Female earwigs may use their forceps as weapons too—just like males A new study from Toho University reveals that female earwigs exhibit a similar pattern of exaggerated forceps growth as males, suggesting that both sexes may have evolved these traits through sexual selection. Do larger male elk have proportionally larger antlers? The answer is no. In fact, larger individuals tend to have disproportionately larger antlers—a phenomenon known as positive allometry. This pattern, where certain body parts grow disproportionately large relative to body…
Researchers from the University of Adelaide, in collaboration with the University of Melbourne, University of Queensland and Monash University, have discovered that the genetic mechanism that determines sex in monotremes is different from all other mammals. Monotremes, which include echidnas and platypuses, differ in many aspects of their biology to all other mammals. Most distinctly, they lay eggs into a transient pouch rather than giving birth to live young. In almost all mammals, male sex-determination occurs via the SRY gene…
The elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway of ipecacuanha alkaloids shows how two distantly related plant species could develop the same substance independently Plants produce an enormous abundance of natural products. Many plant natural products are ancestry-specific and occur only in certain plant families, sometimes only in a single species. Interestingly, however, the same substances can sometimes be found in distantly related species. In most cases, however, only the end product is known and it is largely unclear how these substances…
Uncovering the genetic basis of purring in cats Kyoto, Japan — Whether you are lucky enough to have a cat companion or must merely live this experience vicariously through cat videos, Felis catus is a familiar and comforting presence in our daily lives. Unlike most other feline species, cats exhibit sociality, can live in groups, and communicate both with other cats and humans, which is why they have been humans’ trusted accomplices for millennia. Despite this intimacy, there is still…
Chlorinated organic substances can be converted into dioxins in the atmosphere Are the risks of hazardous chemicals being determined appropriately? In certain cases, apparently not–according to a study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie by a team of Chinese researchers. The study indicates that chlorinated volatile organic compounds on mineral dust particles in the atmosphere can be converted into highly toxic polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans by sunlight. Hazardous chemicals are frequently assessed under national and international regulatory frameworks, which primarily…
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,…
Eye movements predict speed limits in perception If you quickly move a camera from object to object, the abrupt shift between the two points causes a motion smear that might give you nausea. Our eyes, however, do movements like these two or three times per second. These rapid movements are called saccades, and although the visual stimulus during a saccade shifts abruptly across the retina, our brain seems to keep it under the hood: we never perceive the shift. New…
A more efficient and environmentally friendly approach to extracting rare earth elements that power everything from electric vehicle batteries to smartphones could increase domestic supply and decrease reliance on costly imports. This new method, developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, allows for separating and extracting these in-demand elements where it’s not possible today, opening up new avenues for gathering rare earth elements amid global trade tensions. “Rare earth elements are the backbone of advanced technologies, but their…
Criegee intermediates (CIs)—highly reactive species formed when ozone reacts with alkenes in the atmosphere—play a crucial role in generating hydroxyl radicals (the atmosphere’s “cleansing agents”) and aerosols that impact climate and air quality. The syn-CH3CHOO is particularly important among these intermediates, accounting for 25-79% of all CIs depending on the season. Until now, scientists have believed that syn-CH3CHOO primarily disappeared through self-decomposition. However, in a published in Nature Chemistry, a team led by Profs. YANG Xueming, ZHANG Donghui, DONG Wenrui and FU Bina from the Dalian Institute…
Many bird species are monogamous. However, genetic studies have shown that the social partner is often not the genetic father of all offspring. Some studies found biased sex ratios: more males than females among extra-pair fledglings. This has been interpreted as evidence of adaptive sex allocation by females: if an extra-pair mate is of high quality and this quality has a genetic basis, fitness can be optimized if offspring with the extra-pair mate’s “good” genes are predominantly male. However, there…
Bioinformatics: Publication in Science Bioinformaticians from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) and the university in Linköping (Sweden) have established that the genes in bacterial genomes are arranged in a meaningful order. In the renowned scientific journal Science, they describe that the genes are arranged by function: If they become increasingly important at faster growth, they are located near the origin of DNA replication. Accordingly, their position influences how their activity changes with the growth rate. Are genes distributed randomly along…
Mechanical compression induces multicellular organization in archaeaIn a discovery that reframes our understanding of life’s fundamental organization, researchers at Brandeis University, the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen have found that mechanical compression can induce the formation of tissue-like multicellular structures in archaea. This novel finding, focusing on the haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii, reveals a previously unknown pathway for the emergence of multicellularity within this domain of life, offering new insights into the evolutionary…
Capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from industrial emissions is crucial in the fight against climate change. But current methods, like chemical absorption, are expensive and energy-intensive. Scientists have long eyed graphene—an atom-thin, ultra-strong material—as a promising alternative for gas separation, but making large-area, efficient graphene membranes has been a challenge. Now, a team at EPFL, led by Professor Kumar Agrawal, has developed a scalable technique to create porous graphene membranes that selectively filter CO₂ from gas mixtures. Their approach slashes production…
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