Biology News

Researchers Recreate Mouse from Choanoflagellate Gene that Predates Animals

Choanoflagellate Sox can induce pluripotency in mammalian cells. Image credit: Gao et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-54152-x.
Nov 19, 2024 by News Staff

Scientists from Queen Mary University of London and the University of Hong Kong have created mouse stem cells capable of generating a fully developed mouse using genetic tools from a unicellular organism, with which we share a common ancestor that predates animals. Choanoflagellate Sox can induce pluripotency in mammalian cells. Image credit: Gao et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-54152-x. Queen Mary University of London researcher Alex de Mendoza and...

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Pseudogonatodes fuscofortunatus. Image credit: Schargel et al., doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae120.

Scientists Discover New Species of Gecko in Venezuela

Nov 18, 2024 by Natali Anderson

An international team of researchers has described a new species of miniaturized gecko in the genus Pseudogonatodes from the Peninsula de Paria in northeastern...

β-Hydroxybutyrate (BHB) is an abundant ketone body. To date, all known pathways of BHB metabolism involve the interconversion of BHB and primary energy intermediates. Moya-Garzon et al. identified a previously undescribed BHB secondary metabolic pathway via CNDP2-dependent enzymatic conjugation of BHB and free amino acids. Image credit: Moya-Garzon et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.10.032.

Metabolic Compound Found to Regulate Appetite and Body Weight

Nov 13, 2024 by News Staff

Until now, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) has been known as a compound produced by the liver to be used as fuel. In a new study, researchers discovered that...

Bathydevius caudactylus has a voluminous hooded structure at one end, a flat tail fringed with numerous finger-like projections at the other, and colorful internal organs. Image credit: Bruce H. Robison & Steven H.D. Haddock / MBARI.

New Species of Bioluminescent Sea Slug Discovered

Nov 13, 2024 by News Staff

Marine biologists at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have described an exceptional sea slug (nudibranch) species, new to science, from...

Strigopagurus fragarchela. Image credit: Queensland Museum.

New Species of Hermit Crab Discovered in Australia

Nov 12, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Marine biologists at Queensland Museum Kurilpa have described a new species of hermit crab, Strigopagurus fragarchela (common name is the strawberry-clawed...

To investigate whether chimpanzee task performance is influenced by the presence of audience members, Lin et al. analyzed cognitive task data for multiple chimpanzees across various types of tasks. Image credit: Akiho Muramatsu.

Study: Chimps Perform Better on Challenging Computer Tasks When They Have Audience

Nov 12, 2024 by News Staff

Human cognitive performance can be significantly influenced by the presence of audience members. While often associated with reputation management, which...

Arabidopsis thaliana. Image credit: Carl Davies, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0.

Scientists Investigate Inner Workings of DNA Methylation in Plants

Nov 6, 2024 by News Staff

DNA methylation is one of several epigenetic mechanisms crucial for regulating gene expression in eukaryotic organisms. Arabidopsis thaliana. Image credit:...

The versatility of somatosensation arises from heterogeneous dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. However, soma transcriptomes of individual human (h)DRG neurons -- critical information to decipher their functions -- are lacking due to technical difficulties. In their new study, Yu et al. isolated somata from individual hDRG neurons and conducted deep RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to detect, on average, over 9,000 unique genes per neuron, and they identified 16 neuronal types.

Neuroscientists Identify 16 Neuronal Types Involved in Human Sense of Touch

Nov 6, 2024 by News Staff

New research led by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania, Karolinska Institute and Linköping University provides a landscape view of the human...

Schematic of mechanisms that confer radiotolerance to Hypsibius henanensis. Image credit: Li et al., doi: 10.1126/science.adl0799.

Previously Unknown Species Sheds Light on Mechanism of Radiotolerance in Tardigrades

Nov 5, 2024 by News Staff

Using genome, transcriptome, and proteome analysis of the newly-discovered species of tardigrade, named Hypsibius henanensis, scientists explored the molecular...

Abyssocladia janusi. Image credit: M. Ekins & N.G. Wilson, doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-72917-8.

Six New Species of Carnivorous Sponges Discovered in Australian Waters

Oct 30, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), marine biologists have discovered six new species of carnivorous sponges in the family Cladorhizidae from the...

The dendroid rugosa coral Dendrostella trigemme and fragments of the tabulate coral Roemerolites brevis rhiphaeus. Image credit: Jung et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08101-9.

Mid-Devonian Coral Reef Fossils Provide Early Evidence of Photosymbiosis

Oct 28, 2024 by News Staff

The symbiotic relationship between corals and their photosynthetic algal partners (photosymbionts) goes back at least to the Devonian (385 million years...

Trichothraupis melanops. Image credit: Dario Sanches / CC BY-SA 2.0.

New Species of Bird Discovered in South America

Oct 21, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Ornithologists have described a new species of tanager in the genus Trichothraupis living on the Eastern slopes of the Andes. Trichothraupis melanops (above)...

Ancient humans. Image credit: sjs.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Early Humans Were Infected by Two Distinct Types of Helicobacter Bacteria, New Study Reveals

Oct 21, 2024 by News Staff

Two ecospecies of Helicobacter pylori — named ‘Hardy’ and ‘Ubiquitous’ — co-existed in the stomachs of modern humans since before they...

The brown longnose skate (Leucoraja longirostris), adult male holotype in total dorsal view. Scale bar - 5 cm. Image credit: Weigmann et al., doi: 10.3390/biology13060405.

Marine Biologists Discover Remarkable New Species of Deep-Water Skate

Oct 15, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Marine biologists have identified a new species of the skate genus Leucoraja lurking in the depths of the Southwestern Indian Ocean. The brown longnose...

Boophis picardi, a male paratype from An’Ala, Madagascar. Image credit: Vences et al., doi: 10.3897/vz.74.e121110.

Seven New Species of ‘Star Trek’ Treefrogs Found in Madagascar

Oct 15, 2024 by News Staff

In reference to the otherworldly sounds by which these treefrogs of the genus Boophis fill Malagasy rainforests, some of them reminiscent of sounds of...

Seafloor surface and crustal subseafloor vents at Fava Flow Suburbs, the East Pacific Rise. Image credit: Bright et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52631-9.

Researchers Discover Animal Life in Subseafloor Crust at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents

Oct 15, 2024 by News Staff

Marine biologists have found adult tubeworms and other vent animals below the seafloor in the East Pacific Rise, a volcanically active, fast-spreading...

The average American spends 93% of their time in built environments, almost 70% of that is in their place of residence. Human health and well-being are intrinsically tied to the quality of our personal environments and the microbiomes that populate them. Conversely, the built environment microbiome is seeded, formed, and re-shaped by occupant behavior, cleaning, personal hygiene and food choices, as well as geographic location and variability in infrastructure. Huttelmaier et al. focused on the presence of viruses in household biofilms, specifically in showerheads and on toothbrushes.

Study: Your Showerheads and Toothbrushes are Teeming with Diverse Collection of Viruses

Oct 10, 2024 by News Staff

Viruses collected in a Northwestern University-led study are bacteriophages — a type of virus that infects and replicates inside of bacteria. The...

Morphological features of Sheba. Image credit: Guy Eisner / Elaine Solowey / Sallon et al., doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-06721-5.

Long-Lost Myrrh Species Resurrected from 1,000-Year-Old Seed

Oct 8, 2024 by Natali Anderson

A team of biologists in Israel has grown an extinct — or at least extirpated — tree species of the myrrh genus Commiphora from an ancient seed...

Cryo-EM structure of α-latrotoxin in two distinct tetrameric states. Image credit: Klink et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52635-5.

Researchers Decode Structure of Vertebrate-Specific Toxin in Black Widow Spider Venom

Oct 8, 2024 by News Staff

The venom of black widow spiders contains a cocktail of seven specific latrotoxins, but only one — α-latrotoxin — targets vertebrates, including...

While maintaining a population of Mnemiopsis leidyi in a seawater tank, Jokura et al. noticed an atypically large individual with two aboral ends and two apical organs. Image credit: Jokura et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.07.084.

Two Injured Comb Jellies Can Fuse into Single Entity, Scientists Discover

Oct 7, 2024 by News Staff

Two injured individuals of Mnemiopsis leidyi, a species of planktonic animals known as comb jellies or ctenophores, are capable of rapidly fusing into...

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