182 articles from TUESDAY 10.9.2019

Breast cancer cells 'stick together' to spread through the body during metastasis

Researchers have discovered that a cell adhesion protein, E-cadherin, allows breast cancer cells to survive as they travel through the body and form new tumors, a process termed metastasis. Their conclusions, obtained through laboratory experiments and in mouse models, help explain how metastasis works in the most common form of breast cancer, invasive ductal carcinoma. E-cadherin appears to limit...

What the noggin of modern humans' ancestor would have looked like

Despite having lived about 300,000 years ago, the oldest ancestor of all members of our species had a surprisingly modern skull -- as suggested by a new model. After comparing the virtually rendered skull to five African fossil specimens contemporaneous with the first appearance of Homo sapiens, the two researchers posit that our species emerged through interbreeding of South and East African...

How salamanders harness limb regeneration to buffer selves from climate change

Researchers have shown for the first time that salamanders inhabiting the Southern Appalachian Mountains use temperature rather than humidity as the best cue to anticipate changes in their environment. Significantly, they observed that these salamanders actually harness their unique ability to regenerate limbs to rapidly minimize the impact of hot temperatures. The findings may have implications...

From New York to Chile, lead contamination project develops citizen science

If you live in an industrial-era urban setting, chances are that soil in your vicinity is contaminated with lead, arsenic, or other heavy metals. With support from the National Science Foundation, a team of researchers is developing a "citizen science" soil research project in Troy, New York and Tierra Amarilla, Chile that engages residents in greater understanding of contaminants in their midst...

Tides don't always flush water out to sea, study shows

By area, tidal flats make up more than 50 percent of Willapa Bay in southwest Washington state, making this more than 142-square-mile estuary an ideal location for oyster farming. On some parts of these flats, oysters grow well, filling their shells with delicacies for discerning diners. But according to experienced oyster farmers, oysters raised in other parts of Willapa Bay don't yield as much...

Mathematical model could help correct bias in measuring bacterial communities

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a mathematical model that shows how bias distorts results when measuring bacterial communities through metagenomic sequencing. The proof-of-concept model could be the first step toward developing calibration methods that could make metagenomic measurements more accurate.

Microorganisms reduce methane release from the ocean

Next to CO2, methane is the greenhouse gas that contributes most to the man-made greenhouse effect. Of the methane sources caused by human activity, rice fields and cattle are among the most important. Furthermore, methane is released from swamp areas on land, melting permafrost in the Arctic tundra, and from areas with oxygen depletion in the oceans.

Chicken study reveals that environmental factors, not just chance, could drive species evolution

In the version of evolutionary theory most of us are familiar with, randomly occurring variation in traits, caused by mutations in our DNA, can be fixed in a population through natural selection. However, writing in Epigenetics journal, a team of Swedish researchers from Linköping University suggests that mutations that can be caused by environmental changes, not just random chance, might be...

New insights help to explain why same-sex sexual interactions are so important for female bonobos

Among our two closest phylogenetic relatives, chimpanzees remain by far the more thoroughly-studied and widely-recognized species, known for their high levels of cooperation especially among males, which includes sharing food, supporting each other in aggressive conflicts and defending their territories against other communities. In contrast, insights into the social dynamics of wild bonobos are...