The remains of the earliest dinosaurs may lie undiscovered in the Amazon and other equatorial regions of South America and Africa, suggests a new study.
Imagining the physics of George R.R. Martin’s fictional universe
Researchers have derived a formula for viral behavior in the Wild Cards, a science fiction series written by a collection of authors about an alien virus called the Wild Card that mutates human DNA. The formula he derived is a Lagrangian formulation, which considers the different ways a system can...
T cells rise up to fight infections in the gut
Pathogen-fighting immune cells called tissue-resident memory CD8 T cells (TRM cells) go through a surprising transformation -- and relocation -- as they fight infections in the small intestine.
Fossil discovery in the Geiseltal Collection: Researchers identify unique bird skull
Around 45 million years ago, a 4.6 feet-tall (1.40 meters) flightless bird called Diatryma roamed the Geiseltal region in southern Saxony-Anhalt. An international team of researchers report on the bird's fully preserved skull. The fossil was unearthed in the 1950s in a former lignite mining area in the Geiseltal in...
Fighting experience plays key role in brain chemical’s control of male aggression
Like humans, mice will compete over territory and mates, and show increased confidence in their fighting skills the more they win. At first, a brain chemical called dopamine is essential for young males to master this behavior. But as they gain experience, the chemical grows less important in promoting aggression,...
Scientists identify neurons in mice that, once activated, can change body’s metabolic rate, induce hibernation-like state
A new study has identified a group of neurons that, when activated, can induce a hypometabolic state, akin to hibernation. The discovery could have far-reaching implications for conditions like obesity, cardiometabolic diseases, and even for space travel. The research team found that these neurons regulate key aspects of the brain-heart-gut...
Dolphins use a ‘fat taste’ system to get their mother’s milk
Juvenile dolphins were found to have specialized receptors for fatty acids on their tongues, offering new insights into their growth and feeding habits.
Can DNA-nanoparticle motors get up to speed with motor proteins?
DNA-nanoparticle motors are exactly as they sound: tiny artificial motors that use the structures of DNA and RNA to propel motion by enzymatic RNA degradation. Essentially, chemical energy is converted into mechanical motion by biasing the Brownian motion. The DNA-nanoparticle motor uses the 'burnt-bridge' Brownian ratchet mechanism. In this type...
Australian Plantago could replace psyllium husk in gluten-free breads
Seeds of two species of Plantago have been identified as producing mucilage that can be used as a natural additive to make gluten-free bread dough more elastic, resulting in fluffier loaves.
Cycle of coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef now at ‘catastrophic’ levels
Marine scientists highlights the complex interplay between heat stress, disease onset and coral mortality. They found that 66 percent of the colonies were bleached by February 2024 and 80 per cent by April. By July, 44 percent of the bleached colonies had died, with some coral genera, such as Acropora,...