ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

In the early 1960s scientists deciphered the genetic code of life, determining the rules by which information in DNA molecules is translated into proteins, the working parts of living cells. They identified three-letter units in DNA sequences, known as codons, that specify each of the 20 amino acids that make up proteins. Occasionally, single-letter misspellings in the genetic code, known as point mutations, occur. Point mutations that alter the resulting protein sequences are called nonsynonymous mutations, while those that do not alter protein sequences are called silent or synonymous mutations. Between one-quarter and one-third of point mutations in protein-coding DNA sequences are synonymous. Ever since the genetic code was cracked, those mutations have generally been assumed to be neutral, or nearly so.

Using advanced microscopy techniques, researchers have visualized in unprecedented detail the machinery that the cells' powerhouses, the mitochondria, use to form their proteins. The results raise hopes of more specific antibiotics and new cancer drugs in the future.

Samples from the tropical Indian Ocean were investigated using a new method for extraction and identification of microplastic particles from water samples. The result: The burden is clearly measurable.

Researchers have found that symbolic species could be used for the conservation and community-based management of traditional forest landscapes. The team studied how different social groups within a local community valued wild cherry trees, a symbolic species important for connecting people with nature in Japan. The results indicated that differences in knowledge and prioritization of values must be addressed within local communities to promote community-based management of such landscapes.

Otters learn skills from each other -- but they also solve some mysteries alone, new research shows.

What's the relationship between people's perception of beauty and animals' conservation needs? According to a machine-learning study, the reef fishes that people find most beautiful tend to be the lowest priority for conservation support.

Researchers found that administration of the drug rapamycin in mice was associated with increased beta-amyloid plaques. This is one of the hallmark pathologies of Alzheimer's disease. The study authors caution that rapamycin's effects in beta-amyloid-associated Alzheimer's must be studied more carefully.

Initiatives using non-native tree species can impact tropical insects in neighbouring forests, according to an international study.

A new synthesis method offers hope for creation of advance mRNA vaccines to fight viruses and even cancers.

A new study in hamsters and human tissue samples provides a better understanding of how the pandemic virus causes depression, anxiety, and the loss of concentration known as 'brain fog' in patients that develop long COVID.

New research has found that Pseudomonas bacterium develops resistance much faster than usual to a common 'last-resort' antibiotic.

Researchers in Australia have been able to use trace amounts of liquid platinum to create cheap and highly efficient chemical reactions at low temperatures, opening a pathway to dramatic emissions reductions in crucial industries.

Sepsis, the body's overreaction to an infection, affects more than 1.5 million people and kills at least 270,000 every year in the U.S. alone. The standard treatment of antibiotics and fluids is not effective for many patients, and those who survive face a higher risk of death. Researchers have reported a new nanoparticle-based treatment that delivers anti-inflammatory molecules and antibiotics.