ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News |
| Indiana Jones was right all along: Research shows the smaller the scorpion, the deadlier Posted: 21 Apr 2022 11:16 AM PDT Researchers have shown that smaller species of scorpions, with smaller pincers, have more potent venoms compared to larger species with robust claws. The scientists tested the theory from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which warned of the dangers of small scorpions, and that 'when it comes to scorpions, the bigger the better'. While this may have simply been a throwaway movie line from the adventurous archaeologist Indiana Jones, the research shows there is truth to it. The team of scientists at NUI Galway's Ryan Institute put the quip to the test by analysing 36 species of scorpions to show that larger scorpions have less potent venoms and really are better in terms of avoiding a nasty sting. |
| Skin bacteria may boost immune response of mice vaccinated with smallpox vaccine, study shows Posted: 21 Apr 2022 11:15 AM PDT The global eradication of smallpox in the 1980s was achieved by intradermal vaccination with vaccinia virus. A study shows that there is a large increase in skin bacteria and suggests that this may enhance the immune response. |
| Dividing walls: How immune cells enter tissue Posted: 21 Apr 2022 11:15 AM PDT To get to the places where they are needed, immune cells not only squeeze through tiny pores. They even overcome wall-like barriers of tightly packed cells. Scientists have now discovered that cell division is key to their success. Together with other recent studies, their findings give the full picture of a process just as important for healing as for the spread of cancer. |
| Environmental DNA reveals secret reef inhabitants Posted: 21 Apr 2022 11:11 AM PDT An international research team samples seawater from around the world to reveal which tropical reef fish occur where. To identify species and families, they successfully used the residual DNA shed by the animals present in the water. But not all fish can be traced in this way. |
| Humans disrupting 66 million-year-old feature of ecosystems Posted: 21 Apr 2022 10:10 AM PDT Human-related extinctions of the largest herbivores and carnivores are disrupting what appears to be a fundamental feature of past and present ecosystems, says a new study. |
| Glowing spider fossils prompt breakthrough study of how they were preserved at Aix-en-Provence Posted: 21 Apr 2022 10:10 AM PDT A new study asks: What are the unique chemical and geological processes at Aix-en-Provence that preserve spiders from the Oligocene Period so exquisitely? |
| Cortisol in shelter dog hair shows signs of stress Posted: 21 Apr 2022 10:09 AM PDT Despite the good care, a shelter can be a stressful environment for dogs. Researchers investigated if the amount of the hormone cortisol in hair indicates the levels of stress that dogs experience before, during and after their stay in the shelter. |
| Study reveals set of brain regions that control complex sequences of movement Posted: 21 Apr 2022 10:09 AM PDT In a novel set of experiments with mice trained to do a sequence of movements and 'change course' at the spur of the moment, scientists report they have identified areas of the animals' brains that interact to control the ability to perform complex, sequential movements, as well as to help the mice rebound when their movements are interrupted without warning. |
| In western floodplains, species adapt to bullfrog, sunfish invaders Posted: 21 Apr 2022 07:55 AM PDT A new study of a southwestern Washington floodplain finds that most native species adapt well to the invaders by shifting their food sources and feeding strategies. |
| Bonds from the past: A journey through the history of protein synthesis Posted: 21 Apr 2022 07:01 AM PDT The process of 'translation' in protein synthesis involves formation of a peptide bond between two amino acids that are attached to two distinct transfer RNAs (tRNAs). For long, scientists have been puzzled as to how these tRNAs evolutionarily lie so close to each other on the ribosome. In a new study, researchers explain how tRNA-like components act as scaffolds for peptide bond formation between amino acid-bound 'RNA minihelices,' which are half tRNA-like molecules. |
| Life history: Scholars call for greater collaboration between zoos, museums Posted: 21 Apr 2022 07:01 AM PDT The animal collections housed at zoos and natural history museums -- living specimens in the first case, preserved in the other -- constitute an exhaustive trove of information about Earth's biodiversity. A new paper lays out a pathway to increasing collaboration between these groups that would enhance our understanding of the animal kingdom. |
| Researchers detect coronavirus particles with 'slow light' Posted: 21 Apr 2022 06:41 AM PDT Existing methods for detecting and diagnosing COVID-19 are either expensive and complex or inaccurate. Now, scientists have developed a novel biosensing platform to detect and quantify viral particles using a simple optical microscope and antibody proteins. Their versatile approach, based on slowing down light, could pave the way to new diagnostic tools and next-generation detection platforms that are fast, accurate, and low-cost. |
| Extracellular vesicles offer new insights into treating endocrine disorders Posted: 21 Apr 2022 06:41 AM PDT A new statement describes the importance of extracellular vesicles as a new research target for understanding the causes of certain endocrine disorders such as cancer and diabetes and discovering new treatments for these disorders. |
