Scientists have identified a key chemical associated with lethal bronzing (LB) infected palm trees. LB is a bacterial disease that kills more than 20 species of palm trees in the Southern United States and Caribbean and has been devastating the Florida green industries for nearly two decades.
Geneticists discover hidden ‘whole genome duplication’ that may explain why some species survived mass extinctions
Geneticists have unearthed a major event in the ancient history of sturgeons and paddlefish that has significant implications for the way we understand evolution. They have pinpointed a previously hidden 'whole genome duplication' (WGD) in the common ancestor of these species, which seemingly opened the door to genetic variations that...
Rocks Beneath Antarctic Ice Sheet Reveal Surprising Past
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is shrinking, with many glaciers across the region retreating and melting at an alarming rate.
Plants can distinguish when touch starts and stops, study suggests
Even without nerves, plants can sense when something touches them and when it lets go, a study has found. In a set of experiments, individual plant cells responded to the touch of a very fine glass rod by sending slow waves of calcium signals to other plant cells, and when that...
How the flu virus hacks our cells
Influenza epidemics, caused by influenza A or B viruses, result in acute respiratory infection. They kill half a million people worldwide every year. These viruses can also wreak havoc on animals, as in the case of avian flu. A team has now identified how the influenza A virus manages to...
Mitigating Climate Change Through Restoration of Coastal Ecosystems
One of the primary drivers of climate change is excess greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Eat right, live longer: Could a moderate protein diet be the coveted elixir of youth?
Consuming nutritious food can improve metabolic health and delay aging. But what are the appropriate quantities of dietary macronutrients that can help achieve this? To answer this, researchers fed isocaloric diets with varying amounts of protein to young and middle-aged male mice. They found that the mice were metabolically healthier...
Mapping the Conflict Between Farming and Biodiversity
It’s well known that producing foods such as beef can have an outsized footprint when it comes to carbon emissions.
Understanding Boiling to Help the Nuclear Industry and Space Missions
To launch extended missions in space, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is borrowing a page from the nuclear engineering industry: It is trying to understand how boiling works.
Genetic change increased bird flu severity during U.S. spread
Scientists found the virus strains that arrived in 2021 soon acquired genes from viruses in wild birds in North America. The resulting reassortant viruses have spread across the continent and caused more severe disease.