Nicholas Bellono
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R177-R179. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.074.ABSTRACTInterview with Nicholas Bellono, who uses multiple species to study the molecular basis of behaviors and unique adaptations to environmental signals at Harvard University.PMID:38471440 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.074 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Nicholas Bellono Source Type: research
Heterostyly
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R181-R183. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.072.ABSTRACTScharman and Lenhard introduce heterostyly, a phenomenon where individuals in a plant population produce flowers with more than one morphologically distinct form.PMID:38471441 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.072 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Mathias Scharman Michael Lenhard Source Type: research
Phenology
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R183-R188. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.007.ABSTRACTFlowers blooming, fungi fruiting, insects biting, fish spawning, geese migrating, deer calving; our consciousness is steeped in a seasonal calendar of nature's events. Phenology is the study of these recurring, seasonal life-history events, though nowadays this term is widely applied to the events themselves. From Shakespeare's sonnet 98, "From you I have been absent in the spring", to the appearance of seasonal events and migratory species in the oral traditions of Native Americans, interest in phenology is long-standing and transcends cultures...
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Kirsty H Macphie Albert B Phillimore Source Type: research
A new orchid species expands Darwin's predicted pollination guild in Madagascar
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R189-R190. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.012.ABSTRACTThe world-renowned pollination system of the long-spurred orchid Angraecum sesquipedale Thouars and the long-tongued hawkmoth Xanthopan praedicta (Rothschild & Jordan, 1903), from Madagascar, is the best-known example of the predictive power of evolutionary ecology1,2, yet its actual degree of specialisation remains poorly described due to the incompleteness of the pollination record of X. praedicta. Here, we describe another species from Madagascar, an angraecoid orchid distantly related to the genus Angraecum Bory, that has evolved these e...
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Jo ão Farminhão Marie Savignac Vincent Droissart Porter P Lowry Nirina Rajaonarivelo Brigitte Ramandimbisoa Simon Verlynde Arsela Todivelo Tariq St évart Source Type: research
Female frogs communicate with males through blinking
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R191-R192. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.023.ABSTRACTBlinking is a behavior unique to animal taxa with motile eyelids, such as most amphibians and reptiles as well as all birds and mammals1. Eyelid movement has physiological functions, such as lubricating the cornea and washing away dust, but its potential signaling functions are not well understood1,2. The use of eyeblinks as a social signal is currently thought to be restricted to some primates, especially humans and their companion animals, but has not been verified in other taxa1,3,4. Here, through field observation and experiments, we demonst...
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Pan Chen Shuwen Liu Yatao Wu Guoqing Liu Yingying Jin Fang Zhang Source Type: research
Anemonefish are better taxonomists than humans
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R193-R194. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.051.ABSTRACTThe symbiosis between giant sea anemones, algae of the family Symbiodiniaceae, and anemonefish is an iconic example of a mutualistic trio1,2. Molecular analyses have shown that giant sea anemones hosting anemonefish belong to three clades: Entacmaea, Stichodactyla, and Heteractis3,4,5 (Figure 1A). Associations among 28 species of anemonefish and 10 species of giant sea anemone hosts are complex. Some fish species are highly specialized to only one anemone species (e.g., Amphiprion frenatus with Entacmaea quadricolor), whereas others are more gen...
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Rio Kashimoto Manon Mercader Jann Zwahlen Saori Miura Miyako Tanimoto Kensuke Yanagi James Davis Reimer Konstantin Khalturin Vincent Laudet Source Type: research
Visual perception: On the trail of high-level shape aftereffects
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R195-R197. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.009.ABSTRACTThe representation of visual shape is a critical component of our perception of the objects around us. A new study exploited shape aftereffects to reveal the high-dimensional space of geometric features our brains use to represent shape.PMID:38471446 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.009 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Jacob Feldman Source Type: research
Food webs: Where is the uniqueness?
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R197-R199. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.005.ABSTRACTConservation planning relies on mapping areas of unique biological diversity and high vulnerability. A new study has found that unique trophic networks are threatened by warming climate in the Arctic and high human footprint in southern Europe.PMID:38471447 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.005 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Emma-Liina Marjakangas Source Type: research
Conservation: Different seasonal hotspots for migrating birds
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R199-R201. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.006.ABSTRACTMigrating species are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss. A new study shows that migrating birds use seasonally different stopover hotspots, which need to be protected better.PMID:38471448 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.006 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Scott K Robinson Source Type: research
Isochronous rhythms: Facilitating song coordination across taxa?
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R201-R203. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.020.ABSTRACTThe biological expression of isochronous rhythms - rhythms like those produced by a metronome - was once thought to be unique to humans. A new study reports that faster and more isochronous rhythms lead to more successful duets in singing gibbons: isochronous rhythms might be an important component of song coordination across taxa.PMID:38471449 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.020 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Dena Jane Clink Source Type: research
Plant physiology: RAF kinases claim a conserved role in rapid auxin responses
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R204-R206. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.024.ABSTRACTA recent study spotlights B-RAF kinases as central mediators of rapid auxin responses across diverse plant species. Coupled with other current studies, this discovery illuminates the essential role of B-RAF kinases in orchestrating growth, stress responses, and various other biological processes in plants.PMID:38471450 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.024 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Pengcheng Wang Source Type: research
Insect genomics: A lousy fly
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R206-R209. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.038.ABSTRACTThe bee louse (Braula coeca) is a honeybee inquiline and a long-standing taxonomic mystery. A new study unravels their genomic architecture and shows that these enigmatic flies have evolved from scale insect-exploiting drosophilid ancestors and share genetic similarities with their honeybee hosts.PMID:38471451 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.038 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Marcus C Stensmyr Source Type: research
Seasonal biology: Tanycytes give the hypothalamus a spring makeover
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R209-R211. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.055.ABSTRACTIn many species, metabolic and reproductive functions are coupled to the seasons. Tanycytes, specialized glial cells in the hypothalamus, play an important function in these physiological changes. A new study now shows that light exposure drastically alters the formation of sensory cilia on tanycytes.PMID:38471452 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.055 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Manon Rivagorda Vincent Prevot Markus Schwaninger Source Type: research
Meiosis: The silk moth and the elephant
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R211-R213. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.046.ABSTRACTIn most eukaryotes, balanced chromosome segregation at meiosis requires crossovers, but female Bombyx mori lack these structures. Instead, the synaptonemal complex is repurposed to compensate for this absence of crossovers, a remarkable example of exaptation.PMID:38471453 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.046 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Hern án López Raphael Mercier Source Type: research
Sleep: Giving it up to get it on
Curr Biol. 2024 Mar 11;34(5):R213-R216. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.061.ABSTRACTA new study presents evidence of sex-related sleep reduction in males of two marsupial mice species but not in females. The growing experimental data suggest that seasonal sleep reduction, linked to migrations and reproductive periods, is common among animals.PMID:38471454 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.061 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - March 12, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Oleg I Lyamin Jerome M Siegel Source Type: research
