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Anti-odor coating is no washout
For the first time, researchers have found a cost-effective and convenient way to apply a silver-based antimicrobial clear coating to new or existing textiles. Their method uses polyphenols, commonly found in food items notorious for staining clothes such as wine and chocolate. A range of textile types can be treated by the researchers’ method, and…
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Viral proteins join forces to lower plants’ defense ‘shields’
New research into how viral proteins interact and can be disabled holds promise to help plants defend themselves against viruses — and ultimately prevent crop losses. The study found that viral proteins interact with each other to help a virus hijack its host plant and complete its life cycle. When some of these viral proteins…
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Algae growing on dead coral could paint a falsely rosy portrait of reef health
Algae colonizing dead coral are upending scientists’ ability to accurately assess the health of a coral reef community, according to new work from a team of marine science experts. Corals are marine invertebrates that build tiny exoskeletons, which accumulate to form giant coral reefs. Widely appreciated for their beauty, these reefs are havens for biodiversity…
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BioCro software for growing virtual crops improved
A team has revamped the popular crop growth simulation software BioCro, making it a more user-friendly and efficient way to predict crop yield. The updated version, BioCro II, allows modelers to use the technology much more easily and includes faster and more accurate algorithms. «In the original BioCro, all the math that the modelers were…
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Lightning strikes played a vital role in life’s origins on Earth
Lightning strikes were just as important as meteorites in creating the perfect conditions for life to emerge on Earth, according to new research. This shows that life could develop on Earth-like planets through the same mechanism at any time if atmospheric conditions are right. Minerals delivered to Earth in meteorites more than 4 billion years…
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New stem cell therapy in dogs — a breakthrough in veterinary medicine
Scientists have developed a novel method to induce stem cell generation from the blood samples of dogs. Through this technique, the scientists hope to advance regenerative therapies in veterinary medicine. This would mean that, in the near future, veterinarians might be able to reverse conditions in dogs that were previously thought incurable. In humans, modern…
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White clovers toxic tricks traced to its hybridization
The common weed known as white clover releases toxic cyanide when its leaf tissues are damaged. This chemical defense, a response called cyanogenesis, helps it to deter insect pests. Research shows how white clover developed its anti-herbivory superpower with input from both of its seemingly innocuous parents. The family history of white clover (Trifolium repens)…
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Punishment enforces ‘cooperation’ in the fig-wasp mutualism: The exception proves the rule
Mutually beneficial relationships are common, but what happens when one partner stops enforcing the other’s good behavior? An exception to the usual relationship between figs and their pollinator-wasps, may hold the answer. The finely-tuned relationship between many different species of fig trees and their wasps took shape between 70 and 90 million years ago: a…
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Hidden DNA fragment the ‘trigger switch’ for male development
Biology textbooks may need to be re-written, with scientists finding a new piece of DNA essential to forming male sex organs in mice. An international research collaboration with The University of Queensland found the Y-chromosome gene that makes mice male is made up of two different DNA parts, not one, as scientists had previously assumed.…
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The hidden dance of roots revealed
New time-lapse videos capture something that’s too slow for our eyes to see: the growing tips of plant roots make corkscrew-like motions, waggling and winding in a helical path as they burrow into the soil. By using time-lapse footage, along with a root-like robot to test ideas, researchers have gained new insights into how and…