Life Sciences

400-million-year-old fish exposes big mistake in how we understood evolution
  1. Life Sciences

400-million-year-old fish exposes big mistake in how we understood evolution

The coelacanth is known as a “living fossil” because its anatomy has changed little in the last 65 million years. Despite being one of the most studied fish in history, it continues to reveal new information that could transform our understanding of vertebrate evolution. This is revealed in a study published in the journal Science […]
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Deep-sea fish just changed what we know about Earth’s carbon cycle
  1. Life Sciences

Deep-sea fish just changed what we know about Earth’s carbon cycle

A new study offers the first direct evidence that deep-dwelling mesopelagic fish, which account for up to 94 percent of global fish biomass, excrete carbonate minerals at rates comparable to shallow-water species. The findings validate previous global models suggesting that marine fish are major contributors to biogenic carbonate production in the ocean. Scientists at the […]
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83% of Earth’s climate-critical fungi are still unknown
  1. Life Sciences

83% of Earth’s climate-critical fungi are still unknown

Mycorrhizal fungi help regulate Earth’s climate and ecosystems by forming underground networks that provide plants with essential nutrients, while drawing carbon deep into soils. Scientists and conservationists have been racing to find ways to protect these underground fungi, but they keep finding dark taxa – species that are known only by their DNA sequences that […]
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From air to stone: The fig trees fighting climate change
  1. Life Sciences

From air to stone: The fig trees fighting climate change

Some species of fig trees store calcium carbonate in their trunks – essentially turning themselves (partially) into stone, new research has found. The team of Kenyan, U.S., Austrian, and Swiss scientists found that the trees could draw carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it as calcium carbonate ‘rocks’ in the surrounding soil. The […]
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How a lost gene gave the sea spider its bizarre, leggy body
  1. Life Sciences

How a lost gene gave the sea spider its bizarre, leggy body

An international collaboration featuring the University of Vienna and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) has led to the first-ever chromosome-level genome assembly of a sea spider (Pycnogonum litorale). The genome informs about the development of the characteristic sea spider body plan and constitutes a landmark for revealing the evolutionary history of chelicerates in general. The […]
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Fiji ant plant builds tiny condos that stop ant wars
  1. Life Sciences

Fiji ant plant builds tiny condos that stop ant wars

Odd plants from a remote Pacific island reveal new insights into an important ecological question: how unrelated and antagonistic partners can form long-term mutualistic relationships with the same host. Scientists studying ant plants in Fiji have discovered one way that a host plant can keep the peace among residents that might otherwise kill each other. […]
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This genetic breakthrough could help thousands of species cheat extinction
  1. Life Sciences

This genetic breakthrough could help thousands of species cheat extinction

Gene editing technologies — such as those used in agriculture and de-extinction projects — can be repurposed to offer what an international team of scientists is calling a transformative solution for restoring genetic diversity and saving endangered species. In a new Nature Reviews Biodiversity Perspective article published on July 18, the authors explore the promises, […]
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Teen bats are spawning new viruses—here’s why scientists are paying close attention
  1. Life Sciences

Teen bats are spawning new viruses—here’s why scientists are paying close attention

New research by the University of Sydney offers important insights into how and when new coronavirus variants arise in bats. Bats are beneficial to our ecosystems and economy but, as habitat destruction and environmental stressors put them in closer proximity to humans, disease risks can emerge. The research, published in Nature Communications on July 17, […]
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The heatwave that shattered ecosystems, starved whales, and drove fish north
  1. Life Sciences

The heatwave that shattered ecosystems, starved whales, and drove fish north

New research from the University of Victoria (UVic) highlights how marine heatwaves can dramatically impact marine ecosystems and offers a stark preview of how future ocean warming will reshape ocean life. From 2014 to 2016, the Pacific coast of North America experienced the longest marine heatwave ever recorded, with temperatures reaching two to six degrees […]
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Scientists recreate life’s first step: Linking amino acids to RNA

Scientists recreate life’s first step: Linking amino acids to RNA

Chemists at UCL have shown how two of biology’s most fundamental ingredients, RNA (ribonucleic acid) and amino acids, could have spontaneously joined together at the origin of life four billion years ago. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, the “workhorses” of life essential to nearly every living process. But proteins cannot replicate or […]
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