ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

The A2A receptor regulates how vigorously the innate immune system attacks diseased cells. Researchers have now been able to show for the first time how an important inhibitor binds to the receptor. In the future, the results will facilitate the targeted search for molecules that give the innate immune system more punch. These could for instance be used in the fight against cancer, but also against brain diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

GPS tracking of Caspian terns showed that male parents carry the main responsibility for leading young during their first migration from the Baltic Sea to Africa.

An obscure species of wild grass contains 'blockbuster' disease resistance that can be cross bred into wheat to give immunity against one of the deadliest crop pathogens.

A novel class of bed net that kills mosquitoes resistant to traditional insecticides by making them unable to move or fly, significantly reduces malaria infection in children, according to new research published in The Lancet. Unlike other insecticides which kill the mosquito via the nervous system, the effects of the new bed net mean the mosquito dies from starvation or being unable to fend for itself.

Scientists have developed probiotics with a unique edible coating that ensures the beneficial bacteria successfully reach the intestine once they are ingested.

Citizen scientists are increasingly playing crucial roles in understanding fish populations, according to a new study. Over the past 20 years, volunteers have helped monitor more than half of the total fish species known to occur in the Salish Sea.

Mechanical engineers are using two electronic 'voices' singing a harmonic duet to control suspended particles and cells in new and valuable ways. Their prototype device can form and rotate a single-layer crystal from a group of particles, create arbitrary shapes with a given number of particles, and move pairs of biological cells together and apart again hundreds of times. These abilities could serve fields like materials science, biophysics, life science and medicine.

A new study using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in zebrafish found that certain activities may help strengthen muscles affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe type of muscular dystrophy that affects young boys. The researchers designed four NMES regimens for zebrafish with a mutation that closely modeled the disease. They then put the fish into an underwater 3D printed 'gym' made up of tunnels and electrodes, and analyzed their skeletal muscles to see how they had changed.

An international research team has put together the first gelada reference genome, assembled from a single wild adult female gelada from the Simien Mountains, Ethiopia. They combined it with a detailed study of data collected from wild geladas to identify any adaptations to their high-altitude environment.

When a booming marine fishery can increase its shrimp catch while also reducing unintentional bycatch of turtles --t hat's an example of what environmental scientists and managers call a 'win-win.' Models often predict this ideal outcome is achievable, yet stakeholders rarely see it manifest in the real world.

A study explains how to to find an optimal dosage that reduces the use of antibiotics without compromising the health of patients.