A moss sample helped investigators prove that cemetery workers had moved human remains and resold burial plots by revealing both the origin and age of the plant evidence. In 2009, authorities uncovered a major scandal at a cemetery near Chicago….
Category: 5. Biology
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The Clue That Solved a Graveyard Crime Was a Tiny Piece of Moss
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Milkweed evolves 'mind-blowing' tactic to fight monarchs
Milkweed has found a new strategy in its epic evolutionary battle with monarch butterflies: upgrading its toxins to outmaneuver the monarch’s resistance. In a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,…
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How a tryptophan-rich allosteric communication network helps activate a major drug target receptor
A multinational research team led by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo, RIKEN, and the University of Toronto has revealed how a tryptophan-rich allosteric communication network regulates receptor dynamics and activation of the human…
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Humans and animals have the same preference in mating calls, citizen science experiment finds
The bright colors of butterfly wings, the sweet aromas of flowers, and the euphonious melodies of songbirds all evolved as signals that help individuals propagate, yet humans also find these very same signals pleasing to their own senses.
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How an RNA-binding protein detects and responds to non-optimal codon usage in human cells
Human genes are written in long strings of three-letter units composed of four different nucleotides. These units—or codons—specify one of many amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Multiple codons can encode the same amino acid,…
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Even humans love a good mating call
It’s important to remember that we humans are simply animals. A very…
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Legalizing Cannabis Helps Lower Specific Crime Statistics
What connection does cannabis legalization have with crime rates? This is what a recent study published in Economic Modelling hopes to address as a team of researchers from the US and Taiwan investigated the…
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Microbial warfare helps bacteria evolve
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a main cause of bacterial pneumonia worldwide. It can also cause ear and sinus infections and, in more severe cases, meningitis or sepsis. It shares the human respiratory tract with many closely related bacterial…
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Changing leafcutter ants' food reshapes their microbial gardens, scientists find
A colony of leafcutter ants is home to more than just one species. Each year, studies reveal new layers of complexity in these ecosystems, where various fungi and bacteria thrive alongside the ants, resulting in countless interactions and the…
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Energy Depletion Dysregulates Antitumor Immunity
Cancer dysregulates the immune response to evade cell death and progress throughout the body. As tumors become established, they uptake nutrients and generate a low-oxygen environment, which limits nutrients…
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