All Ecology & Evolution articles
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NewsNeanderthals may have used birch tar for its anti-bacterial properties
Scientists extracted tar from modern birch tree bark, specifically targeting species known from Neanderthal sites. When exposed to different strains of bacteria, all tar samples were found to be effective at hindering the growth of Staphylococcus bacteria known to cause wound infections.
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NewsFantastic fungi found with ability to freeze water
An international group of researchers has discovered the identity of fungal proteins that can catalyze ice formation at high subzero temperatures. One potential application of this discovery could be to engineer weather.
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NewsNew African species confirms evolutionary origin of magic mushrooms
A long-standing debate about the evolutionary origin of the world’s most widely cultivated ’magic mushroom’ – Psilocybe cubensis – may now have been settled. Scientists describe the discovery of a new species of magic mushroom from the grasslands of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
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NewsStudy investigates how microbes use ancient carbon
Researchers investigated a hydrothermal vent system at a depth of about ten meters off the coast of Kueishantao island in Taiwan. They tracked the path of this carbon in the surrounding sea and its uptake by microorganisms and other living things.
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NewsRecent pandemic viruses jumped to humans without prior adaptation, study finds
A large-scale evolutionary analysis shows most zoonotic viruses emerge without prior adaptation, while passing through a laboratory leaves detectable genetic signatures, offering a new tool to interpret outbreak origins.
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NewsDiversification of termite diets was made possible by genome modifications
Study reveals that evolutionary divergence occurred before ecological divergence, enabling these insects to feed on both wood and soil. Future discoveries may be applied to the production of biofuels.
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NewsA common CRISPR platform enables comparative studies of multicellularity in social amoebae
Researchers have established a CRISPR genome editing technique that enables comparative analysis of the evolution of multicellularity across different species of social amoebas (cellular slime molds). Until now, genetic studies had been largely restricted to a single model species.
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NewsA highly precise target for medications against tropical diseases
Researchers have discovered a critical vulnerability shared by the pathogens that cause African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis. The PEX38 protein plays a crucial role in the formation of certain organelles of the trypanosomes that are essential for their energy supply.
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NewsScientists uncover mechanism used by three bacteria-killing viruses to target transporter
Biochemists have homed in on an underexplored small transporter called MurJ that is a vital part of the pathway bacteria use to build their chain-mail-like cell wall. Using advanced tools, the scientists have determined the common mechanism used by three different bacteria-killing viruses to block MurJ from doing its job.
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NewsNovel structural insights into Phytophthora effectors challenge long-held assumptions in plant pathology
How do evolutionarily conserved pathogen effectors maintain structural stability while engaging diverse host targets? In a new study, researchers define a conserved subset of Phytophthora RxLR effectors in which short linear motifs (SLiMs) are embedded within folded WY domain cores.
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NewsA parasitic origin for the ribosome?
Scientists propose that the ribosome first emerged from a proto-ribosome, likely a viral parasite, which began by taking advantage of proto-cells, and ended up being incorporated into cells, at some time before the last universal common ancestor.
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NewsScientists home in on Acinetobacter baumannii’s resistance evolution
Scientists have found a way to understand how Acinetobacter baumannii is evolving - and how best to strategize a fight against it. They have produced a huge whole-genome look at the rise of this resistance, pointing the way to new strategies in staying ahead of the pathogen.
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NewsA break in a longstanding mystery about origin of complex life
One of our microbial ancestors was part of a group called the Asgard archaea, which today live primarily in the deep sea and other oxygen-free spaces. Now scientists have found that some Asgards use, or at least tolerate oxygen.
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NewsAncestral motif enables broad DNA binding by NIN, a master regulator of rhizobial symbiosis
Researchers investigated the molecular mechanisms whereby the transcription factor NODULE INCEPTION (NIN) - crucial for rhizobial symbiosis - can bind a broader spectrum of DNA sequences than its close homologs, using the legume Lotus japonicus (Miyakogusa) as a model system.
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NewsBacteria frozen in ancient underground ice cave found to be resistant against 10 modern antibiotics
Researchers tested antibiotic resistance profiles of a bacterial strain that until recently was hidden in a 5,000-year-old layer of ice of an underground ice cave – and found it could be an opportunity for developing new strategies to prevent the rise of antibiotic resistance.
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NewsScientists’ chemical breakthrough sheds light on origins of life
Researchers have discovered a tiny RNA molecule that could explain how life on Earth began. The findings reveal the team has identified a remarkably small ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecule, named QT45, that can copy itself and its complementary strand.
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NewsNext generation genetics technology developed to counter the rise of antibiotic resistance
The new Pro-Active Genetics (Pro-AG) tool called pPro-MobV is a second-generation technology that uses an approach similar to gene drives to disable drug resistance in populations of bacteria.
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NewsStudy reveals dual forces driving SARS-CoV-2 evolution: Immune pressure and viral fitness
New research clarifies the complex role of neutralizing antibodies in shaping disease outcomes and the evolution of SARS-CoV-2.
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NewsA rapid evolutionary process provides Sudanese Copts with resistance to malaria
An international study investigating the genomic diversity of the Sudanese population reveals that the Copts originating in Egypt –who settled in the country between the seventh and eleventh centuries– have acquired a genetic variant that protects them from contracting malaria.
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NewsHow bacteria learned to target numerous cell types, revealed
A new study shows how bacteria adapted a virus-derived injection system to recognize and attach to many different types of cells. By identifying thousands of rapidly evolving receptor-binding proteins, the researchers explain how these systems can be retargeted in nature by swapping the part that binds to cells.