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Plant used in traditional Chinese medicine becomes less visible to humans

According to a new study, a plant utilized in traditional Chinese medicine has emerged to become less perceptible to human beings.

23 Nov 2020

First functional analysis of cytokine IL-15L using rainbow trout

The cytokine family including interleukin-2 and -15 (IL-2 and IL-15) started out in a primitive vertebrate species with three related cytokines IL-2, IL-15, and IL-15-like (IL-15L), all sharing binding capacity for receptor chain IL-15Rα. IL-15L was conserved in fishes, reptiles, and some mammals but lost in humans and mice.

23 Nov 2020

Endogenous viral elements play important role in genome evolution of green algae

Viruses are tiny invaders that cause a wide range of diseases, from rabies to tomato spotted wilt virus and, most recently, COVID-19 in humans. But viruses can do more than elicit sickness -- and not all viruses are tiny.

19 Nov 2020

Clostridium bacteria can help convert waste gas into valuable compounds

Several branches of industry discharge waste gases that contain mostly carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.

17 Nov 2020

Study: 95.5% of current entries in GISAID lack relevant COVID-19 patient information

A new study led by Australia's national science agency CSIRO, has found 95.5 per cent of current entries in GISAID, the world's largest novel coronavirus genome database, do not contain relevant patient information -- a critical piece of the puzzle to understand the virus and how it is evolving.

17 Nov 2020

Scientists identify key source of sensory perception

The brain encodes information collected by our senses. However, to perceive our environment and to constructively interact with it, these sensory signals need to be interpreted in the context of our previous experiences and current aims.

17 Nov 2020

Study investigates similarities between the most challenging and complex systems in nature

In their paper published in Frontiers of Physics, Franco Vazza (astrophysicist at the University of Bologna) and Alberto Feletti (neurosurgeon at the University of Verona) investigated the similarities between two of the most challenging and complex systems in nature.

17 Nov 2020

Scientists expand Darwin's evolutionary theory to include "molecular Darwinism"

Darwin's theory of evolution should be expanded to include consideration of a DNA stability "energy code" - so-called "molecular Darwinism" - to further account for the long-term survival of species' characteristics on Earth, according to Rutgers scientists.

17 Nov 2020

New data can aid research on disease mutations, preserve endangered species

A large international consortium led by scientists at Uppsala University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has sequenced the genome of 130 mammals and analyzed the data together with 110 existing genomes to allow scientist to identify which are the important positions in the DNA.

12 Nov 2020

Researchers discover new 'hidden' gene in SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have discovered a new "hidden" gene in SARS-CoV-2--the virus that causes COVID-19--that may have contributed to its unique biology and pandemic potential.

11 Nov 2020

New DNA approach could predict ecosystem changes

When wolves returned to Yellowstone in 1995, no one imagined the predators would literally change the course of rivers in the national park through cascading effects on other animals and plants.

11 Nov 2020

Study provides key insight to better understand the development of Type 2 diabetes

Scientists have found that insulin has met an evolutionary cul-de-sac, limiting its ability to adapt to obesity and thereby rendering most people vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes.

6 Nov 2020

Study shows five strategies to mitigate climate change

Reducing fossil fuel use is essential to stopping climate change, but that goal will remain out of reach unless global agriculture and eating habits are also transformed, according to new research from the University of Minnesota and University of Oxford.

6 Nov 2020

Conservation efforts can help the Amazon forest to withstand climate change

Conservation efforts on the edges of the Amazon forest, especially in light of recent deforestation by human disturbance, could help the region weather the storm of climate change, researchers say.

6 Nov 2020

Epigenetic clock predicts the future growth of cancer cells

A team of researchers from IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic and the University of Barcelona has headed an international study to design an epigenetic clock that can track the amount of cancer cells that have multiplied previously.

5 Nov 2020

Scientists examine dietary differences between male and female dolphins

More evidence has emerged to support stricter coastal management, this time focusing on pollution and overfishing in the picturesque tourist waters off Auckland in New Zealand.

4 Nov 2020

Metagenomic sequencing data reveals the major drivers of speciation, adaptation in corals

A new study led by the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) revealed that diversity in Hawaiian corals is likely driven by co-evolution between the coral host, the algal symbiont, and the microbial community.

3 Nov 2020

Human immune system may play a key role in shaping the microbiome composition

The gut is an unusually noisy place, where hundreds of species of bacteria live alongside whatever microbes happen to have hitched a ride in on your lunch.

30 Oct 2020

Researchers develop RNA catalyst that sheds light on evolution

Enzymes enable biochemical reactions that would otherwise not take place on their own. In nature, it is mostly proteins that function as enzymes.

29 Oct 2020

Researchers identify genes associated with autism spectrum disorder

The lack of some genes in the BEC/TCEAL cluster could be related to some alterations associated with the autism spectrum disorder, according to a preclinical study published in the journal Genome Biology, and led by Professor Jordi Garcia Fernàndez, from the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), and researcher Jaime Carvajal, from the Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology - University Pablo de Olavide (CSIC-UPO).

27 Oct 2020