Molecular breeding can make better bitter olives
Olives, well-known for their characteristic bitter taste, are in high demand owing to the popularity of the oil they produce. The health benefits of olive oil are well known, ranging from antiviral, anti-cancer, to even anti-hypertensive effects. The.....»»
Rope entanglement found to be a cause of low breeding rates in right whales
New findings show the severe impact of fishing gear entanglements on the survival of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, with every injury from entanglements impacting population recovery......»»
Rice paddy snake diversification was driven by geological and environmental factors in Thailand, molecular data suggest
A University of Kansas study of rice paddy snakes in Southeast Asia gives key details to their diversification and natural history, adding molecular evidence that the rise of the Khorat Plateau and subsequent environmental shifts in Thailand may have.....»»
Muscaris grapes: Molecular secret of lychee aroma revealed
A team of researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich has succeeded for the first time in identifying the odorants responsible for the characteristic lychee note of Muscaris grapes......»»
"Molecular Rosetta Stone" reveals how our microbiomes "talk" to us
Researchers from Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California San Diego have uncovered thousands of previously unknown bile acids, a type of molecule used by our gut microbiome to communicate with the rest of.....»»
Integrating non-additive GWAS with historical dissemination to illuminate nut traits and blooming time in almonds
Modern breeding focuses on genetic analyses and germplasm management and dominates in altering crop genomes, but often neglects non-additive genetic effects that are essential for understanding traits. Almond [Prunus dulcis Miller (D.A. Webb)] has si.....»»
Aroma compound found to reduce the effects of drought, improve productivity of tomato plants
Tomato plants emit a scent to resist bacterial attacks. This aroma—or volatile compound—is hexenyl butanoate (HB). A team from the Research Institute for Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMCP), a joint center of the Universitat Politècnica.....»»
Scientists reveal molecular mysteries to control silica scaling in water treatment
Collaborative research that combined experiments at Yale University and molecular dynamics simulations at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory provides new insights into solving a major technical obstacle to efficient and sustaina.....»»
Microalgae with unusual cell biology could lead to improved understanding of harmful algal blooms
What are the molecular processes in a unicellular marine algae species that can cause harmful algal blooms? A research team led by microbiologist Prof. Dr. Ralf Rabus from the University of Oldenburg (Germany) has conducted the first detailed analyse.....»»
Enhancing sweet cherry breeding: Insights from genotyping-by-sequencing and genome-wide association studies
Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is one of the most economically important perennial fruit species growing in temperate regions. However, partly due to climate change and biological pressures from pathogens, sweet cherry production in France has been d.....»»
Communication between rotors in molecular motor observed for the first time
A pair of chemists at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, has observed communication between rotors in a molecular motor. In their study, reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Carlijn van Beek and Ben Feringa conducted.....»»
Ballistic transport in long molecular wires: Porphyrin nanoribbons
The conductance of classical electric components typically decays with increasing length. In general, this is also the same behavior found at the nanoscale with 1D molecular wires. Now, researchers have demonstrated that, once more, things are differ.....»»
A new type of metallacrown ether based on polyoxometalate opens research opportunities
Crown ethers were discovered in 1967. They were then modified by adding a metal-containing unit, creating metallacrown ethers. These metallacrown ethers have been the subject of intensive research. Depending on the molecular makeup of the metallacrow.....»»
Novel RNA- or DNA-based substances can protect plants from viruses, scientists show
Individually tailored RNA or DNA-based molecules are able to reliably fight off viral infections in plants, according to a new study by the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences......»»
Research team reveals cellular and molecular basis of spur development in Impatiens uliginosa
As an important reproductive organ of angiosperms, flowers have a clear purpose and adaptive significance in their various characteristics. As a typical floral evolutionary feature, the floral spur is a tubular structure extending from the petal, whi.....»»
Molecular mechanism of transmembrane bilirubin transport by human ABCC2 transporter revealed
The metabolic process of bilirubin has been a focus of medical research since the abnormal accumulation of bilirubin has been found to be associated with a variety of diseases. Bilirubin is a substance produced by the breakdown of aging or damaged re.....»»
Scientists discover why ripe fruit is more susceptible to necrotrophic pathogens than unripe fruit
In a recent study published in Molecular Plant, researchers have elucidated the mechanism underlying the increased susceptibility to necrotrophs during fruit ripening and have developed a rapid strategy to improve tomato fruit resistance to necrotrop.....»»
How molecular "handedness" emerged in early biology
Molecules often have a structural asymmetry called chirality, which means they can appear in alternative, mirror-image versions akin to the left and right versions of human hands. One of the great mysteries about the origins of life on Earth is that.....»»
Ecologist cautions researchers to look more closely at apparent mismatches between birds and their prey
Climate change may speed up the emergence of insects in northern countries at the end of winter. This may cause breeding birds migrating from the south to come too late to benefit from the insect peak if they do not adjust their travel schedules to t.....»»
Light stimulates a new twist for synthetic chemistry
Molecules that are induced by light to rotate bulky groups around central bonds could be developed into photo-activated bioactive systems, molecular switches, and more......»»
Scientists develop rapid gene-screening platform to boost disease resistance in crops
Scientists at CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, have achieved a breakthrough in molecular plant pathology, marking a technological leap forward for breeding durable disease-resistant crops......»»