Plant protection: Communication instead of poison
(Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) ) Increasing drought and heat seriously affect plants. In the Upper Rhine area, for example, climate change results in the development of new plant diseases, an example being Esca, a disease that causes vines to die. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and partners have now launched the DialogProTec project that focuses on new approaches to plant protection without herbicides and fungicides. In collaboration with colleagues from Germany, France, and Switzerland, the researchers are conducting research in dialog with winegrowers, farmers, and industry.
First complete German shepherd DNA offers new tool to fight disease
(University of New South Wales) The DNA sequencing of a healthy German shepherd offers scientists new insight into the evolution of the domestic dog while also enabling dogs to be screened for hip and other diseases much more accurately.
Your life story may be written in your teeth
A new study suggests our teeth reveal a lot more about us than just how often we brush. In fact, our teeth may dutifully record any experience that’s made a meaningful impact in our lives, from divorce to disease to…
When warblers warn of cowbirds, blackbirds get the message
(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau) This is the story of three bird species and how they interact. The brown-headed cowbird lays its eggs in other birds’ nests and lets them raise its young — often at the expense of the host’s nestlings. To combat this threat, yellow warblers have developed a special ‘seet’ call that means, ‘Look out! Cowbird!’ In a new study, researchers report that red-winged blackbirds respond to the seet call as if they know what it means.
Sturgeon genome sequenced
Sturgeons lived on earth already 300 million years ago and yet their external appearance seems to have undergone very little change. A team of researchers has now succeeded in sequencing their genome, delivering a missing piece of the puzzle essential to understanding the ancestry of vertebrates.
Was this the ancestor of all animals?
Geologists say the worm-like creature – about the size of a grain of rice – is the 1st ancestor on the family tree that contains most animals today, including humans.
Water pressure: Ancient aquatic crocs evolved, enlarged to avoid freezing
(University of Nebraska-Lincoln) Ancient crocodilian ancestors that abandoned land for water nearly 200 million years ago supposedly got larger because they were released from the constraints of gravity, territory and diet. But a new study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Will Gearty suggests that the upper bounds of size in aquatic vs. landlocked crocs were similar — and that smaller aquatic species got larger mostly to avoid freezing in the frigid, heat-stealing depths.
Quasar tsunamis rip across galaxies
Astronomers using the Hubble Telescope found that the region around a quasar’s black hole pushes out material at a few percent the speed of light. These quasar tsunamis wreak havoc on the galaxies in which the quasars live.
Ancient 4-limbed fish reveals origin of human hand
The origin of digits in land vertebrates is hotly debated, but a new study suggests that human hands likely evolved from the fins of the Elpistostege, a fish that lived more than 380-million-years ago.
Quantum phenomenon governs organic solar cells
(Linköping University) Researchers at Linköping University have discovered a quantum phenomenon that influences the formation of free charges in organic solar cells. ‘If we can properly understand what’s going on, we can increase the efficiency’, says Olle Inganäs, professor emeritus.
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