A small deletion in a gene on the X-chromosome lies behind the fiery coats of ginger tabbies and the splotchy orange patches of calicos and tortoiseshell cats. Fukuoka, Japan – From Tama, Japan’s most famous stationmaster calico cat, to the lasagna-loving, ginger Garfield, cats with orange fur are both cultural icons and beloved pets. But their distinctive color comes with a genetic twist-most orange tabbies are male, while calicos and tortoiseshells are nearly always female. This pattern points to an…

UC Riverside tool empowers scientists, accelerates discovery Biologists and chemists have a new programming language to uncover previously unknown environmental pollutants at breakneck speed – without requiring them to code. By making it easier to search massive chemical datasets, the tool has already identified toxic compounds hidden in plain sight. Mass spectrometry data is like a chemical fingerprint, showing scientists what molecules are in a sample such as air, water, or blood, and in what amounts. It helps identify everything…

Stomp dancing, head jerking, chattering and skimming generate whorls and eddies that funnel brine shrimp and small animals into the birds’ mouths Flamingos standing serenely in a shallow alkaline lake with heads submerged may seem to be placidly feeding, but there’s a lot going on under the surface. Through studies of Chilean flamingos in the Nashville Zoo and analysis of 3D printed models of their feet and L-shaped bills, researchers have documented how the birds use their feet, heads and…

Microbial ecosystems have tipping points where even small perturbations are enough to cause a collapse, according to a new study. The authors, from the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, Germany, describe microbial communities as a network based on cross-feeding, the exchange of metabolic by-products between populations. This network of relationships can collapse abruptly if individual populations are lost, they conclude. This mechanism may explain why microbial diversity is difficult to maintain in the laboratory,…