| A layered approach is needed to prevent infections from becoming harder to treat Posted: 21 Apr 2022 06:41 AM PDT Counteracting antimicrobial resistance needs a multipronged approach, including training, labeling food products, working with the media and changing mindsets, according to a new study. |
| Anglo-Saxon kings were mostly veggie but peasants treated them to huge barbecues, new study argues Posted: 21 Apr 2022 06:41 AM PDT Very few people in England ate large amounts of meat before the Vikings settled, and there is no evidence that elites ate more meat than other people, a major new bioarchaeological study suggests. Its sister study also argues that peasants occasionally hosted lavish meat feasts for their rulers. The findings overturn major assumptions about early medieval English history. |
| Expect to see more squid and less sockeye salmon on 'climate changed' menus Posted: 21 Apr 2022 06:41 AM PDT Vancouver seafood lovers may see more Humboldt squid but less sockeye salmon on restaurant menus in the near future due to climate change. That's according to a new study which examined 362 Vancouver restaurant menus from four time periods, spanning 1880 to 2021. |
| 'Whup' and 'grumble' calls reveal secrets of humpback whales Posted: 21 Apr 2022 06:41 AM PDT Sounds made by humpback whales -- including a previously unknown call -- have given researchers a glimpse of their lives in the high seas. |
| Brains and brawn helped crows and ravens take over the world Posted: 21 Apr 2022 06:41 AM PDT Crows and ravens have great flying ability, which allows them to gain access to new places more easily. While these skills were key to their success, new research also shows that big bodies and big brains played an important role in helping crows and ravens survive in the new climates they occupied. |
| Spatial distribution of pores helps determine where carbon is stored in the soil Posted: 21 Apr 2022 06:41 AM PDT Soils store more carbon than all the vegetation on the Earth's surface. However, there are still many unanswered questions about precisely which processes favor accumulation in the soil. Soil scientists have now developed a new method to show where and under what conditions carbon is stored f in the soil. It turns out, it is primarily the network of soil pores that controls the spatial distribution of carbon. |
| Posted: 21 Apr 2022 06:40 AM PDT Experts have developed a ground-breaking software, which combines DNA sequencing and machine learning to help them find where, and to what extent, antibiotic resistant bacteria is being transmitted between humans, animals and the environment. |
| Getting to the root of corn domestication; knowledge may help plant breeders Posted: 20 Apr 2022 12:13 PM PDT A unique confluence of archeology, molecular genetics and serendipity guided researchers to a deeper understanding of how modern corn was domesticated from teosinte, a perennial grass native to Mexico and Central America, more than 5,000 years ago. |
| New research reveals the complexity of improving rangeland management in Africa Posted: 20 Apr 2022 10:36 AM PDT Herding communities across northern Namibia are afflicted by poverty and overgrazed rangelands, but international funding to improve the situation hasn't always translated into direct benefits for people or the land. New research explores the reasons why there is a disconnect. The reasons for the failures, up to now, have remained something of a puzzle. |
| Marine microbes swim towards their favorite food Posted: 20 Apr 2022 08:29 AM PDT Although invisible to us, every teaspoon of seawater contains more than a million marine bacteria. These tiny microbes play pivotal roles in governing the chemical cycles that control our climate and shape the health of the global ocean, but are they passive drifters or purposeful hunters? |
| Protected areas don't always boost biodiversity Posted: 20 Apr 2022 08:29 AM PDT Protected areas such as national parks have a 'mixed impact' on wildlife, according to the largest ever global study of their effects. |
| A midge fly can be a source of currently used pesticides for birds, bats Posted: 20 Apr 2022 06:22 AM PDT Non-biting midges are the tiny flies that swarm together as thick masses around lakes and streams, annoying passers-by in warm weather. But early in a midge's life, it lives in the water. Now, researchers have observed that non-biting midge larvae accumulate contemporary pesticides from polluted water and retain the substances into adulthood. As a result, animals that eat the adult flies could consume small amounts of pesticides daily. |
| When neurons behave like a double-edged sword Posted: 19 Apr 2022 07:32 AM PDT Immune cell responses to bacteria affect the intrinsic excitability of rat neuronal subtypes differently. Calcium-activated SK channels in pyramidal cells were modulated by microglia and upregulated, while they were downregulated in Purkinje cells. |
| Microplastics in the food chain Posted: 18 Apr 2022 06:40 AM PDT Plastic rubbish is everywhere and now broken-down microplastics have been found in variable concentrations in blue mussels and water within the intertidal zone at some of southern Australia's most popular and more remote beaches. Researchers warn that this means microplastics are now finding their way into human food supplies -- including wild-caught and ocean-farmed fish and seafood sourced from the once pristine Southern Ocean and gulf waters of South Australia. |
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