Enzymes and other chemical reagents are crucial for all sorts of life sciences research. Typically, they’re produced in industrial processes by modified bacteria; then they’re extracted and purified. But scientists in many parts of the world struggle to access such … Continue reading
Journal Club
Highlighting recent, timely papers selected by Academy member labs
Category Archives: Journal Club
Easily made, robust chemical reagents could be game changer for developing world science
Categories: Biochemistry | Cell Biology | Journal Club | Medical Sciences
Tagged cell-free biology, COVID-19, developing world, PCR, reagents
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A popular household fern may be the first known eusocial plant
Staghorn ferns are popular houseplants, sporting long, antler-like fronds that poke out from a brown, tissue-papery base. They may also be the first known example of a plant that exhibits a type of social organization—that is, the first plant thought … Continue reading
Categories: Ecology | Evolution | Journal Club
Tagged behavioral ecology, eusociality, social behavior, social insects, staghorn fern, tropical dry forest
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Newly observed forces help geckos stick to surfaces
Even the most advanced glues can’t match the remarkable toe of the gecko: Its impressive stickiness can be quickly deactivated and can support much more than the animal’s weight as it runs across surfaces smooth or rough, wet or dry, … Continue reading
Categories: Animal Behavior | Applied Biological Sciences | Chemistry | Journal Club
Tagged acid-base interactions, chemical bond, gecko, van der Waals
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Atlas identifies genome regions that regulate plant cell identity
Zoom in on the leaf of a corn plant, and you’ll find a patchwork of about 20 different cell types. A recent study, published in Cell, provides an atlas of critical genomic regions that control cell identity in six different … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Genetics | Journal Club
Tagged corn, genome, plant biology, plant cell, protein binding, transcription
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Transgenic switchgrass cleans up contamination from military explosives
At military sites in the United States and across the globe, routine live-fire trainings produce a downpour of an explosive known as RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine). A synthetic chemical, RDX can threaten human health, damaging the nervous system if inhaled or ingested. … Continue reading
Categories: Chemistry | Genetics | Journal Club | Plant Biology
Tagged Arabidopsis, GMO, phytoremediation, RDX, switchgrass
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Gossip drives social bonding and helps people learn
Oscar Wilde said the only thing worse than being talked about was not being talked about. Nevertheless, chit-chat about others has a dubious reputation. That’s unfair, say psychologists and social scientists, who argue that gossip is a useful communication tool, … Continue reading
Several brain regions help us anticipate what’s going to happen next
If you watch a movie clip on repeat, many areas of your brain begin to anticipate upcoming events onscreen, according to a recent study published in eLife. The first time you see the clip, your brain forms a distinctive neural … Continue reading
Categories: Journal Club | Neuroscience | Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
Tagged anticipation, brain, cognitive neuroscience, cortex, expectation, fMRI, hierarchy, memory, prediction, psychology
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Heavy water tastes sweeter
In the 1930s, scientists discovered a heavier form of water. So-called “heavy water” (D2O) weighs more because the nucleus of each of its two hydrogen atoms contains not just a proton but a neutron as well. Known as deuterium, heavy … Continue reading
Categories: Chemistry | Journal Club | Physiology
Tagged deuterium, heavy water, taste receptors
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Small, sharp blades mark the change from Middle to Later Stone Age in coastal Kenya
The transition between the Middle and Later Stone Age is a controversial topic among archeologists. Recent findings offer a possible answer, suggesting that the shift occurred between 67,000 and 71,000 years ago, and has as its hallmark a sudden abundance … Continue reading
Categories: Anthropology | Journal Club
Tagged archaeology, human evolution, Levallois cores, paleolithic, Panga ya Saidi, Prismatic blade, stone age, stone tools
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Venus flytrap mechanism could shed light on how plants sense touch
Labelled by Charles Darwin as a “most wonderful” plant, the Venus flytrap is more than a carnivorous curiosity. The rapid closing of its leaves when brushed by prey offers researchers a way to investigate how plants sense their environment through … Continue reading
Categories: Cell Biology | Journal Club | Plant Biology
Tagged calcium channel, FLYCATCHER1, ion channel, protein, sense of touch, venus flytrap
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Lab-cultured mouse embryos, grown for an extended period, offer a new window on fetal development
In a potential methods breakthrough, stem cell biologists grew mouse embryos for five-and-a-half days in vitro, longer than ever before. Appearing recently in Nature, the study unveils new protocols and equipment, including a temperature-and-pressure-controlled incubator that enabled the coauthors to … Continue reading
Categories: Developmental Biology | Journal Club
Tagged blastoid, embryos, fetal development, in vitro, mouse embryo, pre-implantation embryo, stem cell, Zika
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