ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

Reduced soil tilling helps both soils and yields

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 10:22 AM PST

By monitoring crops through machine learning and satellite data, scientists have found farms that till the soil less can increase yields of corn and soybeans and improve the health of the soil -- a win-win for meeting growing food needs worldwide.

Link between vitamin A and brain response in Monarch butterflies

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:45 AM PST

Biologists are making strides in understanding biological clock function in several model organisms and translating these studies into broader implications for human health.

Dial-a-frog -- researchers develop the 'FrogPhone' to remotely call frogs in the wild

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:28 AM PST

Researchers have developed the 'FrogPhone', a novel device which allows scientists to call up a frog survey site and monitor them in the wild. The FrogPhone is the world's first solar-powered remote survey device that relays environmental data to the observer via text messages, whilst conducting real-time remote acoustic surveys over the phone.

Scientists use crabs to validate popular method to identify unknown human brain neurons

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:28 AM PST

A crab's nervous system could help scientists learn what causes single neurons in the human brain to become 'out of whack,' which can contribute to the development of neurological diseases like Alzheimer's disease. Knowing exactly how a single neuron operates among the billions housed in the human brain could one day help scientists design innovative ways to prevent and treat these diseases, such as targeted therapies.

Island 'soundscapes' show potential for evaluating recovery of nesting seabirds

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 08:28 AM PST

An important tool for monitoring seabird populations involves acoustic sensors deployed at nesting sites to record sounds over long periods of time. But analysis of the recordings to identify and count the calls of different species can be time-consuming, even with computers and artificial intelligence. An alternative approach is to evaluate all of the sounds in an environment as a 'soundscape', using features such as acoustic diversity, complexity, and intensity as indicators of ecosystem health.

How do you cultivate a healthy plant microbiome?

Posted: 06 Dec 2019 07:01 AM PST

Crops today never see their parents' microbiome, so how do they develop a leaf microbial community that's healthy and resistant to invasion by pathogens? Biologists sequenced the microbiomes of tomatoes through four generations and saw three-quarters of the bacteria disappear, leaving a core community that proved resistant to random invaders. The findings show it's possible to cultivate a robust plant microbiome, and suggests that probiotic additions could survive on crops, providing lasting benefits.

Wildlife in tropics hardest hit by forests being broken up

Posted: 05 Dec 2019 11:17 AM PST

Tropical species are six times more sensitive to forests being broken up for logging or farming than temperate species, says new research.

Immune system can be coaxed into selecting key antibodies to fight HIV

Posted: 05 Dec 2019 11:16 AM PST

Researchers have cleared a major obstacle in the development of an HIV vaccine, proving in animal models that effective, yet short-lasting antibodies can be coaxed into multiplying as a fighting force against the virus.

Physical forces affect bacteria's toxin resistance, study finds

Posted: 05 Dec 2019 10:06 AM PST

A random conversation between two researchers at a child's birthday party led to a collaboration and new understanding of how bacteria resist toxins, which may lead to new tools in the fight against harmful infections.

What does DNA's repair shop look like? New research identifies the tools

Posted: 05 Dec 2019 10:05 AM PST

A team of scientists has identified how damaged DNA molecules are repaired inside the human genome, a discovery that offers new insights into how the body works to ensure its health and how it responds to diseases that stem from impaired DNA.

Evolutionary connection between pregnancy and cancer metastasis

Posted: 05 Dec 2019 10:05 AM PST

Pregnancy might hold the key to understanding how cancer metastasizes in various mammals -- including humans, according to researchers.

Whales may owe their efficient digestion to millions of tiny microbes

Posted: 05 Dec 2019 10:05 AM PST

A study shows that the microbial communities inside whales may play an important role in the digestion of one of the ocean's most abundant carbon-rich lipids, known as a wax ester.

Your food may help make stickier, safer glues for laptops, packaging, furniture

Posted: 05 Dec 2019 08:31 AM PST

A group of scientists has taken inspiration from the field, kitchen and the ocean to create strong glues.

First 'lab in a field' experiment reveals a sunnier side of climate change

Posted: 05 Dec 2019 08:31 AM PST

Pioneering experiments using heated field plots to test the responses of crops to temperature have revealed an unexpected plus side of climate change for farmers.

Multiple correlations between brain complexity and locomotion pattern in vertebrates

Posted: 05 Dec 2019 07:33 AM PST

Researchers have uncovered multi-level relationships between locomotion - the ways animals move - and brain architecture, using high-definition 3D models of lizard and snake brains.

Less rice, more nutritious crops will enhance India's food supply

Posted: 04 Dec 2019 02:04 PM PST

India can sustainably enhance its food supply if its farmers plant less rice and more nutritious and environmentally-friendly crops, including finger millet, pearl millet, and sorghum, according to a new study.

Scientists detail how chromosomes reorganize after cell division

Posted: 04 Dec 2019 02:03 PM PST

Researchers have discovered key mechanisms and structural details of a fundamental biological process -- how a cell nucleus and its chromosomal material reorganizes itself after cell division. The new findings in chromosomal architecture and function may offer important insights into human health and disease.

Host cell proteases can process viral capsid proteins

Posted: 04 Dec 2019 02:03 PM PST

It has long been suggested that a cell protease could take part in enterovirus infection. However, the identity of such proteases have remained unknown.

Untangling the branches in the mammal tree of life

Posted: 04 Dec 2019 11:58 AM PST

Researchers have unveiled a complete overhaul of the way species data is brought together and analyzed to construct an evolutionary tree of life for mammals. It's aimed at giving scientists, conservation managers, policymakers, and environmentalists more accurate, comprehensive information about species diversity and relationships, past and present.