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Lab Notes

Short stories and links shared by the scientists in our community

Whiteflies evolved to disarm plants’ defenses with sugar

This adaptive sugarcoating means trouble for agriculture

Prayan Pokharel

Entomology

University of Hohenheim

Sabre-toothed carnivores killed many types of prey in many ways

New study reveals richer diversity among these convergently evolved predators than previously thought

Hector Tejero

Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Barcelona

Killing germs with slime bacteria M. llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochensis

The very real soil microbe uses chemistry to hunt other microbes

Dori Grijseels

Neuroscience

University of Sussex

When scientists discover a new species, they are allowed to make up its binomial (Latin) name. This results in interesting names, like Scaptia beyonceae, a horse fly that was named after Beyonce, or Laboulbenia quarantenae, which got its name because it was discovered during quarantine. Scientists from Aberystwyth University in Wales, UK, decided to keep it simple and name one of the species of myxobacteria after where they found it. The only problem: it was found in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, giving this species the name Myxococcus llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochensis.

Myxobacteria are slime bacteria that mostly live in the soil and have particularly large genomes. By studying those genomes found in soil samples, David Whitworth and his team identified five new species. These species are interesting because they create many different chemicals, including some that hunt other microorganisms, which are potential antibiotics. 

In their study published in Genome Biology and Evolution, the scientists searched the genome of the myxobacteria for gene clusters producing and found that more than two-thirds of them were new gene clusters that had not been found before. This makes these species great candidates for finding new bioactive components that can be used to create new drugs and other useful substances.

The scientists named another one of the species they found after its location: Pyxidicoccus caerfyrddinensis, which was found in Caerfyrddin. The other three species got the names M. vastator (meaning ‘ravager’), M. eversor (meaning ‘destroyer’), and P. trucidator (meaning ‘slaughterer’), named for their hunting abilities. All pretty badass names, if you ask me!

Stress hormones and mitochondrial health determine who will lose muscle after surgery

New research uncovers the cellular and genetic risk factors of post-surgery muscle loss

Luke Whitcomb

Physiology and Biomedical Sciences

Colorado State University

Worms and germs in ancient poop tell us about past human health

DNA from centuries-old toilet scrapings can help us today

Farah Qaiser

Molecular Genetics

University of Toronto

Microscopic physical forces shape developing embryos

Research in African clawed frogs shows the importance of mechanical cues in early development

Raj Rajeshwar Malinda

Cell Biology and Developmental Biology

In animals, early developmental events are complex processes crucial for an individual to live a healthy life. Biological factors such as genetics and protein production are known cues that are important for embryonic development, but still not enough to trigger every step. 

Recently researchers at the National Institute for Basic Biology in Japan published a study demonstrating how mechanical cues — physical forces acting on dividing cells and developing tissues — influence early developmental processes in animals. Using the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) as a model organism, they showed that as the shapes of tissues change from forces like stretching and pulling, chemical signals cascade through the frog’s embryo and help it develop. This healthy development makes the tissues more resilient and prevents them from becoming deformed during later stages of development, highlighting the primary importance of mechanical cues in embryonic development.

Viruses can ‘spill back’ into wildlife populations, increasing the risk of disease in humans

Using yellow fever as a case study, researchers examined whether chikungunya, Zika, and dengue could become established in the Neotropics

Alejandro Rossi

Biology

Universidad Nacional de Córdoba

As the COVID-19 pandemic has made very clear, viral spillover from animal hosts to humans is a serious threat. However, viruses are also capable of spilling back into wildlife from humans, establishing reservoir populations in wildlife in new geographic regions. This idea of “spillback” is also an important aspect for scientists to study in our efforts to prevent pandemics.

A paper recently published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases looked at viral spillback in the Neotropics—Central and South America, as well as Mexico and the Caribbean. They used yellow fever as a case study, as it has spilled back and established a persistent enzootic reservoir in primates and mosquitoes. They wanted to understand what ecological factors may cause other viruses to do the same. They highlight the endemic circulation of the chikungunya, dengue, and Zika viruses as other points of concern for South American countries. All of these are spread by mosquitos and have primate hosts.

The researchers used mathematical modelling to explore how a spillback event could play out. Parameters such as the virus’ extrinsic incubation period, mosquito lifespan, and primate population size, predicted the effects a single infected primate might have in creating an enzootic reservoir. Evidence showed that given the right conditions, spillback events can occur and the chikungunya, dengue, and Zika viruses could establish persistent reservoirs in the Neotropics. This possibility is of great concern to epidemiologists, given the danger of these four mosquito-borne viruses to humans.

A captive breeding program taught Puerto Rican parrots to “speak” differently

The new dialect may now complicate their conservation

Enzo M. R. Reyes

Conservation Biology

Massey University

Parrots are one of the most diverse groups of birds and can be found across the tropics. Aside from their colorful beauty, parrots are also popular due to their intelligence and ability to mimic different sounds, including human language. 

