ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

Researchers have shown for the first time in mice that heart problems associated with the flu are not caused by raging inflammation in the lungs, as has long been predicted. Instead, the electrical malfunctions and heart scarring seen in some of the sickest flu patients are caused by direct influenza infection of cardiac cells.

The movement of herders and livestock into the eastern steppe is of great interest to researchers, but few scholars have linked the introduction of herds and horses to the rise of complex societies.

CRISPR-Cas9 is considered a revolutionary gene editing tool, but its applications are limited by a lack of methods by which it can be safely and efficiently delivered into cells. Recently, a research team has constructed a highly flexible CRISPR-Cas9 carrier using aminated polyrotaxane (PRX) that can not only bind with the unusual structure of Cas9 and carry it into cells, but can also protect it from intracellular degradation by endosomes.

A team of scientists is making inroads in understanding the relationship between certain enzymes that are normally produced in the body and their role in regulating obesity and controlling liver diseases. Researchers studied male mice that lacked the Cyp2b enzyme and how the lack of the enzyme affected the mice's metabolism.

Scientists have published a ground-breaking study of the structure and function of a central protein in the liver: NTCP, a cellular-entry pathway for bile salts, but also for certain hepatitis viruses. These results reveal the 3D structure of NTCP and two architectures it can adopt. One may be helpful in the development of therapeutic tools against hepatitis viral infection.

When pathogens attack, the NPR1 protein steps in to control a plant's immune response. Scientists have now figured out what the protein looks like and how it works --- a possible boon for agriculture.

Researchers show that different patient responses to statins can be explained by the variation in the human microbiome. The findings suggest that microbiome monitoring could be used to help optimize personalized statin treatments.

A new study has discovered the functions of hundreds of genes in algae, some of which are also present in plants. The achievement will help efforts to genetically engineer algae for biofuel production and develop strains of agricultural crops that can withstand climate change.

Primary fluid inclusions in bedded halite from the 830-million-year-old Browne Formation of central Australia contain organic solids and liquids, as documented with transmitted light and UV-vis petrography. These objects are consistent in size, shape, and fluorescent response to cells of prokaryotes and algae, and aggregates of organic compounds. This discovery shows that microorganisms from saline depositional environments can remain well preserved in halite over hundreds of millions of years and can be detected in situ with optical methods alone. This study has implications for the search for life in both terrestrial and extraterrestrial chemical sedimentary rocks.

A study has identified a binding protein in cancer cell's nucleus, known as CHD4, as a critical agent keeping Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) dormant and undetected by the body's immune system. CHD4 is linked to cancer cell growth in many types of cancers.

In addition to increased morbidity and impaired lung function after a Streptococcus pneumoniaeinfection in older mice, the researchers also found elevated levels of gut-derived bacteria in the lungs, suggesting that bacteria that migrate from the intestine to the lungs may partially be responsible for the poor outcomes in older individuals.

Seeing a larger number of species on urban coastlines -- from marine animals to seaweed -- is likely to improve the wellbeing of local people and visitors, new research has revealed.  The findings provide further evidence that biodiversity brings wide-ranging benefits.   Studies of land-based environments such as meadows, woodlands, and city parks have shown that people often find places that contain lots of different types of plant and animal life to be more visually pleasing and interesting, as well as more likely to relieve stress.   However, we know much less about seashore species and whether they generate the same positive feelings that land-based wildlife does, despite almost half of the world's population living close to the coast.

A new method blocks the protein regulation of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii and causes it to die off inside the host cell.

Many doctors caution their pregnant patients to avoid cat feces; even the family pet's litter box is off-limits. Now a group of researchers from Clemson University have discovered a promising therapy for those who suffer from toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by the microscopic protozoa Toxoplasma gondii.

A purely mechanical method can produce a novel, more sustainable fertilizer in a less polluting way. Scientists have optimized a production method that is an adaptation of an ancient technique: by milling two common ingredients, urea and gypsum, the scientists produce a new solid compound that slowly releases two chemical elements critical to soil fertilization, nitrogen, and calcium. The milling method is rapid, efficient, and clean -- as is the fertilizer product, which has the potential to reduce the nitrogen pollution that fouls water systems and contributes to climate change.

Fruit flies continue to mate with each other even when infected with deadly pathogens -- reveals a new study.

Ancient moa DNA has provided insights into how species react to climate change, a new study has found.

Scientists describe the design and construction of artificial membrane channels, engineered using short segments of DNA. The DNA constructions behave much in the manner of natural cell channels or pores, offering selective transport of ions, proteins, and other cargo, with enhanced features unavailable in their naturally occurring counterparts.

Humans are undoubtedly altering the natural environment. But how wild animals respond to these changes is complex and unclear. Scientists have now discovered significant differences in how the brain works in two distinct personality types: those who act fearless and those who seem afraid of new things. Being fearless can help wildlife, specifically birds, find new food sources, explore new nesting areas and help them adapt to changes in their environment; but being afraid can also help protect them from dangerous novel things in their environment such as cars.