climate warming could disrupt a deep-rooted relationship
(via sciencedaily.com) Trees depend on fungi for their well-being. As climate change and global warming cause higher temperatures and amplified drought, little is known about how these important fungi will respond. To investigate this issue, a research team conducted a climate change experiment where they exposed boreal and temperate tree species to warming and drought treatments to better understand how fungi and their tree hosts respond to environmental changes. Their findings revealed that the combined effects of warming and water stress will likely result in major disturbances of ectomycorrhizal networks and may harm forest resilience and function.
Published Split gene-editing tool offers greater precision
(via sciencedaily.com) To make a gene-editing tool more precise and easier to control, engineers split it into two pieces that only come back together when a third molecule is added.
Published Compound derived from hops reduces abundance of gut microbe associated with metabolic syndrome
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have shown in a mouse model and lab cultures that a compound derived from hops reduces the abundance of a gut bacterium associated with metabolic syndrome.
Published Unzipping mRNA rallies plant cells to fight infection
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Living things from plants to humans must constantly adjust the chemical soup of proteins -- the workhorse molecules of life -- inside their cells to adapt to stress or changing conditions. Now, researchers have identified a previously unknown molecular mechanism that helps explain how they do it. A team now reveals hairpin-like structures of mRNA that, by zipping and unzipping, help cells change the mix of proteins they produce when under stress.
Published New study finds that sewage release is worse for rivers than agriculture
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Sewage pollution, whether treated or untreated, was found to be the primary driver of increased nutrients, algae, and sewage fungus in rivers. Sewage discharge also radically altered plant, animal, and microbe communities, increasing the abundance of harmful species. Run-off from agriculture was also found to lower water quality and be particularly harmful for sensitive insect groups.
Published New Mars gravity analysis improves understanding of possible ancient ocean
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The first use of a novel method of analyzing Mars' gravitational force supports the idea that the planet once had an extensive northern ocean. In doing so, the method defines the scope of what scientists refer to as the northern Martian paleo-ocean in more detail.
Published Genetically modifying individual cells in animals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a method that lets them genetically modify each cell differently in animals. This allows them to study in a single experiment what used to require many animal experiments. Using the new method, the researchers have discovered genes that are relevant for a severe rare genetic disorder.
Published Tag team of the James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA captures the core of the most distant galaxy protocluster
(via sciencedaily.com) An international research team has used the James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array to observe the most distant galaxy protocluster to date, 13.14 billion light-years away. The team has successfully captured the 'core region' of the galaxy protocluster, which corresponds to a metropolitan area with a particularly high number density of galaxies. The team has revealed that many galaxies are concentrated in a small area and that the growth of galaxies is accelerated. Furthermore, the team used simulations to predict the future of the metropolitan area and found that the region will merge into one larger galaxy within tens of millions of years. These results are expected to provide important clues regarding the birth and growth of galaxies.
Published Slow growth in crocodile ancestors pre-dated their semi-aquatic lifestyle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A groundbreaking study is reshaping our understanding of crocodile evolution by pinpointing the onset of slow growth rates to the Late Triassic period, much earlier than the previously assumed Early Jurassic timeline. The research highlights newly discovered fossil crocodile ancestors (known as crocodylomorphs) that exhibited slow growth rates, similar to modern-day crocodilians. Intriguingly, these early crocodylomorphs were not the lethargic, semi-aquatic creatures we are familiar with today; they were small, active, and fully terrestrial. The study also suggests that this slow-growth strategy was not a mere evolutionary quirk but a survival mechanism, as only the slow-growing crocodylomorphs managed to survive the End-Triassic mass extinction. This stands in stark contrast to the fast-growing dinosaurs of the same era, setting the stage for the divergent evolutionary paths that would later define their modern descendants.
Published A newly identified virus emerges from the deep
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Marine virologists analyzed sediment from the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth, and identified a new bacteriophage.
Published Spider silk is spun by silkworms for the first time, offering a green alternative to synthetic fibers
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have synthesized spider silk from genetically modified silkworms, producing fibers six times tougher than the Kevlar used in bulletproof vests. The study is the first to successfully produce full-length spider silk proteins using silkworms. The findings demonstrate a technique that could be used to manufacture an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic commercial fibers such as nylon.
Published Researchers issue urgent call to save the world's largest flower -Rafflesia -- from extinction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study finds that most Rafflesia species, which produce the world's largest flowers, face extinction. Lack of protection at local, national, and international levels means that remaining populations are under critical threat.
Published Fast-track strain engineering for speedy biomanufacturing
(via sciencedaily.com) Using engineered microbes as microscopic factories has given the world steady sources of life-saving drugs, revolutionized the food industry, and allowed us to make sustainable versions of valuable chemicals previously made from petroleum. But behind each biomanufactured product on the market today is the investment of years of work and many millions of dollars in research and development funding. Scientists want to help the burgeoning industry reach new heights by accelerating and streamlining the process of engineering microbes to produce important compounds with commercial-ready efficiency.
Published New recipes for origin of life may point way to distant, inhabited planets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Life on a faraway planet -- if it's out there -- might not look anything like life on Earth. But there are only so many chemical ingredients in the universe's pantry, and only so many ways to mix them. Scientists have now exploited those limitations to write a cookbook of hundreds of chemical recipes with the potential to give rise to life. Their ingredient list could focus the search for life elsewhere in the universe by pointing out the most likely conditions -- planetary versions of mixing techniques, oven temperatures and baking times -- for the recipes to come together.
Published Scientists develop method to detect deadly infectious diseases
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a way of detecting the early onset of deadly infectious diseases using a test so ultrasensitive that it could someday revolutionize medical approaches to epidemics. The test is an electronic sensor contained within a computer chip. It employs nanoballs -- microscopic spherical clumps made of tinier particles of genetic material -- and combines that technology with advanced electronics.
Published RNA for the first time recovered from an extinct species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows the isolation and sequencing of more than a century-old RNA molecules from a Tasmanian tiger specimen preserved at room temperature in a museum collection. This resulted in the reconstruction of skin and skeletal muscle transcriptomes from an extinct species for the first time. The researchers note that their findings have relevant implications for international efforts to resurrect extinct species, including both the Tasmanian tiger and the woolly mammoth, as well as for studying pandemic RNA viruses.
Published The surprising origin of a deadly hospital infection
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Surprising findings from a new study suggest that the burden of C. diff infection may be less a matter of hospital transmission and more a result of characteristics associated with the patients themselves.
Published Incubator or barrier? Exploring the links between agriculture, biodiversity and the spread of pathogens
(via sciencedaily.com) Many pathogens, including the virus that causes COVID-19, are thought to have originated in wild animals before spilling into human populations.
Published Groundbreaking research shows that the limits of nuclear stability change in stellar environments where temperatures reach billions of degrees Celsius
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research is challenging the scientific status quo on the limits of the nuclear chart in hot stellar environments where temperatures reach billions of degrees Celsius.
Published That smell: New gut microbe produces smelly toxic gas but protects against pathogens
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Microbiologists have discovered a new intestinal microbe that feeds exclusively on taurine and produces the foul-smelling gas hydrogen sulfide. The researchers have thus provided another building block in the understanding of those microbial processes that have fascinating effects on health. This is also true of Taurinivorans muris: the bacterium shows a protective function against Klebsiella and Salmonella, two important pathogens.