Here you can see fireflies, a type of beetle that glows.
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light from enzymes called luciferases. In nature, many organisms such as jellyfish and fireflies ‘glow’ using these enzymes.
In scientific research, bioluminescent proteins are used to monitor changes to cells.
In the bottom images around 7000 bacterial colonies have been printed on an agar plate.The bacteria have been genetically engineered to display the bioluminescent enzyme from the firefly Photinus pyralis.
The images were taken with a sensitive camera which can detect the light output from luciferase in each colony. The light output of different types of luciferase can be analysed to discover which ones have enhanced characteristics that could be used in research.
Image credits: Terry Priest, s58y, Cassandra Stowe
First study showing pesticide exposure can affect crop pollination by bees
For the first time an international team of researchers have shown that pesticides impair the pollination services provided by bumblebees.
Bees play a vital role in pollinating some of the most important food crops globally and have been declining in recent years. Until now research on pesticide effects has been limited to their impact on bees, rather than the pollination services they provide.
The study discovered that bumblebees exposed to a realistic level of neonicotinoid pesticides found in agricultural environments collected pollen from apple trees less often and visited flowers less frequently.
The findings of this study have important implications for both society and the economy, as insect pollination services to crops are worth at least $361Bn worldwide every year, and are vital to the functioning of natural ecosystem.
Baby starlings that have a rough start in life grow up to become fatter and greedier than their more fortunate siblings.
Scientists from Newcastle University discovered that stress and difficulties as a chick made a long lasting impression on a starling’s relationship with food.
Birds that struggled against larger brothers or sisters for food early on were keener on finding food and tended to over-eat as adults.
The scientists suspect that the birds with a tougher start were behaving as if they were worried food might run out, suggesting that they have a ‘memory of hunger’ from when they were small which drives them to overeat when food is freely available.
Seaweed isn’t technically a plant, but it does have some serious plant power.
Researchers found that alginate from seaweeds, especially kelp, helps to stop the body from digesting fat. And we don’t get the side effects that come with other obesity treatments. Alginate is in lots of foods we eat, but there isn’t enough to do the trick.
Fat busting alginates are easily extracted and incorporated into other foods. When researchers used it in bread, tasters actually preferred the seaweed bread. No seaweed flavour, same great texture, extra fat busting magic.
This is one more way that everyday plants (and seaweed) are doing amazing things.
Scientists have discovered how a bacterial parasite turns plants into the living dead.
The bacteria is able to manipulate the way plants grow, causing infected plants to transform their flowers into leaf tissue.
In doing so, the plants are sacrificing their reproductive success and becoming sterile – dead to the future and destined to only benefit the survival of the bacteria parasite (healthy plant seen in the top image and an infected plant can be seen in the middle image).
The parasitic bacterium produces a protein that tricks the plant into transforming its flowers into leaf-like material. This transformation makes the plant more attractive to leafhoppers for settlement - the bacterium’s next victim and host to be (see leafhopper in bottom image).
Once an enticed leafhopper eats the infected zombie plant, the bacteria then catches a ride in their saliva on to the next plant they hop on to – starting the cycle all over again.
This research comes from the labs of Professor Hogenhout at John Innes Centre, and Professors Angenent and Immink at Wageningen University.
Laura Sibley who took this image is part of a team from Royal Holloway, who are developing novel vaccines using bacteria (similar to ones that are used in probiotic drinks).
The vaccines they are creating are cheaper than normal vaccines, easier to produce and have no chemicals in them, making them suitable for diseases affecting developing countries. There are many diseases that need vaccine development, including tuberculosis, which kills around two million people per year, and is one of the diseases that they are focused on.
Laura stumbled across the ghostly vision in a study looking at TB vaccine distributed in lung tissue, work which in the future could help to protect people against TB infection.
You can probably think of several changes that would improve your quality of life. Maybe working fewer hours, spending more time outdoors or winning the lottery so you can buy that new car. It’s a very personal list.
For many people their dog’s quality of life is as important as any other family member’s. Many difficult veterinary decisions are made on the basis of quality of life judgements but the obvious challenge is that dogs can’t speak.
