ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

Study evaluates biodiversity impacts of alternative energy strategies

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 03:44 PM PDT

Climate change mitigation efforts have led to shifts from fossil-fuel dependence to large-scale renewable energy. However, renewable energy sources require significant land and could come at a cost to ecosystems. A new study evaluates potential conflicts between alternative energy strategies and biodiversity conservation.

Eating whole grains linked to smaller increases in waist size, blood pressure, blood sugar

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 01:53 PM PDT

A study finds middle- to older-aged adults who ate more servings of whole grains, compared to those who ate fewer, were more likely to have smaller increases in waist size, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels as they aged. All three are linked with increased risk of heart disease.

Bacteria are key to vaginal health, study finds

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 01:53 PM PDT

A recent study defines a mechanistic role for an understudied bacteria family in gynecologic disease.

Rats prefer to help their own kind; humans may be similarly wired

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 01:53 PM PDT

A decade after scientists discovered that lab rats will rescue a fellow rat in distress, but not a rat they consider an outsider, new research pinpoints the brain regions that drive rats to prioritize their nearest and dearest in times of crisis. It also suggests humans may share the same neural bias.

Species of gut bacteria linked to enhanced cognition and language skills in infant boys

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 11:58 AM PDT

Infant boys with a higher composition of a particular gut microbiota show enhanced neurodevelopment, according to a new study.

Are silver nanoparticles a silver bullet against microbes?

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 11:58 AM PDT

Antimicrobials are used to kill or slow the growth of bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms. They are essential to preventing and treating infections, but they also pose a global threat to public health when microorganisms develop antimicrobial resistance. A lab studied the mechanisms behind bacterial resistance to silver nanoparticles to determine if their ubiquitous use is a solution to this challenge or if it is perhaps fueling the fire.

Mosquito-resistant clothing prevents bites in trials

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 11:58 AM PDT

Researchers have created insecticide-free, mosquito-resistant clothing using textile materials they confirmed to be bite-proof in experiments with live mosquitoes.

The two-thousand-year-old mystery of the havoc-wreaking worm

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 11:57 AM PDT

Humans have known for over two thousand years that shipworms, a worm-like mollusk, are responsible for damage to wooden boats, docks, dikes and piers. Yet new research reveals that we still don't know the most basic thing about them: how they eat.

Synthesis of one of the most abundant organic lipids elucidates its structure

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 08:08 AM PDT

Crenarchaeol is a large, closed-loop lipid that is present in the membranes of ammonium-oxidizing archaea. In comparison to other archaeal membrane lipids, crenarchaeol is very complex and, so far, attempts to confirm its structure by synthesizing the entire molecule have been unsuccessful. Organic chemists have now taken up this challenge and discovered that the proposed structure for the molecule was largely, but not entirely, correct.

Global study reveals effectiveness of protected forests

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 08:08 AM PDT

Scientists have published a global study on the effectiveness of protected areas in preventing deforestation. The study explored the success of country-level protected areas at reducing forest loss, and used machine learning to uncover some of the factors that contribute to differences in effectiveness.

The rat's whiskers: Multidisciplinary research reveals how we sense texture

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 08:08 AM PDT

Two very different teams of scientists have worked together to reveal important insights into how we sense texture by looking at the whiskers of a rat.

Combining plant-based diet and healthy microbiome may protect against multiple sclerosis

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 08:08 AM PDT

A new study shows that a diet rich in isoflavone, a phytoestrogen or plant-based compound that resembles estrogen, protects against multiple sclerosis-like symptoms in a mouse model of the disease. Importantly, the isoflavone diet was only protective when the mice had gut microbes capable of breaking down the isoflavones.

Stopping illegal trade of Australian lizards

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 06:37 AM PDT

Australian reptiles face serious conservation threats from illegal poaching fueled by international demand and the exotic pet trade.

DNA reveals the evolutionary history of museum specimens

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 06:37 AM PDT

Museum specimens held in natural history collections around the world represent a wealth of underutilized genetic information due to the poor state of preservation of the DNA, which often makes it difficult to sequence. An international team has optimized a method developed for analyzing ancient DNA to identify the relationships between species on a deep evolutionary scale.

Restless nights: Shelter housed dogs need days to adapt to new surroundings

Posted: 13 Jul 2021 06:36 AM PDT

Every year, thousands of dogs end up in a shelter in the Netherlands. Experts expect an increase in this number in the upcoming period, when people go back to the office after working from home during the corona crisis. Despite the good care of staff and volunteers, the shelter can be a turbulent experience for dogs. Researchers investigated if dogs can adapt to their new environment based on their nocturnal activity.

When a single tree makes a difference

Posted: 12 Jul 2021 03:33 PM PDT

A single tree along a city street or in a backyard can provide measurable cooling benefits, according to a new study.