ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

Forest restoration schemes should prioritize restoring native forests for greatest climate and environmental benefits, but these benefits incur a trade-off with wood production in comparison with tree plantations.

Methanotrophic bacteria consume 30 million metric tons of methane per year and have captivated researchers for their natural ability to convert the potent greenhouse gas into usable fuel. Yet we know very little about how the complex reaction occurs, limiting our ability to use the double benefit to our advantage.

Researchers have genetically engineered a microbial encapsulation system for therapeutic bacteria that can hide them from immune systems, enabling them to reach tumors more effectively and kill cancer cells in mice.

A promising new treatment for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) has shown 'very encouraging' early results following its use in six patients.

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the destruction of a specific population of neurons: the dopaminergic neurons. A team has investigated the destruction of these dopaminergic neurons using the fruit fly as study model. The scientists identified a key protein in flies, and also in mice, which plays a protective role against this disease and could be a new therapeutic target.

An international research team has studied the flight behavior of the mysterious black swift. They found, among other things, that the black swift rises to extreme heights during a full moon, seemingly catching insects in the moonlight. And, during a lunar eclipse, the birds simultaneously lost altitude.

An international team of scientists found that sociality is linked to stress in Asian elephants. For example, loneliness increased male elephants' level of stress, whereas having babies present reduced the stress level in female elephants.

A team of scientists found that a rare species of monkey in Bolivia has adapted to living in a fragmented forest by dieting and moving less during lean times.

New research has discovered that monkeys use play to avoid conflict and reduce group tension. The study found that adult howler monkeys spend more time playing with other adults, rather than juveniles. And rather than being associated with fun or education, play increases when howler monkeys are foraging for fruit, which is a highly prized resource that generates competition.

A genetic conflict between the sexes promotes intraspecific diversity in ruffs. Ruffs are characterized by three supergene variants that lead to different appearances and courtship behavior in males. Whether these variants affect females was previously unknown. Researchers now show that females of the so-called Faeder variant produce less offspring. However, this female handicap helps their males: Disguised as females, Faeder males benefit from their own rarity and obtain more matings. The contrasting effect of the variant in males and females thus contributes to its persistence over time. The study thereby provides important insights into the mechanisms that maintain biodiversity.

In mice, social ranking in a group was linked to the results of competition, and certain neurons in the brain stored this social ranking information to inform decisions. Manipulating the activity of these neurons could increase or decrease an animal's competitive effort and therefore control their ability to successfully compete against others.

An inhalable 'aerogel' loaded with DNA that encodes for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein successfully induces an immune response against COVID-19 in the lungs of mice, according to new research. The team said its aerogel could be used to create an inhalable vaccine that blocks SARS-CoV-2 transmission by preventing the virus from establishing an infection in the lungs.

Fires have gotten larger, more frequent and more widespread across the United States since 2000, according to a new article. The research shows that large fires have not only become more common, they are also spreading into new areas, impacting land that previously did not burn.