A universal approach to tailoring soft robots
(Singapore University of Technology and Design) An integrated design optimisation and fabrication workflow opens new opportunities for tailoring the mechanical properties of soft machines. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
How seeds know it's a good time to germinate
(Carnegie Institution for Science) Dehydrated plant seeds can lay dormant for long periods--over 1,000 years in some species--before the availability of water can trigger germination. This protects the embryonic plant inside from a variety of environmental stresses until conditions are favorable for growth and survival. However, the mechanism by which the baby plant senses water and reactivates cellular activity has remained a mystery until now. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Heavy rain and heat -- New details on climate change
(Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon) Global warming is advancing. The 1-degree mark has long been exceeded. The consequences are evident even in Germany. But what does it look like in concrete terms by the end of this century? For this purpose, researchers at the Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS), an institution of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, have developed information sheets named " Klimaausblick " (climate outlook) for various regions and counties in Germany. In doing so, they provide possible climate changes for the coming decades based on 17 parameters. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
The reproductive advantages of large male fish
(Bielefeld University) In mosquitofish, of the genus Gambusia, male fish are smaller than females - sometimes only half the size. Biologists had previously assumed that smaller male mosquitofish had at least some reproductive advantages. Researchers from the transregional collaborative research centre NC ³ at Bielefeld University have shown in a systematic review and meta-analysis that larger mosquitofish are actually more successful at reproduction. The re-searchers are presenting their findings today (07.07.2021) in the Journal of Animal Ecology. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Researchers detail the most ancient bat fossil ever discovered in Asia
(University of Kansas) A team based at the University of Kansas and China performed fieldwork in the Junggar Basin to discover two fossil teeth belonging to two separate specimens of bat, dubbed Altaynycteris aurora. It's the oldest fossil of bat found in Asia. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
CWRU receives $1.2M W.M. Keck Foundation grant to determine ecological factors affect the evolution of our ancestors
(Case Western Reserve University) A Case Western Reserve University researcher is leading an interdisciplinary global team that will use state-of-the-art technology to tackle an ancient question: How did ecological factors affect the evolution of our ancestors millions of years ago? The possible answers so intrigued the W. M. Keck Foundation that it awarded Armington Professor Beverly Saylor and her colleagues a $1.2 million grant to explore them. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
How plants compensate symbiotic microbes
(Stanford University) Combining economics, psychology and studies of fertilizer application, researchers find that plants nearly follow an " equal pay for equal work " rule when giving resources to partner microbes - except when those microbes underperform. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Reducing the melting of the Greenland ice cap using solar geoengineering?
(University of Liege) Injecting sulphur into the stratosphere to reduce solar radiation and stop the Greenland ice cap from melting. An interesting scenario, but not without risks. Climatologists from the University of Li è ge (Belgium) have looked into the matter and have tested one of the scenarios put forward using the MAR climate model developed at ULi è ge. The results are mixed and have been published in the journal The Cryosphere. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Protein's 'silent code' affects how cells move
(University of Pennsylvania) Two forms of the ubiquitous protein actin differ by only four amino acids but are dissimilar in 13% of their nucleotide coding sequences due to silent substitutions. A new study led by the University of Pennsylvania reveals that these supposedly " silent " differences have an impact on how fast actin mRNA gets translated into protein and subsequently on the protein's function in propelling cell movement. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
More EVs could reduce CO2 emissions in Hawaii by 93% in less than 30 years
(University of Hawaii at Manoa) By 2050, faster adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and faster generation of renewable energy will result in 99% less fossil fuel consumed and 93% less CO2 emissions from passenger and freight vehicles on O?ahu. That's under the most ambitious scenario in an article published in World Electric Vehicle Journal. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
A biological fireworks show 300 million years in the making
(DOE/Argonne National Laboratory) Scientists using the Advanced Photon Source have determined that amphibian eggs release showers of zinc upon fertilization, just like mammalian eggs. This research could have implications for human fertility studies. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Scientists show the importance of contact with nature in the city during the lockdown
(RUDN University) The measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic limited the access of citizens to natural objects. It is still unexplored, what consequences this had for the residents and what conclusions should be drawn for more effective urban planning. RUDN University scientists with colleagues from Australia and Germany studied how the restrictions associated with COVID-19 affected the use of blue and green infrastructure by citizens in Moscow (Russia) and Perth (Australia), and what consequences this had for their health. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
New method lets researchers rapidly monitor snow leopard stress levels in the wild
(British Ecological Society) A new method developed by a Kyoto University researcher is the first to allow users to analyse snow leopard stress hormones in the field. The findings are published in the British Ecological Society journal, Methods in Ecology and Evolution. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 7, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Secret to weathering climate change lies at our feet
(University of Massachusetts Amherst) Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently discovered that the ability of agricultural grasses to withstand drought is directly related to the health of the microbial community living on their stems, leaves and seeds. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 6, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Methane in the plumes of Saturn's moon Enceladus: Possible signs of life?
(University of Arizona) A study published in Nature Astronomy concludes that known geochemical processes can't explain the levels of methane measured by the Cassini spacecraft on Saturn's icy moon. While the paper by no means suggests that life exists on Enceladus, the results would be consistent with microbial activity similar to that known to occur at hydrothermal vents in Earth's oceans. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 6, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
