Neuroscience of eating: Pace and portion control
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R155-R157. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.033.ABSTRACTSatiety-promoting neurons of the hindbrain have long been known for their role in meal termination. An innovative new study now reveals how different hindbrain cell types mediate appetite on distinct timescales.PMID:38412828 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.033 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Claire Gao Michael J Krashes Source Type: research
Medicinal plants meet modern biodiversity science
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R158-R173. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.038.ABSTRACTPlants have been an essential source of human medicine for millennia. In this review, we argue that a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to the study of medicinal plants that combines methods and insights from three key disciplines - evolutionary ecology, molecular biology/biochemistry, and ethnopharmacology - is poised to facilitate new breakthroughs in science, including pharmacological discoveries and rapid advancements in human health and well-being. Such interdisciplinary research leverages data and methods spanning space, time, and speci...
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Charles C Davis Patrick Choisy Source Type: research
Hierarchical organization of social action features along the lateral visual pathway
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):931-933. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.064.NO ABSTRACTPMID:38412814 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.064 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Emalie McMahon Michael F Bonner Leyla Isik Source Type: research
Seed masting as a mechanism for escape from pathogens
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R120-R125. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.027.ABSTRACTSeed masting, a reproductive strategy characterized by variable and synchronous investment in reproduction among years, has attracted much attention. Masting trees incur a cost in delayed reproduction, and thus masting requires an ecological or evolutionary explanation. The two broad causal mechanisms to explain seed masting are resource availability and economies of scale (EOS); the former assumes reproductive investment simply covaries with environment, the latter suggests an adaptive advantage. Two of the most commonly proposed EOS for mastin...
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: T Jonathan Davies Ailene MacPherson Source Type: research
Carrie Adler
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R125-R126. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.066.ABSTRACTInterview with Carrie Adler, who uses planarian flatworms as a model system to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving organ regeneration at Cornell University.PMID:38412816 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.066 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Carrie Adler Source Type: research
Reptilian cognition
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R129-R130. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.048.ABSTRACTTim Roth and Aaron Krochmal discuss reptile cognition in an integrative and comparative light.PMID:38412817 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.048 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Timothy C Roth Aaron R Krochmal Source Type: research
Rapid color change in a group-hunting pelagic predator attacking schooling prey
We report a possible solution to this problem through rapid colour change in group-hunting striped marlin (Kajikia audax) as they hunt schools of Pacific sardines (Sardinops sagax). By analysing high-resolution drone footage of marlin attacks, we found that individual marlin intensified the contrast of their body stripes immediately prior to striking prey schools, before rapidly decreasing intensity after their attack. This suggests that color change may be a reliable signal of motivation to attack, potentially deterring conspecifics from attacking.PMID:38412818 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.040 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Alicia L Burns Max Licht Robert J P Heathcote Jens Krause Matthew J Hansen Source Type: research
Peripheral serotonergic neurons regulate gut motility and anxiety-like behavior
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R133-R134. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.072.ABSTRACTSerotonergic circuits in the central nervous system play important roles in regulating mood and behavior, yet the functions of peripheral serotonergic neurons are less understood. Here, we engineered mice lacking the serotonin-producing enzyme Tph2 in peripheral neurons but with intact Tph2 in central neurons. In contrast to mice lacking Tph2 in all neurons, mice lacking Tph2 in peripheral serotonergic neurons did not exhibit increased territorial aggression. However, similar to the total body Tph2 knockout (KO) mice, the conditional KO animals ...
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Hailong Zhang Deborah R Leitner Yuko Hasegawa Matthew K Waldor Source Type: research
Root microbiota: Connecting nitrogen metabolism and theanine synthesis in tea plants
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R135-R137. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.003.ABSTRACTTea varieties exhibit seasonal theanine accumulation, with the high-theanine tea variety Rougui having a diverse root microbiota rich in nitrogen-related microbes. A synthetic community derived from Rougui roots enhances tea growth and theanine synthesis under nitrogen deficiency, emphasizing the microbiota's pivotal role.PMID:38412820 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.003 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Jingying Zhang Haoran Xu Yang Bai Source Type: research
Cell motility: Bioelectrical control of behavior without neurons
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R137-R140. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.019.ABSTRACTSingle cells are capable of remarkably sophisticated, sometimes animal-like, behaviors. New work demonstrates bioelectric control of motility through the differential regulation of appendage movements in a unicellular organism that walks across surfaces using leg-like bundles of cilia.PMID:38412821 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.019 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Ben T Larson Wallace F Marshall Source Type: research
Eco-evolutionary dynamics: The repeatability of diversification in an experimental microbial community
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R140-R143. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.053.ABSTRACTUnderstanding the evolution and subsequent maintenance of ecological diversity is a daunting task. Using a historical microbial evolution experiment, a new paper demonstrates the extent to which diversity can re-emerge in reduced communities and the traits through which rediversification occurs.PMID:38412822 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.053 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: William R Shoemaker Source Type: research
Stomatal development: NRPM proteins in dynamic localization of ERECTA receptor
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R143-R146. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.002.ABSTRACTDynamic cellular localization of receptors is key to the perception of their peptide ligands and the activation of downstream signaling pathways. A new study identifies NRPMs as novel regulators of ERECTA receptor localization and stomatal formation downstream of the EPF1/EPF2 peptide ligands and upstream of the YDA MAPK cascade.PMID:38412823 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.002 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Mengmeng Zhang Shuqun Zhang Source Type: research
Plant evolution: A tapetum is now effectively present in all land plant lineages
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R146-R148. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.061.ABSTRACTThe tapetum, a tissue that elsewhere ensures correct spore development, is missing in some bryophytes. A new study shows that, in the liverwort, Marchantia polymorpha, a gene controlling spore wall deposition is expressed in the capsule lining, so these cells essentially function as a tapetum.PMID:38412824 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.061 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Wilson A Taylor Paul K Strother Source Type: research
Neuroscience: Therapy modulates decision-making in Parkinson's disease
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R148-R150. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.031.ABSTRACTThere is mounting evidence that decision-making can be affected by treatment in Parkinson's disease. A new study shows that dopamine and deep brain stimulation, two mainstay treatments of Parkinson's, differently affect how patients make decisions weighing rewards against effort costs.PMID:38412825 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.031 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Damian M Herz Source Type: research
Algal evolution: A touch of brown in a Paleozoic sea of greens and reds
Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R150-R152. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.028.ABSTRACTPrevious molecular clock studies indicated a Mesozoic origin for the brown algae (Phaeophyceae). New research based on phylogenetic evidence challenges this notion and provides novel insights into the origin and diversification of brown algae, which includes multiple transitions within the group from isogamy to oogamy (and back again!).PMID:38412826 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.028 (Source: Current Biology)
Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Olivier De Clerck Steven T LoDuca Source Type: research
