Caterpillars have far less bacteria and fungi inhabiting their gut than other animals and the microbes that inside them seem to lack any identifiable role, aside from occasionally causing disease.
Science
99324 posts
A bowl of salad contains more than vitamins and minerals. Plant matter also includes remnants of the hormones plants produce to control how they grow, age, and manage water intake. Recently, scientists have reported that our gut microbes and cells may respond to these hormones and even produce similar molecules […]
The discovery in lab mice that an ‘anti-sense’ RNA is expressed after nerve injury to regulate the repair of damage to the nerve’s myelin coating could lead to a treatment that improves healing in people.
Scientists have filled a research gap by developing a laboratory model to study ticks that transmit flaviviruses, such as Powassan virus. Powassan virus was implicated in the death of a New York man earlier this year. The unusual model involves culturing organs taken from Ixodes scapularis ticks and then infecting […]
Less scatter neededGIPhotoStock/SPL By Lakshmi Supriya Adding a smattering of bacteria can help a laser beam travel further through murky water before it peters out. The finding could help us perform non-invasive medical diagnostics or image deep into tissue without causing any damage. The presence of particles in a liquid […]
Plate tectonics has shaped the Earth’s surface for billions of years: Continents and oceanic crust have pushed and pulled on each other, continually rearranging the planet’s façade. As two massive plates collide, one can give way and slide under the other in a process called subduction. The subducted slab then […]
Take a fish out of water and its stress hormones will go up. Adrenaline and noradrenaline, the ‘fight or flight’ hormones, peak first, followed more gradually by cortisol. A new study finds that largemouth bass whose cortisol levels rise most after a brief bout of stress are inherently harder to […]
SAN FRANCISCO — Helios Wire, a satellite-enabled Internet of Things startup led by former UrtheCast founder and chief executive Scott Larson, announced Aug. 21 that it closed a $4 million funding round. Helios Wire will use the money to pay for satellites to help customers track and communicate with billions […]