ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

Widespread coral-algae symbioses endured historical climate changes

Posted: 26 May 2021 03:58 PM PDT

One of the most important and widespread reef-building corals, known as cauliflower coral, exhibits strong partnerships with certain species of symbiotic algae, and these relationships have persisted through periods of intense climate fluctuations over the last 1.5 million years, according to a new study.

Salmon virus originally from the Atlantic, spread to wild Pacific salmon from farms

Posted: 26 May 2021 12:02 PM PDT

A new study traces the origins of Piscine orthoreovirus to Atlantic salmon farms in Norway and finds that the virus is now almost ubiquitous in salmon farms in British Columbia, Canada.

Study finds ongoing evolution in Tasmanian Devils' response to transmissible cancer

Posted: 26 May 2021 12:00 PM PDT

Researchers studied the evolution of Tasmanian devils in response to a unique transmissible cancer. The team found that historic and ongoing evolution are widespread across the devils' genome, but there is little overlap of genes between those two timescales. These findings suggest that if transmissible cancers occurred historically in devils, they imposed natural selection on different sets of genes.

Salmonella use intestinal epithelial cells to colonize the gut

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

The immune system's attempt to eliminate Salmonella bacteria from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract instead facilitates colonization of the intestinal tract and fecal shedding, according to scientists.

Good bacteria can temper chemotherapy side effects

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

A new study found that specific types of gut bacteria can protect other good bacteria from cancer treatments -- mitigating harmful, drug-induced changes to the gut microbiome. By metabolizing chemotherapy drugs, the protective bacteria could temper short- and long-term side effects of treatment.

People who eat a plant-based dinner could reduce their risk of heart disease by ten percent

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

People who eat too many refined carbs and fatty meats for dinner have a higher risk of heart disease than those who eat a similar diet for breakfast, according to a nationwide study.

Scent trails could boost elephant conservation

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

Travelling elephants pay close attention to scent trails of dung and urine left by other elephants, new research shows.

Electric fish -- and humans -- pause before communicating key points

Posted: 26 May 2021 10:21 AM PDT

Electric fish pause before sharing something particularly meaningful. Pauses also prime the sensory systems to receive new and important information. The study reveals an underlying mechanism for how pauses allow neurons in the midbrain to recover from stimulation.

Aquaculture turns biodiversity into uniformity along the coast of China

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:55 AM PDT

Fishery and aquaculture have given rise to an enormous uniformity in the diversity of bivalves along the more than 18,000 kilometer long Chinese coast, biologists report.

The world's smallest fruit picker controlled by artificial intelligence

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:55 AM PDT

Inspired by insects that suck nutrients directly from plant veins, physicists have studied whether valuable chemical substances can be harvested directly from the cells of plants. Using a harvester measuring only a few microns, they have now achieved a technological breakthrough.

Proteomics reveals how exercise increases the efficiency of muscle energy production

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:54 AM PDT

By applying mass spectrometry, scientists provide some of the most detailed data on how mitochondrial proteins cluster into supercomplexes - a process that makes mitochondria more efficient at producing energy.

How antibiotic-filled feces helps 'bessbug' beetles stay healthy

Posted: 26 May 2021 08:54 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered that the frass of the horned passalus beetle is teeming with antibiotic and antifungal chemicals similar to the ones that humans use to ward off bacterial and fungal infections. Understanding the symbiotic relationship between bessbug beetles, actinomycetes and their antimicrobial compounds could help speed the search for new antibiotic drugs, and help doctors create better strategies for preventing the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections.

Hundreds of antibiotic resistant genes found in the gastrointestinal tracts of Danish infants

Posted: 26 May 2021 06:31 AM PDT

Danish one-year-olds carry several hundred antibiotic resistant genes in their bacterial gut flora according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. The presence of these genes is partly attributable to antibiotic use among mothers during pregnancy.

Resetting the biological clock by flipping a switch

Posted: 26 May 2021 05:50 AM PDT

The biological clock is present in almost all cells of an organism. As more and more evidence emerges that clocks in certain organs could be out of sync, there is a need to investigate and reset these clocks locally. Scientists from the introduced a light-controlled on/off switch to a kinase inhibitor, which affects clock function. This gives them control of the biological clock in cultured cells and explanted tissue.

Newly discovered enzymes are not heavy metal fans

Posted: 25 May 2021 07:16 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered a new group of carbonic anhydrase enzymes that do not require any metal ions for their activity, which improves our knowledge of the global carbon cycle and may be applicable to artificial photosynthesis.

Ancient fish bones reveal non-kosher diet of ancient Judeans, say researchers

Posted: 25 May 2021 05:43 AM PDT

Ancient Judeans commonly ate non-kosher fish surrounding the time that such food was prohibited in the Bible, suggests a new study.

Harnessing next generation sequencing to detect SARS-CoV-2 and prepare for the next pandemic

Posted: 25 May 2021 05:43 AM PDT

Researchers have designed a testing protocol for SARS-CoV-2 that can process tens of thousands of samples in less than 48 hours. The method, called SARSeq, could be adapted to many more pathogens.

New study shows nutrient exchanges between algae and bacteria

Posted: 24 May 2021 01:17 PM PDT

Researchers have used an advanced high-spatial resolution isotope mapping technique called 'SIMS' (secondary ion mass spectrometry) to chart for the first time how long it takes for labelled carbon produced by microalgae to be transferred to the bacteria they are growing with.