Washington Issues Warning Not to Eat Raw Shellfish After ‘Heat Dome’

Washington State health officials have urged consumers not to eat locally harvested raw oysters and other shellfish after an outbreak of intestinal disease caused by bacteria that multiplied rapidly after a recent “heat dome” baked the Pacific Northwest. State health…

Global warming may limit spread of dengue fever, new research finds – Penn State News

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Infection with dengue virus makes mosquitoes more sensitive to warmer temperatures, according to new research led by Penn State researchers. The team also found that infection with the bacterium Wolbachia, which has recently been used to…

Tiny organisms shed big light on ocean nutrients

(Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences) Sweeping changes in marine nutrients may seem to be a likely consequence of increasing global temperatures; however, new research suggests that processes below the ocean surface could play a larger role than previously thought.

Mycoplasma mobile moves into overdrive: Twin motor modified from ATP synthase discovered

(Osaka City University) Using electron microscopy and high-speed atomic force microscopy, researchers show the internal molecular motor behind the gliding mechanism for Mycoplasma mobile to consist of two ATP synthase-like molecules. Sharing a similar structure with ATP synthase suggests a common evolutionary ancestor. This synthase-like ATPase is challenging the origin of cells and proteins themselves.

Student Invents Toilet That Converts Poop into Energy – And Pays in Digital Currency if You Help to Fill it!

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, they say. Well, in a South Korean school, one man’s poo is another man’s pennies. The invention of a toilet that composts human excrement and turns it into methane biogas for use in the school’s energy system has the students there re-evaluating waste like never before, as the […]

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DNA duplication linked to the origin and evolution of pine trees and their relatives

(Florida Museum of Natural History) A new study shows that DNA duplication has been vitally important throughout the evolutionary history of gymnosperms, a diverse group of seed plants that includes pines, cypresses, sequoias, ginkgos and cycads.

Researchers surprised to find bacterial parasites behind rise of ‘super bugs’

(University of Pittsburgh) Contrary to popular belief, early bacterial evolution is not driven by random-point mutations.

Study examines the role of deep-sea microbial predators at hydrothermal vents

(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) The hydrothermal vent fluids from the Gorda Ridge spreading center in the northeast Pacific Ocean create a biological hub of activity in the deep sea. There, in the dark ocean, a unique food web thrives not on photosynthesis but rather on chemical energy from the venting fluids. Among the creatures having a field day feasting at the Gorda Ridge vents is a diverse assortment of microbial eukaryotes, or protists, that graze on chemosynthetic bacteria and archaea.

Farm robots are the future; let’s start preparing now, researcher argues

(Cell Press) No longer science fiction, farm robots are already here–and they have created two possible extremes for the future of agriculture and its impacts on the environment, argues agricultural economist Thomas Daum in a Science & Society article published July 13 in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.

DNA from 1,600-year-old Iranian sheep mummy brings history to life

(Trinity College Dublin) A team of geneticists and archaeologists from Ireland, France, Iran, Germany, and Austria has sequenced the DNA from a 1,600-year-old sheep mummy from an ancient Iranian salt mine, Chehrābād. This remarkable specimen has revealed sheep husbandry practices of the ancient Near East, as well as underlining how natural mummification can affect DNA degradation.