ScienceDaily: Plants & Animals News

The female hormone estradiol was found to suppress psoriasis in mice by regulating neutrophil and macrophage cells. The conditional knockout mice without the natural ovarian hormones estradiol showed symptoms of severe skin inflammation.

The effects of global climate change already are resulting in the loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise, and longer and more intense heat waves, among other threats. Now, a survey of planktonic lipids in the global ocean predicts a temperature-linked decrease in the production of essential omega-3 fatty acids, an important subset of lipid molecules. A significant implication of the survey is that as global warming proceeds, there will be fewer and fewer omega-3 fatty acids produced by plankton at the base of the food web, which will mean less omega-3 fatty acids available for fish and for people.

As the need to address climate change becomes increasingly urgent so too does the concurrent need for proactive stewardship of the Earth's rapidly changing biosphere, according to new research.

A new study paints a vivid image of how forests developed over centuries and contribute to Earth's carbon balance -- a crucial component to maintaining a steady global climate. The study reconstructed the natural pace and pattern of carbon storage in forests of the Midwestern United States over 10,000 years. The findings have the potential to shift ongoing debates about how landscapes can be managed to maximize carbon storage while meeting conservation goals.

An international team of 114 scientists reports the most comprehensive study of aging and longevity to date of reptiles and amphibians worldwide. Among their many findings, they document for the first time that turtles, crocodilians and salamanders have particularly low aging rates and extended lifespans for their sizes. The team also finds that protective phenotypes, such as the hard shells of most turtle species, contribute to slower aging, and in some cases even 'negligible aging' -- or lack of biological aging.

Scientists have found a way to bypass the need for biological photosynthesis altogether and create food independent of sunlight by using artificial photosynthesis. The technology uses a two-step electrocatalytic process to convert carbon dioxide, electricity, and water into acetate. Food-producing organisms then consume acetate in the dark to grow. The hybrid organic-inorganic system could increase the conversion efficiency of sunlight into food, up to 18 times more efficient for some foods.