Marine animals like jellyfish, corals and sea anemones often live with algae inside their cells in a symbiotic relationship. The animals give the algae nutrients and a place to live; in return, algae give the animals some of the food they make from sunlight via photosynthesis. While this food production seems great for the jellyfish, the algae can also change its host animal’s immunity, similar to the changes made by human pathogens, like parasites that cause malaria. This side effect of the partnership weakens the jellyfish’s immune system, making them worse at fighting off infections, according to a new study from researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington.

A research study led jointly by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s (RPI) Gaetano Montelione, Ph.D., Professor and Constellation Endowed Chair of Chemistry and Chemical Biology; and David Baker, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry, HHMI investigator, and the director of the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington School of Medicine; describes a systematic high-throughput design approach for virtual screening and creation of novel polypeptide-based molecules that form regular secondary structures that can be used in biology or materials science research. Baker was recently named a co-recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the emerging field of de novo protein design. 

Australian researchers have developed a new method for spotting plastic rubbish on our beaches and successfully field tested it on a remote stretch of coastline. 

The coupled electronic and nuclear motions within a single molecule are ubiquitous in physics and chemistry, which determine the dominant pathways of energy transfer and charge transfer processes in nearly all chemical reactions. Thus, probing coupled electron-nuclear dynamics on ultrafast time scales is essential not only for our understanding of numerous fundamental processes in physics and chemistry, but also for controlling chemical reactions at the molecular level.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (October 30, 2024) – The first-ever camera trap study of the Central Cardamom Mountains Landscape has recorded 108 species, 23 of which are listed at risk (Vulnerable or above) on the IUCN Red List, underscoring the significance of the region as a global stronghold for biodiversity and rare and threatened species.  

Editors please note:  Camera trap footage and the full report available

A new article published in PNAS reveals the unprecedented ability for reverse development in a ctenophore, also called comb jelly. The findings suggest that life cycle plasticity in animals might be more common than previously thought.

Researchers from Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, Shanghai Normal University, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, and University of Fribourg have identified genomic footprints of ecological adaptability in oaks. The research has provided a comprehensive perspective on the ecological adaptations of oak species on phylogenetic, genome evolutionary, and functional genomic analysis.