Biology News

Genetically Modified Rice Could Actually Grow in Martian Regolith, New Study Suggests

Gann et al. show that in principle it is possible to grow rice plants in MMS1 but levels of (Mg(ClO4)2) can be critical to both germination and growth; moreover, they presented that editing SnRK1a could potentially provide an approach to develop as table rice line that can germinate and grow in MMS1 with (Mg(ClO4)2). Image credit: Gann et al.
Apr 27, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

One of the biggest challenges to growing food on Mars is the presence of perchlorate salts, which have been detected in the Martian regolith (soil) and are generally considered to be toxic for plants. Gann et al. show that in principle it is possible to grow rice plants in MMS1 but levels of (Mg(ClO4)2) can be critical to both germination and growth; moreover, they presented that editing SnRK1a could potentially provide an approach to develop as table...

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Small-scale battery-like microbial fuel cells are a promising alternative power source for future low-power electronics. Controllable microbial electrocatalytic activity in a miniaturized microbial fuel cell with unlimited biodegradable energy resources would enable simple power generation in various environmental settings. However, the short shelf-life of living biocatalysts, few ways to activate the stored biocatalysts, and extremely low electrocatalytic capabilities render the miniature microbial fuel cells unsuitable for practical use. In new research, heat-activated Bacillus subtilis spores are revolutionarily used as a dormant biocatalyst that can survive storage and rapidly germinate when exposed to special nutrients that are preloaded in the device. Image credit: Maryam Rezaie & Seokheun Choi, doi: 10.1002/smll.202301135.

Bacteria-Powered Biobattery Has 100-Year Shelf Life, Scientists Say

Apr 19, 2023 by News Staff

Scientists at Binghamton University, State University of New York, have used a species of spore-forming bacterium called Bacillus subtilis to create a...

Banana-peeling behavior of the female Asian elephant Pang Pha depends on banana ripeness and is suppressed in social feeding experiments. Image credit: Kaufmann et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.076.

Scientists Describe Unique Banana-Peeling Behavior of Captive Asian Elephant

Apr 12, 2023 by News Staff

Like other elephants, Pang Pha — a female Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) handraised by human caretakers in the Berlin Zoo, Germany — consumes...

The red-bellied treefrog (Litoria haematogaster). Image credit: Steve Richards.

Five New Species of Treefrogs Discovered in Papua New Guinea

Apr 11, 2023 by News Staff

Biologists have described five new species of small treefrogs from hill and lower montane forests in the high rainfall belt that straddles the southern...

Siren sphagnicola, an adult hypertrophic male with a partially regenerated tail. Image credit: Fedler et al., doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5258.4.1.

New Species of Siren Discovered in the United States

Apr 6, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Siren sphagnicola inhabits seepage areas in the eastern Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States. Siren sphagnicola, an adult hypertrophic male with a partially...

Cartwheeling behavior of the dwarf reed snake (Pseudorabdion longiceps). Image credit: Quah et al., doi: 10.1111/btp.13213.

Dwarf Reed Snakes Can Cartwheel to Escape Predators

Apr 5, 2023 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Malaysia and the United States reports an observation of cartwheeling behavior to escape predators employed by the dwarf reed...

Diurnal (A-C) and nocturnal basking (D-F) in freshwater turtles: (A) and (D) Emydura macquarii plus Crocodylus johnstoni in Australia; (B) Pelomedusa galeata in South Africa; (C) several Emydidae species in the United States; (E) Chelodina expansa in Australia; (F) Pelusios adansonii in Senegal. Image credit: Eric Nordberg / Cormac Price / Brad Glorioso / Malcolm Kennedy / Pearson McGovern.

Nocturnal Basking is Widespread in Freshwater Turtles, Study Shows

Apr 5, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

Diurnal basking (sunning) is common in many ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) and is generally thought to be a behavioral mechanism for thermoregulation....

Male African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in Okavango Delta, Botswana. Image credit: Charles J. Sharp / CC BY-SA 3.0.

African Elephants Use Their Acute Sense of Smell as Form of Communication, Study Says

Apr 4, 2023 by News Staff

African elephants (Loxodonta africana) live in stable, socially complex, multi-female groups, characterized by female philopatry, male dispersal and linear...

The rufous-naped bellbird (Aleadryas rufinucha). Image credit: Knud Jønsson.

Ornithologists Identify Two New Species of Toxic Birds

Apr 3, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Most people are familiar with South and Central America’s iconic poison dart frogs, especially the golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis), that...

To investigate plants’ airborne sound emissions, Khait et al. constructed a reliable recording system, where each plant is recorded simultaneously by two microphones; first, they recorded plants within an acoustic box and developed machine learning algorithms to classify the recorded sounds; then they tested the system in a greenhouse, while monitoring physiological parameters of the recorded plants. Image credit: Kie-Ker.

