ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

Microbiology researchers have shed new light on the mechanisms of carbon cycling in the ocean, using a novel approach to track which microbes are consuming different types of organic carbon produced by common phytoplankton species.

Common gut bacteria can become 'hormone factories' - fuelling prostate cancer and making it resistant to treatment, a new study shows. Scientists revealed how gut bacteria contribute to the progression of advanced prostate cancers and their resistance to hormone therapy -- by providing an alternative source of growth-promoting androgens, or male hormones. The findings, once further validated in the clinic, could provide new opportunities for the treatment of prostate cancer through manipulation of the microbiome.

Two thirds of all mammals vanished from Africa and the Arabian Peninsula around 30 million years ago, when the climate on Earth changed from swampy to icy. But we are only finding out about this mass extinction now. Researchers examined hundreds of fossils from multiple sites in Africa, built evolutionary trees, and pinpointed each species' first and last known appearances. The climate shift 'was a real reset button.'

Researchers uncover the evolution of the hepatitis B virus since the Early Holocene by analyzing the largest dataset of ancient viral genomes produced to date.

Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) spend their days being buffeted by crashing waves. They manage to stay tethered to the rocks or their fellow mussels thanks to a highly effective underwater glue they produce. Because achieving adhesion in the presence of water is so challenging, scientists who are interested in producing effective adhesives for use in wet environments (e.g., for surgical or dental treatments) have turned to mussels for inspiration. After a decade of work in the area, a team has succeeded in uncovering the cellular mechanisms by which mussels fabricate underwater adhesives.

Researchers have discovered an individual Eleotris oxycephala in Akita Prefecture, Japan, which is the northernmost record of this species. The juvenile was discovered in the Yoneshiro River system and likely reached the river from the south via larval dispersal in the Tsushima Current. This possible range expansion of Eleotris oxycephala may be linked to increasing water temperatures.

Researchers have deciphered a molecular mechanism with which a small RNA and a small protein regulate the metabolism of cholera bacteria and the production of the cholera toxin.

After decades of studying color vision in mice, new research in zebrafish has allowed experts to uncover how some animals regulate their ability to see blue light. The results allow researchers to better understand the evolutionary history and current control mechanisms of color vision.

It seems like an esoteric question: What, exactly, is a species? Two corals were described as different species, then merged together, and then separated once again. A new study explores the question further.

Whether birds get caged in the eye of a hurricane may depend on the intensity and totality of the chaos beyond the calm, says a novel study.

Biologists from Japan and the Philippines have identified three new species of goby fish, belonging to the genus Lentipes.

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the blue crab. The best way to understand an organism is to understand its genetic makeup, also known as its genome. Once the code is understood, it reveals many secrets of how the organism works. Researchers plan to investigate the genetics of growth and reproduction, and the genome will be made publicly available so that scientists anywhere can study different aspects of the blue crab.