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News & Articles By Janine Acero

10/27/2018 / By Janine Acero

Agricultural areas surrounded by natural habitat buffers show reduced negative impact on wildlife, new study finds

A comparative study reveals that manicured citrus orchards and reclaimed orchard forests in Stann Creek, Belize have similar abundance and diversity in herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians) as natural habitat areas. Researchers Russell Gray and Dr. Colin Strine of Suranaree University of Technology (SUT), Thailand found that herpetofaunal communities have little sensitivity to agricultural lands as […]

10/27/2018 / By Janine Acero

Oak tree adaptation: Trees found to coordinate volume of acorns released each year in an effort to produce better reproductive results

In some years, oaks, beeches, chestnuts, and other woodland trees produce huge numbers of seeds, and in others they are almost barren. This mysterious phenomenon, typically in oak trees, occurs at irregular intervals of five to 10 years. It is called “mast years” or simply mast, which affects the populations of various animals that rely […]

09/09/2018 / By Janine Acero

Bacteria-killing virus essential to marine ecosystems may provide insights for understanding the human gut

Bacteria and viruses are microscopic organisms that are found practically everywhere on the planet. Humans even have bacteria thriving inside their bodies. Despite their abundance, many of these microorganisms are yet to be discovered, much less studied. Now, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have recently discovered an elusive family […]

05/30/2018 / By Janine Acero

Cool science: Researchers have successfully observed how fish and amphibians regenerate tissue into their perfect original shape

Wouldn’t it be neat to regrow a lost limb without any trace of scar or trauma? Researchers have successfully observed how the skin cells of some fish and amphibians are capable of advanced tissue regeneration without scarring, retaining its perfect original form. The findings, published in the journal The Company of Biologists, hint at this mechanism’s potential […]

04/09/2018 / By Janine Acero

Plastic pollution being re-purposed to break down dyes from wastewater

People use plastic for a variety of reasons, which has given way to the production of different kinds of the material. However, one of the unintended consequences of such an expansion is that of improper disposal. Experts have developed recycling methods to reduce plastic waste, in an effort to mitigate environmental damage. Now a joint […]

12/31/2017 / By Janine Acero

Beer as a renewable fuel: Vehicles could run on it 2022, without having to be altered

Beer could soon replace diesel and gasoline as a promising source of sustainable motor fuel by 2022, thanks to chemists who developed a method for converting the alcoholic beverage into a new type of fuel without the need to alter the vehicles. Scientists from the University of Bristol have managed to create fuel from beer by converting […]

12/05/2017 / By Janine Acero

The mouth is a first responder for the immune system: New study provides clues for how the body defends against oral invaders

New research has identified how the mouth acts as a trigger for the immune system’s defenses to kick in once the fungus Candida albicans – which causes oral thrush – has invaded the body. The international team, led by the researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, studied how microbes inside the mouth called commensals, which are […]

11/11/2017 / By Janine Acero

Immune system intelligence: Your biochemistry “morphs” to defend against new parasites

Researchers discovered how the immune systems of certain species evolve to better adapt to new parasitic threats, all the while maintaining critical immune function that remained virtually unchanged for over millions of years, in a study published in the journal Nature Communications. Scientists from the University of East Anglia, U.K. and Dalhousie University, Canada looked at […]

10/18/2017 / By Janine Acero

New study examines complexity of dolphin culture; researchers determine that brain size correlates with “human-like” behaviors and societies

In a major study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, the complexity of Cetacean culture and behavior has been linked to the size of their brains. Like other mammals, whales and dolphins have tightly-knit family groups called pods whereby they follow certain social structures and form complex relationships, similar to human societies. The research was a […]

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