astrobiology
Exoplanet apparently disappears in latest Hubble observations
What scientists thought was a planet beyond our solar system has 'vanished.' Though this happens to sci-fi worlds (like Superman's home planet Krypton exploding or the Death Star's attack on Alderaan), scientists seek a plausible explanation. One interpretation: instead of a planet, it could be a dust cloud produced by two large bodies colliding.
evolution
Promiscuity in the Paleozoic: Researchers uncover clues about vertebrate evolution
By looking at the DNA of living animals, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, alongside an international team of collaborators, have revealed early events in vertebrate evolution, including how jawed vertebrates arose from the mating of two different species of primitive fish half a billion years ago.
Oak genomics proves its worth
A landmark 10 article collection published in the April 16 issue of New Phytologist helps clarify the evolution of oaks and identify key genes involved in oak adaptation to environmental transitions and resistance to pathogens. It also addresses the implications and history of oak hybridization, and traces genomic evidence for an estimated 56 million years of oak evolution.
ecology
Spores, please!
Black poplar leaves infected by fungi are especially susceptible to attack by gypsy moth caterpillars. A research team at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology found that young larvae that fed on leaves covered with fungal spores grew faster and pupated earlier than those feeding only on leaf tissue. The results shed new light on the co-evolution of plants and insects, in which microorganisms play a much greater role than previously assumed.
A gypsy moth caterpillar (Lymantria dispar) relishing the spores of Melampsora larici-populina a rust fungus that has spread on a poplar leaf. The new study shows that the insect is not only herbivorous, but also fungivorous, that is, likes to feed on nutrient-rich fungi.
Credit: Franziska Eberl, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Rare video captures humpback whale nursing behaviors in UH Mānoa research
Ants restore Mediterranean dry grasslands
A new mouse of the Peromyscus maniculatus species complex (Cricetidae) from the highlands of central Mexico
Researchers analysed specimens collected in 1968 using both molecular and morphological criteria and concluded they represent a new rodent species. (Link to the abstract provided by the authors.)
nanoworld
Self-aligning microscope smashes limits of super-resolution microscopy
Scientists uncover principles of universal self-assembly
biomedical
Cost-effective canopy protects health workers from COVID infection during ventilation
I imagine this could be important - with all the breathing support given, there must be a considerable risk of viruses being blown around ...
Diagnostic biosensor quickly detects SARS-CoV-2 from nasopharyngeal swabs
Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed a field-effect transistor-based biosensor that detects SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swabs from patients with COVID-19, in less than one minute.
This could definitely become very important.
Corona and air pollution: How does nitrogen dioxide impact fatalities?
food and drink
Chocolate 'fingerprints' could confirm label claims
The flavor and aroma of a fine chocolate emerge from its ecology, in addition to its processing. But can you be certain that the bar you bought is really from the exotic locale stated on the wrapper? Now, researchers are presenting a method for determining where a particular chocolate was produced by looking at its chemical 'fingerprint.'
As a parent, I am thinking that "chocolate fingerprints" may be creatiing the wrong impression ...
sustainability
Faster-degrading plastic could promise cleaner seas
To address plastic pollution plaguing the world's seas and waterways, Cornell University chemists have developed a new polymer that can degrade by ultraviolet radiation,
Aquaculture at the crossroads of global warming and antimicrobial resistance
humans
Origins of human language pathway in the brain at least 25 million years old
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