UMD collaborates to improve pig muscle growth, implications for sustainability and health
(University of Maryland) The University of Maryland received collaborative funding to enhance efficiency of pork production through improved pig muscle growth. Little is known about how the benefits of early life nutrition can be passed from mother to child, and improved muscle growth means a healthier animal, less feed and waste, and a more sustainable pork industry. This work also has future applications beyond the pork industry to optimize human performance and treat wounded service members. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Virginia Tech scientists uncover how a molecule improves appearance of surgery scars
(Virginia Tech) In a new study, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC scientists discovered that the alphaCT1 molecule may help repair the skin's collagen matrix by altering how scar-forming cells behave. The findings were published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
A foot tumor and two tail fractures complicated the life of this hadrosaur
(FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology) When it was discovered in the 1980s in Argentina, this hadrosaur was diagnosed with a fractured foot. However, a new analysis now shows that this ornithopod commonly known as the duck-billed dinosaur actually had a tumour some 70 million years ago, as well as two painful fractures in the vertebrae of its tail, despite which, it managed to survive for some time. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
15,000-year-old viruses discovered in Tibetan glacier ice
(Ohio State University) Scientists who study glacier ice have found viruses nearly 15,000 years old in two ice samples taken from the Tibetan Plateau in China. Most of those viruses, which survived because they had remained frozen, are unlike any viruses that have been cataloged to date. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Fish friends help in a crisis
(Nova Southeastern University) To better understand how familiarity impacts social fishes, a group of research scientists studied this idea using schooling coral reef fish. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Machine learning models to help photovoltaic systems find their place in the sun
(Incheon National University) Although photovoltaic systems constitute a promising way of harnessing solar energy, power grid managers need to accurately predict their power output to schedule generation and maintenance operations efficiently. Scientists from Incheon National University, Korea, have developed a machine learning-based approach that can more accurately estimate the output of photovoltaic systems than similar algorithms, paving the way to a more sustainable society. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Enzyme-based plastics recycling is more energy efficient, better for environment
(DOE/National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Researchers in the BOTTLE Consortium, including from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Portsmouth, have identified using enzymes as a more sustainable approach for recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic in single-use beverage bottles, clothing, and food packaging that are becoming increasingly relevant in addressing the environmental challenge of plastic pollution. An analysis shows enzyme-recycled PET has potential improvement over conventional, fossil-based methods of PET production across a broad spectrum of energy, carb...
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Brain 'noise' keeps nerve connections young
(Ecole Polytechnique F é d é rale de Lausanne) EPFL researchers have found that a form of neuron-to-neuron communication that has long been dismissed as 'background noise' is required to keep nerve junctions intact as animals age. The finding suggests that defects in this type of neural communication could contribute to neurodegenerative disorders and other brain conditions. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
" Springing forward " affects early birds less than night owls, study finds
(Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan) Every spring, the Daylight Saving Time shift robs people of an hour of sleep - and a new study shows that DNA plays a role in how much the time change affects individuals. People whose genetic profile makes them more likely to be " early birds " can adjust to the time change in a few days. But those who tend to be " night owls " could take more than a week to get back on track. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Research shows microbes play critical role boosting vigor of hybrid corn
(University of Kansas) A news study in PNAS shows soil microbes boost " hybrid vigor, " a well-known phenomenon where crosses between inbred lines of corn and other crops produce offspring that outperform their parents in yield, drought resistance and other desirable qualities. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Using snakes to monitor Fukushima radiation
(University of Georgia) Ten years after one of the largest nuclear accidents in history spewed radioactive contamination over the landscape in Fukushima, Japan, a University of Georgia study has shown that radioactive contamination in the Fukushima Exclusion Zone can be measured through its resident snakes. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Muddied waters: Sinking organics alter seafloor records
(Washington University in St. Louis) The remains of microscopic plankton blooms in near-shore ocean environments slowly sink to the seafloor, setting off processes that forever alter an important record of Earth's history, according to research from geoscientists, including David Fike at Washington University in St. Louis. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Microbially produced fibers: Stronger than steel, tougher than Kevlar
(Washington University in St. Louis) A new fiber, made by genetically engineered bacteria in the lab of Fuzhong Zhang, is stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Tropical fly study shows that a mother's age and diet influences offspring health
(University of Bristol) The female tsetse fly, which gives birth to adult-sized live young, produce weaker offspring as they get older, and when they feed on poor quality blood. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Mycoplasma mobile moves into overdrive: Twin motor modified from ATP synthase discovered
(Osaka City University) Using electron microscopy and high-speed atomic force microscopy, researchers show the internal molecular motor behind the gliding mechanism for Mycoplasma mobile to consist of two ATP synthase-like molecules. Sharing a similar structure with ATP synthase suggests a common evolutionary ancestor. This synthase-like ATPase is challenging the origin of cells and proteins themselves. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - July 20, 2021 Category: Biology Source Type: news
