All articles tagged with #biology
AI-powered cloud laboratories can autonomously design and run thousands of biological experiments, slashing costs and speeding protein design, but governance and safety measures have not kept pace. The technology raises dual-use concerns and potential misuse, prompting calls for stronger DNA screening, model evaluations, and coordinated international frameworks to manage AI-driven biology while preserving innovation.
Japanese researchers studying serial cloning in mice with the epigenetic modifier trichostatin A found that while many late-generation clones were healthy at birth, the lineage eventually hit a hard limit: by the 58th generation the clones survived for only a day. TSA boosted cloning success (about 5.4% at generation 51) compared with 1.6% without it, and over 1,200 clones were produced from a single donor. Each generation accumulated mutations (roughly 70 SNVs and 1.5 structural variants), and in some cases placental abnormalities were corrected in later offspring through sexual reproduction, suggesting that sexual reproduction helps purge deleterious mutations and that indefinite cloning remains biologically unfeasible for now.
A newly described hydrozoan jellyfish species off Japan keeps a self-sustained 20-hour cycle that governs sunset spawning, suggesting an alternate, non-traditional circadian mechanism that evolved without standard clock genes.
A 37-year study in Chesapeake Bay confirms that cannibalism by adult blue crabs is the main cause of death for juveniles, accounting for about 97% of injuries with over half lethal. Fish predation was negligible. Cannibalism varies with season and crab size—warmer months and smaller juveniles are most at risk—while crabs in shallower waters survive better. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, inform a stock-assessment model for sustainable management and highlight the need to protect juvenile shelters as climate-related changes threaten shallow, mid-salinity habitats.
Researchers identify a fungal protein from the Mortierellaceae family that triggers ice formation at about -2°C, offering a non-toxic alternative to silver iodide for cloud seeding and potential bioinspired freezing technologies, with evolutionary ties to bacterial ice nucleators.
Scientists are studying Earth’s longest-lived animals—such as a 507-year-old mollusk, Greenland sharks that outlive civilizations, and long-lived naked mole rats—to uncover the biology of longevity and aging, with the aim of translating these antiaging insights into healthier lifespans for humans.
A 58-year-old woman in Greece developed a rare nasal infestation with sheep bot fly larvae (Oestrus ovis). Doctors removed 10 maggots and a pupa from her maxillary sinus after she sneezed, and she recovered with nasal decongestants. This is the first reported case of a pupated O. ovis found in a human, a biologically unusual event that questions whether such infections could adapt to humans; more data are needed for understanding.
Time-resolved cryo-EM maps reveal multiple GTP-bound intermediate states for the NTSR1–Gi1 and NTSR1–G11 complexes, showing that receptor intracellular loops ICL2 and ICL3, along with G protein regions, shape subtype selectivity beyond nucleotide-free structures. Gi1 forms more stable intermediates and dissociates slower than G11, explaining differential signaling, and swapping ICL2/ICL3 between NTSR1 and MOR disrupts these intermediates and signaling, highlighting a dynamic, intermediate-state mechanism underlying GPCR–G protein coupling and selectivity.
A USC-led study analyzing data from more than 3,600 adults (56+) finds exposure to extreme heat, defined by heat index levels from the National Weather Service, accelerates biological aging as measured by epigenetic clocks. Participants in hot, humid regions showed up to about 14 extra months of aging, and clocks indicated 1–6 years of accelerated aging, with older adults at higher risk; findings underscore potential health and policy implications amid warming climates.
Scientists say stressed plants emit ultrasonic noises—clicks and pops inaudible to humans. A 2023 Cell study led by Lilach Hadany at Tel Aviv University found dehydrated tomato and tobacco plants averaged about 40 clicks per hour, with sounds detectable from over a meter away, suggesting a potential sound-based form of plant communication that could influence nearby insects and animals; cavitation is a likely source, though other mechanisms are being explored, along with how these sounds operate in natural environments.
A study summarized by SELF links persistent stress from people in your inner circle to faster biological aging: each “hassler” can accelerate aging markers by about 1.5% and make cells look roughly nine months older. Family and close friends have a stronger impact than spouses, and coping tips include setting boundaries, reframing reactions, expanding social networks, practicing stress-reduction techniques, and considering limiting contact with toxic relationships to protect overall health.
New high-speed imaging and modeling show the nuclear pore’s center is a dynamic, disorder‑driven environment where FG‑nucleoporins and transport proteins form a moving central plug; this flexible 'virtual gate' controls which molecules enter the nucleus, challenging the idea of a static gel and linking pore dysfunction to disease, with implications for drug delivery.
A large-scale structural analysis of 936 Asgard archaeal genomes using ColabFold and protein language models identified 1,319 novel isomorphic ESPs (iESPs) and organized them into 908 structural clusters, greatly expanding the repertoire of eukaryotic-like proteins in Asgard archaea. The iESPs are enriched in information storage/processing and cellular signaling, including components related to the vault (MVP) and Commander (COMMD) complexes, suggesting a higher degree of eukaryote-like cellular complexity in the archaeal ancestor of eukaryotes. The study also reveals patchy distributions and emphasizes that structural similarity, not just sequence similarity, drives annotation, highlighting the value of structure-based approaches for tracing deep evolutionary connections. The findings support a more nuanced view of eukaryogenesis and provide a methodological blueprint for uncovering distant homologues in non-model organisms.
Adam Weymouth reviews On the Origin of Sex by Lixing Sun, arguing that sex evolved to repair DNA and shuffle genes, helping prevent mutation buildup and fueling biodiversity; the piece surveys varied sex strategies across life—from aphids to clownfish—and cautions that human sexuality sits at the intersection of biology, culture and ethics, not biology alone.
Researchers show Choanoeca flexa forms multicellular sheets clonally, via aggregation, or through a mix—clonal-aggregative multicellularity—driven by evaporation–refilling salinity cycles in Curaçao splash pools. Low salinity supports both cell division and aggregation to build sheets, while hypersalinity triggers dissociation into desiccation‑resistant cysts that can rehydrate into sheets. Aggregation is active, requires living cells, and exhibits kin recognition and species specificity; density and salinity shift the balance between clonal and aggregative modes. Genomic analyses identify candidate kin‑recognition loci. Together, the findings reveal a flexible, environmentally entrained route to multicellularity, expanding our understanding of choanoflagellate biology and potential premetazoan life histories.