Doctors treating babies or adults with dementia face the same problem, so they ask someone who knows the patient well to complete a rigorously designed questionnaire on their behalf.
They hope their recommendations will help owners and vets assess canine quality of life with greater accuracy and confidence, making difficult decisions a little easier.
The image above shows the skeleton of a normal chick (top left) and a chicken with a severe mutation (top right).
The mutation is in a gene called TALPID3 which is important for development. Chickens which have lost the function of TALPID3 have brain deformities, small lungs, liver fibrosis and extra fingers.
Scientists at the Roslin Institute have now found that humans with a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development, called Joubert syndrome, also have mutations in TALPID3.
By investigating the impact of the gene at the cellular level in chickens, the researchers have provided further insight into the specifics of Joubert syndrome in people.
2019.04.03 || I’m sorry for being away for so long! Exam weeks have been tiring and draining and I’ve just been sitting in my lump studying, and then took a whole week off to sleep. But now I’m back to the productive run! Have some biology notes with p l a n t s ☘️
I haven’t tried it yet, but the pdf is an interesting read (especially the questions raised on page 117). If you make a biosphere, send some pictures my way; I’d love to see them!
I have an issue with this post and Philip Batterham’s comment.
I’m going to preface this by saying I have a Bachelor’s in Human Genetics and I now work in research ethics, correcting or retracting incorrect or ethically unsound science for publishers.
Now you guys can’t verify that because I am not willing to dox myself. But what you can verify, as a one commenter did above, is that Philip Batterham is President of the International Genetics Federation. I love a good fact check and I’m glad someone checked he was not talking out of his arse regarding his position. Unfortunately, they stopped scrolling when they saw his name and title on that page though because if they saw his publications they would see he is NOT a researcher in human genetics, either in development or disease. His expertise is in fact insecticides and their impact on the genetics of pests as shown by his numerous publications in the field which are listed beneath the introductory paragraph where he is identified as President of the International Genetics Federation.
I looked through his publication history and I could not find one paper related to human development or disease, even with a look to study in another organism and translate that knowledge to humans.
Could he have a personal interest in this field rather than professional? Sure, but he’s touting out his professional position so he can present as an expert on an issue of developmental biology, or at least more of an expert than a pediatrician.
Now admittedly, I don’t know what this pediatrician is saying because a link to the video was not included. But to fact check what Philip Batterham has said in his comment: yes, it is possible to have XY chromosomes and develop female genitalia. This is because the SRY gene which resides on the Y chromosomes acts as a ‘switch’ to change the body from developing the default female reproductive anatomy to that of male reproductive anatomy. If the SRY gene is damaged or missing from the Y chromosome then the 'switch’ is never flicked and that individual continues along the path of developing female genitalia.
HOWEVER! What Philip Batterham fails to mention is that this development is not the regular development women with XX chromosomes undergo. XY females have a condition called Swyer syndrome and it prevents normal puberty because it is important for normal female puberty to have two copies of some genes that are only on the X chromosome.
He doesn’t mention this. In fact I’d go as far to say he tries to hide this information by going in to mention intersex individuals as a if they are a different group of people at the end of his comment. XY females ARE intersex!
Now, as said before, you can’t fact check my credentials but you can fact check everything I just said. You can look at his publication history and look up all information about XY females and the SRY gene. And then you can make up your own mind about who would be more knowledgeable on a topic, a pediatrician or Philip Batterham. And if you’re still not sure, find the original video and look up the pediatrician. I am admittedly too lazy to do this and just wanted to highlight genetics is a big field and while I would never say to ignore experts on an issue, you should make sure they have the level of expertise they are claiming.
Dang, imagine being so good at protecting yourself that you become a talisman of protection for another creature.
Fearfully hiking through bear territory clutching a skunk like the holy cross
@leucrotta I’m on mobile too but as OP I’ll do it for you, here
oh hey, thank you!!!
didn’t mean to imply that you were gullible or lying, I just like to personally vet anything I put in my biology tag just because of The Way Tumblr Is.
thank you again though! I’m so happy there’s science to back this.
This project started out as a way to multitask between my Bio courses and Art projects. Now I’m ready to commit more to this series and hopefully will have more pieces done over the summer. Check it out on Behance:
