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Model depicting the FLP-7/NPR-22 neuroendocrine axis that underlies the 5-HTergic control of body fat loss. In the nervous system, an integrated 5-HT and octopaminergic circuit stimulates body fat loss. In this study, we report the discovery of a tachykinin signalling system that underlies the 5-HTergic control of body fat loss in C. elegans. The FLP-7 neuroendocrine peptide is secreted from the ASI neurons in response to 5-HT and Oct-mediated signalling. The nutrient sensor AAK-2/AMPK acts in the ASI neurons via the CREB co-regulator CRTC-1 to regulate FLP-7 release in response to 5-HT-encoded signals of food availability. Upon release, FLP-7 acts in the intestine via the NPR-22/NK2R receptor to stimulate the ATGL-1 lipase, which drives fat loss. The identification of FLP-7 and NPR-22 addresses a long-standing question about the molecular basis of the central effects of 5-HT on fat loss in peripheral tissues. Image credit: Lavinia Palamiuc et al, doi: 10.1038/ncomms14237.

Scientists Identify Brain-Signaling Molecule that Triggers Fat Burning

Feb 8, 2017 by News Staff

A research team led by Scripps Research Institute scientist Dr. Supriya Srinivasan has identified a brain hormone that appears to trigger fat burning in...

Geckolepis megalepis in life. Image credit: Frank Glaw.

Geckolepis megalepis: New Gecko Species Has Exceptionally Large, Fish-Like Scales

Feb 7, 2017 by News Staff

A bizarre new species of the fish-scale gecko genus Geckolepis has been found living in the ‘tsingy’ karst formations of northern Madagascar. Geckolepis...

The Sheth’s dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus shethi) at Ankarana Special Reserve, Madagascar. Image credit: Richard Randriamampionona.

Cheirogaleus shethi: New Species of Dwarf Lemur Found in Madagascar

Feb 6, 2017 by Natali Anderson

A new dwarf lemur species has been discovered in the dry and transitional forests of northern Madagascar, according to a paper published in the latest...

Close-up of critically endangered Dryas monkeys (Cercopithecus dryas) now inhabiting the Lomami National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Image credit: Pablo Ayali, Lukuru Foundation.

Critically Endangered Dryas Monkeys Caught on Video

Feb 3, 2017 by News Staff

Using camera traps, primatologists from the Lukuru Foundation Tshuapa-Lomani-Lualaba (TL2) Project are the first to capture video footage of a previously...

A northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) catches a cricket. Image credit: Candler Hobbs.

Unique Reversible Saliva Keeps Frog Tongues Sticky

Feb 2, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, a frog’s saliva is thick and sticky during prey capture, then turns...

CO2-dependent dye loading of HeLa cells expressing Cx26 from human. The top images (green) show the CO2-dependent loading of 5(6)-CBF at three different levels of PCO2. The Cx26 was tagged at the C-terminal with mCherry. The bottom images (red) in each panel show the mCherry fluorescence and hence Cx26 expression corresponding to the cells that were loaded in the images above. Image credit: Elizabeth de Wolf et al, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2723.

Biologists Identify Crucial Molecule that Regulates Breathing

Feb 2, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the University of Warwick, UK, has identified Connexin26 (Cx26) as a key molecule that reacts to carbon dioxide (CO2) in our bodies...

At an extremely high magnification of 44,818x, this colorized scanning electron microscopic (SEM) image reveals some of the morphologic details displayed by Escherichia coli. Image credit: Janice Haney Carr / CDC.

Stable Semi-Synthetic Bacterium Created

Jan 25, 2017 by News Staff

Researchers from the United States, China and France have created what they say is the world’s first stable semi-synthetic microorganism. The research...

A pair of thylacines, a male and female, c. 1905. Image credit: Smithsonian Institutional Archives / E. J. Keller, National Zoological Park.

Thylacine Had Brain Structure Suited to Predatory Life Style

Jan 19, 2017 by News Staff

A duo of researchers from the United States and Australia has used an imaging technique to reconstruct the brain architecture and neural networks of the...

The ruby seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea). Image credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography / Western Australia Museum.

Ruby Seadragon Filmed Alive in Ocean for First Time

Jan 16, 2017 by Natali Anderson

A team of marine biologists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Western Australia Museum has captured on video the first-ever field sighting...

Brattas et al. report that ERVs are bound by TRIM28 in human neural progenitor cells. This results in the establishment of local heterochromatin that affects nearby gene expression, suggesting a role for ERVs in the control of transcriptional networks in the developing human brain. Interestingly, ERVs bound by TRIM28 are mostly enriched for elements that integrated around 35–55 million years ago, thus not binding to the most recent ERVs as well as ancient elements. Image credit: Per Ludvik Brattas et al, doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.12.010.

Study: Endogenous Retroviruses in Genome Important for Human Brain

Jan 13, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

About 8% of the human genome is composed of endogenous retroviruses. According to a new study published in the journal Cell Reports, these retroviruses...

An adult female of the Skywalker hoolock gibbon (Hoolock tianxing). Image credit: Fan Peng-Fei.

Hoolock tianxing: New Species of Gibbon Discovered in Myanmar and China

Jan 13, 2017 by Natali Anderson

A new species of hoolock gibbon has been discovered in eastern Myanmar and southwestern China by an international team of scientists from the United States,...

Holotype specimen of Bryanites graeffii. Image credit: J.K. Liebherr.

Bryanites graeffii: New Beetle Species Described from 150-Year-Old Museum Specimen

Jan 11, 2017 by News Staff

A new species of ground beetle has been identified by Cornell University Professor James Liebherr. Holotype specimen of Bryanites graeffii. Image credit:...

The Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna). Image credit: Kevin Cole / CC BY 2.0.

Hummingbirds Process Motion in Unique Way, Study Shows

Jan 10, 2017 by News Staff

According to new research published in the journal Current Biology, a key area of the hummingbird brain processes motion in a unique, unexpected way. The...

Scanning electromicrograph of an HIV-infected H9 T cell. Image credit: NIAID / CC BY 2.0.

Retroviruses Originated in Ocean 450 Million Years Ago, New Study Says

Jan 10, 2017 by News Staff

Retroviruses (Retroviridae) — a family of viruses that includes pathogens such as HIV, feline leukemia, and several cancer-causing viruses —...

A false-color scanning electron micrograph of G. sulfurreducens-P. aestuarii co-culture. Scale bar - 5 μm. Image credit: Phuc T. Ha et al, doi: 10.1038/ncomms13924.

Biologists Discover New Type of Microbial Photosynthesis

Jan 9, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of biologists led by Washington State University Professor Haluk Beyenal has discovered a new type of cooperative photosynthesis...

Four newly identified CRISPR-Cas9 inhibitor proteins encoded by Listeria monocytogenes prophages prevent Cas9 binding and gene editing in bacteria and human cells, including currently the most widely used Cas9 from Streptococcus pyogenes. Image credit: Benjamin J. Rauch et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.12.009.

Researchers Discover Off-Switch for CRISPR-Cas9 System

Jan 3, 2017 by News Staff

A team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, has discovered a way to inactivate the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system using newly...

Toucan. Image credit: Tambako the Jaguar / CC BY-ND 2.0.

New Estimate: There are Over 18,000 Bird Species on Earth

Dec 29, 2016 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal PLoS ONE suggests that there are 18,043 bird species in the world — nearly twice as many as previously thought. Toucan....

Picture of the distribution of the genetic information in an E. coli cell. Image credit: University of Bielefeld.

Optical ‘Tractor Beam’ Traps Biological Cells

Dec 28, 2016 by News Staff

Physicists in Germany have developed a novel technique for trapping biological cells with a laser beam. Using this technique, the researchers obtained...

This pointy-nosed blue chimaera (Hydrolagus trolli) was videotaped by MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle Tiburon near Hawaii at a depth of 5,384 feet (1,641 m). Image credit: Amber N. Reichert et al, doi: 10.1186/s41200-016-0095-5.

Pointy-Nosed Blue Chimaera Spotted in North Pacific Ocean

Dec 19, 2016 by News Staff

A large deep-water fish that was previously identified in the Southeastern Pacific has recently been found around the Hawaiian Islands and off the coast...