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ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News |
| This squirrel watches its neighbor's back Posted: 29 Oct 2021 10:40 AM PDT Unlike meerkats that take individual turns watching for predators while the rest forage, Barbary ground squirrels found off the coast of Africa stand sentry together -- a behavior called synchronous vigilance, according to a new study. |
| Morro Bay seagrass loss causes change in fish populations Posted: 29 Oct 2021 10:40 AM PDT The loss of seagrass habitat caused a dramatic shift in fish species in Morro Bay. Areas once covered with lush seagrass meadows and unique fish species are now home to muddy-seafloor-loving flatfish. The research team saw decreasing numbers of seagrass-specialist fish species, and an increase in flatfishes like the speckled sanddab and staghorn sculpin. The loss of eelgrass habitat along the California coast presents a problem for species that depend on seagrass. |
| Posted: 29 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT A new nationwide study suggests that living in neighborhoods with higher availability of fast-food outlets across all regions of the United States is associated with higher subsequent risk of developing type 2 diabetes. |
| Linking the past and present: Reconstructing the dragonfly and damselfly family tree Posted: 29 Oct 2021 08:40 AM PDT Researchers used transcriptomics (a type of gene sequencing) calibrated using information from the fossil record to create the first phylogenetic reconstruction of the insect order Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), covering 105 species. This reconstruction of the evolutionary history allowed robust estimations of the species divergence time (or first appearance, around 200 million years ago) and the timing of evolutionary changes, such as the development of egg-laying organs. |
| Drug-like molecule points to novel strategies for cancer therapy Posted: 29 Oct 2021 07:31 AM PDT A decade ago, genome sequencing revealed a big surprise: about 50 percent of human cancers are linked to mutations in what are known as epigenetic regulators, which control the activity of genes. Medical researchers have now developed a new drug-like molecule that can counteract the effects of mutated epigenetic regulators, which are known to drive certain types of cancer including lymphoma. |
| Runoff, sediment flux in High Mountain Asia could limit food, energy for millions Posted: 29 Oct 2021 07:31 AM PDT Rivers flowing from the Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding high Asian mountains which support one-third of the world's population have experienced rapid increases in annual water and sediment runoff since the 1990s, and the volume of sediment washed downstream could more than double by 2050 under the worst-case scenario, a team of scientists has found. |
| Lower antibiotic resistance in intestinal bacteria with forgotten antibiotic Posted: 29 Oct 2021 04:48 AM PDT A forgotten antibiotic, temocillin, led to lower selection of resistant bacteria than the standard treatment for febrile urinary tract infection. Thus, temocillin may be useful in treating severe urinary tract infections that give rise to fever, and contribute to a reduced spread of resistant bacteria in hospitals. |
| Horse riding confirmed as a viable mobility treatment for cerebral palsy Posted: 28 Oct 2021 09:04 AM PDT Cerebral palsy (CP) affects around two out of every 1000 children born worldwide. Physical therapy is the foremost way of improving movement, balance, and posture in children with CP. Research has shown that hippotherapy, a form of physical therapy involving horse riding, is effective for treating CP. But how exactly does it help? In a recent study, researchers explore this question and provide insightful answers as well as a baseline for future research. |
| The early bird gets…the truffle? Birds hunt for fungi, too Posted: 28 Oct 2021 09:03 AM PDT Scientists used to think that only mammals sought out truffles, but a new study shows that birds also pursue these underground fungi. The researchers collected the feces of two common ground-dwelling bird species in Patagonia and found they contained truffle DNA and viable truffle spores. The spread of truffles is important to the health of forest ecosystems, where truffle species and other mycorrhizal fungi have a symbiotic relationship with trees. |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2021 09:03 AM PDT Developing below the soil surface, desert truffles are hard to find. Recently, researchers updated the number of known species of the desert truffle genus Terfezia occurring in Portugal from three to ten species. They thoroughly characterized their ecological preferences, adding new knowledge on Terfezia's cryptic lifestyle. These findings are of major importance, as desert truffles have a high economic value. |
| Behavioral synchronization in complex societies of feral horses Posted: 28 Oct 2021 06:33 AM PDT Scientists used a drone and a multi-agent computerized system for complex social structure modeling to test, for example, whether individuals in a herd of feral horses synchronize according to their social network. For this hypothesis, two sub-models were created, one of which only takes into an account the same unit group members. The other sub-model applies to the entire herd. The simulation and empirical data suggest that the feral horses coordinate with other individuals not only within a unit group but also at an inter-unit-group level. They also suggest that the horses developed an ability to recognize the behavior of even those individuals that were spatially very distant from them. |
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