Plants Emit Ultrasonic Sounds When Stressed, Groundbreaking Study Shows

Mar 31, 2023 by News Staff

In new research, biologists at Tel Aviv University recorded ultrasonic sounds emitted by tomato and tobacco plants inside an acoustic chamber, and in a...

Selaginella bryopteris in Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, Spain. Image credit: Luis Fernández García / CC BY-SA 2.1 ES.

Earth’s Earliest Land Plants Were Branched, New Research Suggests

Mar 28, 2023 by News Staff

Diverse branching forms have evolved multiple times across the tree of life to facilitate resource acquisition and exchange with the environment. As an...

The lavender-blushed dartfish (Nemateleotris lavandula), underwater photograph from Siaes Tunnel, Palau. Image credit: Yi-Kai Tea & Helen Larson, doi: 10.26107/RBZ-2023-0019.

Colorful New Species of Dartfish Discovered in Pacific Ocean

Mar 22, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Scientists from the Australian Museum Research Institute, the University of Sydney and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory have described...

Dong et al. elucidate grapevine evolution and domestication histories with 3,525 cultivated and wild accessions worldwide: in the Pleistocene, harsh climate drove the separation of wild grape ecotypes caused by continuous habitat fragmentation; then, domestication occurred concurrently about 11,000 years ago in Western Asia and the Caucasus to yield table and wine grapevines; the Western Asia domesticates dispersed into Europe with early farmers, introgressed with ancient wild western ecotypes, and subsequently diversified along human migration trails into muscat and unique western wine grape ancestries by the Late Neolithic. Image credit: Dong et al., doi: 10.1126/science.add8655.

New Study Sheds Light on Origins and Domestication of Grapevines

Mar 22, 2023 by News Staff

Humans have extensively shaped animals and plants through domestication. Although wine and table grapes have been important culturally for thousands of...

Spiranthes hachijoensis in Ena-shi, Japan: (a) inflorescence; (b) flower, lateral view; (c) flower, top view; (d) dorsal sepal; (e) petal; (f) lateral sepal; (g) labellum; (h) close-up of basal labellum callosities; (i) ovary and column; (j, k) column, bottom view; (l) column, top view; (m) pollinia without a viscidium. Scale bars - 20 mm in (a), 3 mm in (b-g), 0.5 mm in (h), and 1 mm in (i-m). Image credit: Suetsugu et al., doi: 10.1007/s10265-023-01448-6.

New Species of Orchid Discovered in Japan

Mar 21, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Spiranthes hachijoensis occurs in Kyushu, Shikoku, Chubu, and Kanto districts of Japan. Spiranthes hachijoensis in Ena-shi, Japan: (a) inflorescence; (b)...

Alkaliphile is a new taste receptor dedicated to sensing the alkaline pH of food. Image credit: Yali Zhang, Monell Chemical Senses Center.

Scientists Identify Taste Receptor for Alkaline pH

Mar 20, 2023 by News Staff

Monell Chemical Senses Center researcher Yali Zhang and colleagues identified a previously unknown chloride ion channel, which they named alkaliphile (Alka),...

Like humans, great apes voluntarily seek and engage in altered experiences of self-perception and situational awareness. Image credit: We-o.

Great Apes Spin Themselves to Deliberately Make Themselves Dizzy, Scientists Say

Mar 17, 2023 by News Staff

Among animals, humans stand out in their consummate propensity to self-induce altered states of mind. Archaeology, history and ethnography show these activities...

The Godlewski’s bunting (Emberiza godlewskii) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Image credit: Jargal Lamjav / CC BY 2.0.

Cryptic New Species of Songbird Identified in China

Mar 14, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

The northern and southern populations of a songbird species called the Godlewski’s bunting (Emberiza godlewskii) should be treated as two independent...

The structure of the bacteriophage P74-26. Image credit: Leonora Martinez-Nunez.

‘Rapunzel Bacteriophage’ Has Extremely Long Tail, Researchers Say

Mar 14, 2023 by News Staff

A bacteriophage (bacteria-infecting virus) called P74-26 and nicknamed ‘Rapunzel bacteriophage’ lives in inhospitable hot springs and preys on Thermus...

The thick-shelled river mussel (Unio crassus) squirts out regular water jets that land in the river water up to a meter away. Image credit: University of Cambridge.

Biologists Observe Highly Unusual Reproductive Behavior in Endangered Freshwater Mussels

Mar 14, 2023 by News Staff

In spring, female thick-shelled river mussels (Unio crassus) were seen moving to the water’s edge and anchoring into the riverbed, with their back ends...

Sardinian dwarf mammoth, Sardinian giant otter, deer, Sardinian dhole and giant pica. Image credit: Peter Schouten, http://studioschouten.com.au.

Study: Island-Dwelling Dwarfs and Giants are More Vulnerable to Extinction than Other Species

Mar 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Islands often contain distinctive ecological conditions that can lead to unusual evolutionary trajectories such as dwarf mammoths and giant rats. In new...

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