#Supergenes play a larger role in evolution than previously thought

“#Supergenes play a larger role in evolution than previously thought” Supergenes play an outsized role in maintaining wild sunflowers’ extensive variation, according to University of British Columbia research in Nature. Credit: Marco Todesco, University of British Columbia. Massive blocks of genes—inherited together ‘plug and play’ style—may play a larger role in evolutionary adaption than previously…

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#Scaling up the quantum chip

“#Scaling up the quantum chip” Credit: CC0 Public Domain MIT researchers have developed a process to manufacture and integrate “artificial atoms,” created by atomic-scale defects in microscopically thin slices of diamond, with photonic circuitry, producing the largest quantum chip of its type. The accomplishment “marks a turning point” in the field of scalable quantum processors,…

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#Polynesians, Native Americans made contact before European arrival, genetic study finds

“#Polynesians, Native Americans made contact before European arrival, genetic study finds” Moai statues at the Rano Raraku site on Easter Island. Credit: Javier Blanco Through deep genetic analyses, Stanford Medicine scientists and their collaborators have found conclusive scientific evidence of contact between ancient Polynesians and Native Americans from the region that is now Colombia—something that’s…

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#Protein involved in corn’s water stress response discovered

“#Protein involved in corn’s water stress response discovered” The protein, which is involved in the mechanism of the plant’s response to water and thermal stresses and to invasion by fungi, has been named DRIK1. It could help develop drought-resistant plant varieties and products that reduce losses related to climate change. Credit: Cystal of the protein…

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#Fluorescent peptide nanoparticles, in every color of the rainbow

“#Fluorescent peptide nanoparticles, in every color of the rainbow” Peptide nanoparticles glow in different colors of the rainbow; each row shows the colors emitted for a series of three related peptides. Credit: Adapted from ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c08259 The discovery of green fluorescent protein (GFP), which is made by a jellyfish,…

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#Model suggests it could take decades for planet to start cooling after emissions are reduced

“#Model suggests it could take decades for planet to start cooling after emissions are reduced” Emergence of a temperature signal when going from one RCP emissions pathway to another. Thick lines show calculations from MAGICC6. Thin lines show evolutions of interannual variability of global mean surface temperature, extracted from the CESM1 LENS. Triangles above the…

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#Technique fishes valuable nutrients out of shrimp processing water

“#Technique fishes valuable nutrients out of shrimp processing water” Credit: CC0 Public Domain The seafood industry requires large amounts of water for food processing. Before used water is discharged, some organic matter, including protein, is typically removed. This sludge is usually landfilled or converted into biogas, which results in the valuable nutrients it contains being…

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#Study reveals the hidden fight within corals

“#Study reveals the hidden fight within corals” Light and confocal images of Symbiodinium cells living in a host cell. Credit: Allisonmlewis / CC BY-SA Researchers from the School of Biological Sciences and Swire Institute of Marine Science at the University of Hong Kong are working to understand how the coral symbiosis may respond to global…

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