Termites need certain gut bacteria to digest wood. Aphids require the bacteria Buchnera to provide essential amino acids. Many microbes affect host traits related to survival and reproduction. But how exactly the microbiome might shape evolution is a mystery. The … Continue reading
Journal Club
Highlighting recent, timely papers selected by Academy member labs
A guidebook to incorporate changing human behaviors into planetary models
Humanity is now a geological force. Industries belch greenhouse gases into the sky; dams reroute waterways. People are changing major planetary cycles in the atmosphere, cryosphere, and ocean. These complex, multi-faceted effects have feedbacks that, in turn, affect society. And … Continue reading
Stem cell niche within plant callus tissue drives organ regeneration
Proper plant growth in tissue culture experiments typically depends on one crucial step: the plant’s ability to form a clump of pluripotent cells that can then regenerate root, stem, and other organs. This cluster of cells, known as a callus, … Continue reading
Jellyfish species proves its mettle as a neurobiology model organism
Aquaria at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena bustle with tiny translucent jellyfish, adrift like dust motes in a sunbeam, rhythmically pulsing with long tentacles in tow. They’re beautiful—they may also be an important tool for neurobiologists. According to … Continue reading
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Often when it comes to disease, the sexes are not equal. Dementia, chronic kidney disease, and many other conditions disproportionately affect one sex or another. Heart disease is a complex case: Males are more likely to suffer heart attacks at … Continue reading
To find zoonotic viruses, researchers seek genomic signatures of virus adaptations to hosts
In light of the ongoing pandemic, researchers have stepped up efforts to identify new zoonotic threats—viruses that could make the leap from animals to humans and cause future epidemics. Studies aiming to identify such viruses often focus on a novel … GERMANY DDR LEIPZIG COVER 1950
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Unpredictable environments can help explain the evolution of cooperative behavior, according to a decade-long study of birds in the Kalahari Desert. The research showed that white-browed sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser mahali) work to raise the offspring of other birds as a strategy … Continue reading