But it is this popularity with humans that threaten wild parrot species. This is the case with the Puerto Rican parrot, a critically endangered species whose fate depends mainly on the efforts of captive breeding programs and reintroductions.

The Puerto Rican parrot has been a focus for conservationists since the 1970s when a captive breeding program began. Since then, several captive parrots have been reintroduced to the wild. During the early stages of the program, due to the small number of adult Puerto Rican parrots, conservationists used Hispaniolan parrots to help raise the chicks. 

Now decades later, scientists have shown that this likely led to a new dialect of parrot calls in the captive breeding population. This turned out to be a pesky problem. Since the captive birds communicate differently than the wild ones, the process of reintroduction might be harder. 

Although geographic differences in vocalizations and dialects across populations are common in the wild, this is the first time that researchers found the development of a new dialect linked to conservation practices. Now, conservationists are exposing the captive-bred population to the vocalizations of wild birds with the goal of familiarizing the captively-bred parrots with the dialects of wild populations. 

Rodent fathers suggest dopamine is key to an neuroscience of parenting

A new study shines light (literally) on the brain chemistry of paternal behavior

Laura Haetzel

Neuroscience

UC Berkeley

Iberian lynx eat more species of prey than previously thought

This big cat has recovered from the brink of extinction over the past 20 years

Luis Manuel Fernandez Porras

Conservation Biology

Canadian Organization for Tropical Education and Rainforest Conservation

Marine sponges are coral reefs’ great recyclers

Sponges eat the “marine snow” that falls from other organisms in the ocean

Sarah Heidmann

Fish Ecology

University of the Virgin Islands

There are many threats to tropical coral reefs. For example, in addition to climate change, corals are susceptible to being smothered by sedimentation, and fishes are being extracted faster than they can reproduce. But these are not the only types of life on a reef.

Marine sponges, which are typically overlooked by recreational divers attracted to the colorful and active fish and to the corals that form massive bioengineered structures, play a key role in coral reef ecosystems through nutrient cycling. A paper recently published in the ISME Journal has determined the mechanism by which marine sponges consume and digest dissolved organic matter, or DOM. 

Just as dust in your home comes in part from dead skin, DOM  (sometimes called “marine snow”) is bits of carbon sloughed off of various ocean-dwelling organisms. Sponges filter these particles out of the water, using it as one of their main food sources while cleaning the water for more sensitive organisms like coral.

The predominant opinion used to be that DOM processing is performed by bacteria acting as symbionts, but this study found it also occurs in the cells of the sponge itself, with ratio of sponge versus symbiont processing varying across species and environments. This strategy of recycling has allowed sponges to exist for over 600 million years without large changes in their approach to life. 

Your antidepressants could affect color-changing shrimp

The jury is still out for the shrimp, but our medications do affect water-dwelling wildlife

Rafe Cotton

Marine Biology

Testing for lesser known antibodies produces a better COVID-19 test

Most antibody tests look for responses to SARS-CoV-2′s spike protein, but more accurate results include antibodies against the virus’s other proteins

Kialani Mackey

Biology

Occidental College

Flash droughts are a new type of extreme weather event

Scientists are figuring out how to pinpoint the onset of a flash drought

Jack Hawley

Oceanography

Humboldt State University

Eating a high-fat diet could change your brain for the worse

Research in mice shows how fatty foods alter the brain’s response to healthy foods

Samuel J Walker

Neuroscience

Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Scientists identify a powerful anti-inflammatory compound in psychedelic drugs

The compound, called 2 C-H, reduces inflammation without mind-altering effects

Milena Marinković

Neurobiology

University of Exeter

Keystone predators could help mitigate the effects of climate change

Sea otters keep Aleutian kelp forests healthy

Ashley Marranzino

Marine Biology

University of Rhode Island

Daisy Shearer

Experimental Quantum Physics

University of Surrey

Noisy, high-speed recreation disturbs sensitive wildlife

Camera traps in British Columbia show that mountain biking and ATVs affect wildlife more than hiking or horseback riding

Researchers have reversed Parkinson’s disease in mice

Infecting astrocytes with a virus made them develop into neurons

Ellie Tanimura

Neurobiology

Golden-collared manakins change choreography when the environment shifts

These bright yellow birds have elaborate courtship dances. Can they learn to do them differently?

Sukanya Ramani

Animal Behavior and Evolutionary Biology

Prayoga Education Research Centre

What will dexamethasone do to President Trump?

The cognitive and immunological effects of steroids face a test at a critical point in Trump’s illness

Max G. Levy

Science and Health Journalism and Chemical Engineering

Female Barbary ground squirrels control their territory while males fly solo

New research uncovers the social lives of this African squirrel species

Jazmin Murphy

Ecology and Science Journalism

Working-class ants take the reins when the Indian jumping ant queen dies

This transition fundamentally changes their brains

Sree Rama Chaitanya

Molecular Biology

Some people’s immune systems control HIV infections without drugs

“Elite controllers” keep the deadly virus in check, and hide its DNA in a quiet section of the genome.

Hazel Walker

Immunology and Cell Biology

University of Cambridge