A rhythmic small intestinal microbiome prevents obesity and type 2 diabetes
An estimated 500 to 1,000 bacterial species reside in each person’s gut, perhaps numbering 100,000 trillion microorganisms. In a new paper, published July 5, 2022 in Cell Reports, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine used mouse models to explore how diet and feeding patterns affect these intestinal microbes — and the […]
Invasive species are taking over some American forests: A plant survey finds dozens of nonnative invasive species thriving in Ohio
A new botanical survey of southwest Ohio found that invasive species introduced to the United States over the past century are crowding out many native plants. Biologists from the University of Cincinnati are retracing two exhaustive surveys conducted 100 years apart to see how the Queen City’s plant diversity has changed over the past two […]
Invasive species and climate change impact coastal estuaries: Biological invasions interact with changing climate in unpredictable ways
Native species in California’s estuaries are expected to experience greater declines as invasive species interact with climate change, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The study, published in the Ecological Society of America’s journal, Ecology, said these declines are expected not only because of climate-related stressors, but also because of the […]
Genes can affect our nutrient tolerance
Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are essential nutrients to all animals. Yet dietary variation between species, populations and individuals can vary dramatically. In an international collaborative study, researchers from Australia, Denmark and Finland investigated how individuals of a same population differ in their ability to survive on various diets. The researchers utilised a genetic reference panel […]
Dynamic rivers contributed to Amazon’s rich bird diversity: Genome-based study also finds new bird species at high risk of imminent extinction
One of the most contentious questions in evolutionary biology is, how did the Amazon become so rich in species? A new study focused on birds examines how the movements of rivers in the Amazon have contributed to that area’s exceptional biological diversity. The research team, led by the American Museum of Natural History, found that […]
Advances in street lighting are reducing the efficacy of coastal species’ camouflage
Species that rely on darkness to forage and feed are losing the gift of camouflage thanks to advances in the lighting used to illuminate the world’s cities and coastlines, a study has shown. The worldwide proliferation of energy efficient broad spectrum lighting has the potential to disrupt an array of visually guided ecological processes. New […]
Enhanced statistical models will aid conservation of killer whales and other species
Ecologists need to understand wild animal behaviours in order to conserve species, but following animals around can be expensive, dangerous, or sometimes impossible in the case of animals that move underwater or into areas we can’t reach easily. Scientists turned to the next best thing: bio-logging devices that can be attached to animals and capture […]
New study overturns popular theory on evolution of termite size
Researchers have completed a comprehensive analysis of the head width of over 1500 species of termites and determined that their size isn’t gradually shrinking at a geological timescale. Termites belong to the cockroach branch of the evolutionary tree. They split from their sister cockroach group at the end of the Jurassic period, around 150 to […]
A step toward ‘living biotherapeutics’: Chemical engineers have created a coating for microbes that could make it easier to deploy the organisms to treat gastrointestinal disease
The human gut is home to thousands of species of bacteria, and some of those bacteria have the potential to treat a variety of gastrointestinal diseases. Some species may help to combat colon cancer, while others could help treat or prevent infections such as C. difficile. One of the obstacles to developing these “living biotherapeutics” […]
Crayfish and carp among the invasive species pushing lakes towards ecosystem collapse
Certain invasive, non-native species can disrupt lakes to the point of rapid ecosystem collapse, contaminating water for drinking, aquaculture and recreation, a new study has found. Human activity and climate change are causing invasive non-native species to spread rapidly across the globe. Researchers have found that certain invasive species can push lake ecosystems beyond a […]