If you ever find yourself in the time of dinosaurs, avoid touching flowers—they might be parasitic wasps in disguise. A study of wasps trapped in amber reveals that these insects ensnared hosts for their larvae using a Venus flytrap-like appendage.
Artistic rendering of cellulose regenerating on a plant protoplast cell surface with zoomed out view. Cellulose is synthesized by plasma membrane-bound enzyme complexes (green) and assembles into a microfibril network (brown), forming the main scaffold for the cell wall. Credit: Ehsan Faridi/ Inmywork Studio/ Chundawat, Lee and Lam LabsIn a pioneering study on cellulose...
Credit: DepositphotosWhy do we have difficulty recalling specific events from the early years when our brains were working hard to learn so much? A new study from Yale reveals that babies do indeed form memories, but they may not be able to retrieve them.Infantile Amnesia and Its CausesWhen trying to recall your earliest memory,...
Water droplets with different charges could trigger "microlightning" strikes that kickstarted life on EarthDepositphotosDr. Frankenstein may not have needed a lightning bolt to spark life after all. A new Stanford study suggests that constant "microlightning" between water droplets could have provided the jolt that jumpstarted life on Earth.One of the biggest mysteries in evolution...
Scientists have managed to convert mouse skin cells directly into motor neurons, skipping the usual step of stem cells in betweenDepositphotosMIT scientists have made a significant breakthrough in regenerative medicine by developing a highly efficient method to convert skin cells directly into brain cells, eliminating the need for an intermediate stem cell stage.Traditionally, generating...
Credit: PixabayEye injuries that damage the cornea often lead to permanent blindness, with few treatment options available. However, a new clinical trial has successfully restored vision in patients by transplanting stem cells from their healthy eyes.The cornea, the eye’s outermost layer, plays a crucial role in focusing light toward the retina. Because it constantly...
Credit: PixabayWhen people think of motors, they typically envision those in vehicles or machines. However, biological motors have existed for millions of years, especially in microorganisms. Many bacteria rely on tail-like structures called flagella, which rotate to propel them through fluids. This movement is powered by a protein complex known as the flagellar motor.The...
Credit: PixabayUniversity of Oregon researchers have discovered a sex chromosome in the California two-spot octopus that likely dates back 480 million years—long before octopuses and nautiluses diverged. This makes it one of the oldest known animal sex chromosomes.The finding confirms that octopuses and other cephalopods, including squid and nautiluses, use chromosomes to determine sex,...
Marsupials, like kangaroos, give birth to premature offspring that then develop in the mother's pouchDepositphotosFor the first time, scientists have successfully created kangaroo embryos using in-vitro fertilization (IVF), marking a significant breakthrough in efforts to replicate this process across hundreds of marsupial species increasingly at risk of extinction.A research team from the University of...
Credit: PixabaySalmonella is commonly associated with contaminated food or water, but a new study reveals pet dogs might also be significant carriers of this bacteria. Researchers from Pennsylvania State University (PSU) found that dogs, even when asymptomatic, can transmit nontyphoidal, antibiotic-resistant Salmonella to humans. This discovery highlights the close relationship between humans and their...
