Hacker News with Generative AI: Biology

Staphylococcus aureus 'steals' iron from our blood during infections (phys.org)
Researchers have revealed how Staphylococcus aureus bacteria extract iron from hemoglobin—a process crucial to their survival during infections.

Science, Bacteria, Biology, Health, Medicine

20 points by gmays 2 days ago | 1 comments

670nm red light exposure improved aged mitochondrial function, colour vision (nature.com)
Mitochondrial decline in ageing robs cells of ATP. However, animal studies show that long wavelength exposure (650–900 nm) over weeks partially restores ATP and improves function.

Science, Biology, Aging, Health, Light Therapy

325 points by walterbell 5 days ago | 221 comments

Scientists trace deadly cell-to-cell message chain that spreads in sepsis (phys.org)
Like a poison pen, dying cells prick their neighbors with a lethal message. This may worsen sepsis, Vijay Rathinam and colleagues in the UConn School of Medicine report in the Jan. 23 issue of Cell. Their findings could lead to a new understanding of this dangerous illness.

Science, Biology, Medicine, Sepsis

5 points by PaulHoule 6 days ago | 1 comments

Engineering of human cells reveals genome's resilience to structural changes (phys.org)
The most complex engineering of human cell lines ever has been achieved by scientists, revealing that our genomes are more resilient to significant structural changes than was previously thought.

Genetics, Biology, Science, Human Biology, Genome

47 points by PaulHoule 6 days ago | 6 comments

Barcoding brains (asimov.press)
Connectomics — a technique that maps physical connections between neural cells — is expensive and inefficient. E11 Bio, a non-profit research group, is designing a tool to expedite progress.

Neuroscience, Research, Biology, Technology

24 points by if-curious 7 days ago | 4 comments

A study on how turtles navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field (unc.edu)
Carolina researchers publish a groundbreaking study on how turtles navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field.

Science, Biology, Animal Behavior, Research

166 points by gmays 7 days ago | 67 comments

What if Eye...? (eyes.mit.edu)
We created a virtual petri dish where digital creatures evolve eyes from scratch, replaying millions of years of evolution.

Evolution, Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Computer Science

411 points by smusamashah 8 days ago | 91 comments

Burning in woman's legs turned out to be slug parasites migrating to her brain (arstechnica.com)
It started with a bizarre burning sensation in her feet. Over the next two days, the searing pain crept up her legs. Any light touch made it worse, and over-the-counter pain medicine offered no relief.

Medical, Parasites, Biology, Science, Health

71 points by sea-gold 8 days ago | 58 comments

Birds have developed complex brains independently from mammals (phys.org)
Two studies published in the latest issue of Science have revealed that birds, reptiles, and mammals have developed complex brain circuits independently, despite sharing a common ancestor.

Evolution, Neuroscience, Biology, Birds, Mammals

32 points by ftrobro 8 days ago | 6 comments

Scientists Revive 46,000-Year-Old Organism from Permafrost (plos.org)
Organisms from diverse taxonomic groups can survive extreme environmental conditions, such as the complete absence of water or oxygen, high temperature, freezing, or extreme salinity.

Science, Biology, Climate Change, Permafrost

6 points by yusufaytas 10 days ago | 0 comments

Men are more prepared for fatherhood than we think (scientificamerican.com)
In many cultures, men are not involved with hands-on childcare. But biology tells us we are perfectly capable of doing so

Fatherhood, Gender Roles, Biology, Parenting, Culture

12 points by jimminyx 11 days ago | 8 comments

How does life happen when there's barely any light? (quantamagazine.org)
Under the sea ice during the Arctic’s pitch-black polar night, cells power photosynthesis on the lowest light levels ever observed in nature.

Science, Biology, Arctic, Photosynthesis, Environment

56 points by abe94 14 days ago | 41 comments

Did UCLA Just Cure Baldness? (newsroom.ucla.edu)
UCLA scientists have now identified a small molecule that, when prompted, can waken long-slumbering but undamaged follicles.

Science, Biology, Hair Loss, UCLA, Medicine

109 points by thelastgallon 15 days ago | 122 comments

Borrowing nature's blueprint: Scientists replicate bone marrow (phys.org)
Hidden within our bones, marrow sustains life by producing billions of blood cells daily, from oxygen-carrying red cells to immune-boosting white cells. This vital function is often disrupted in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation, which can damage the marrow and lead to dangerously low white cell counts, leaving patients vulnerable to infection.

Science, Medical Research, Biology, Cancer Treatment

3 points by PaulHoule 15 days ago | 0 comments

Scientists solve the mystery of sea turtles' 'lost years' (phys.org)
Using satellite trackers, scientists have discovered the whereabouts of young sea turtles during a key part of their lives.

Science, Animals, Biology, Marine Biology, Research

41 points by pseudolus 16 days ago | 7 comments

In Praise of Subspecies (aeon.co)
To lump or to split? Deciding whether an animal is a species or subspecies profoundly influences our conservation priorities

Conservation, Biology, Taxonomy, Species

21 points by Petiver 18 days ago | 7 comments

River dolphins launch pee streams into the air (arstechnica.com)
Amazon river dolphins may send messages with aerial streams of urine.

Animals, Biology, Amazon, Science

3 points by mallomarmeasle 18 days ago | 0 comments

How does life happen when there’s barely any light? (quantamagazine.org)
Under the sea ice during the Arctic’s pitch-black polar night, cells power photosynthesis on the lowest light levels ever observed in nature.

Science, Biology, Arctic, Photosynthesis

31 points by bookofjoe 18 days ago | 1 comments

Polish city is using mussels to monitor water quality (2020) (awa.asn.au)
While all water professionals are aware of the delicate balance between human systems and biological indicators, the thought of relying on the mechanisms of mussels to safeguard a city’s population from polluted drinking water takes trust in nature to new heights.

Environmental Science, Water Quality, Biology, Sustainability

204 points by gscott 19 days ago | 62 comments

'Obelisks', a new class of life living inside humans (bgr.com)
Researchers just discovered an entirely new class of life living inside humans

Biology, Microbiology, Human Biology, Science, Research

109 points by Ziggy_Zaggy 20 days ago | 25 comments

Mitochondria as you've never seen them (nature.com)
The month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.

Science, Photography, Biology

343 points by Brajeshwar 20 days ago | 87 comments

Spiders fly on the currents of Earth's electric field (2018) (pbs.org)
Spiders don’t have wings, but they can fly across entire oceans on long strands of silk. For more than a century, scientists thought it was the wind that carried them, sometimes as high as a jet stream — in a process known as “ballooning.” A new study shows that the Earth’s electric field can propel these flying spiders too.

Science, Biology, Spiders, Physics

5 points by redundantly 21 days ago | 0 comments

NASA's Asteroid Bennu Sample Reveals Mix of Life's Ingredients (nasa.gov)
Studies of rock and dust from asteroid Bennu delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security–Regolith Explorer) spacecraft have revealed molecules that, on our planet, are key to life, as well as a history of saltwater that could have served as the “broth” for these compounds to interact and combine.

Space Exploration, Astronomy, Science, Chemistry, Biology

106 points by zrkrlc 21 days ago | 23 comments

Tiny algae shaped the evolution of giant clams (colorado.edu)
Giant clams, some of the largest mollusks on Earth, have long fascinated scientists. These impressive creatures can grow up to 4.5 feet in length and weigh over 700 pounds, making them icons of tropical coral reefs.

Biology, Evolution, Marine Biology, Giant Clams

9 points by gmays 22 days ago | 0 comments

Investigating the case of human nose shape and climate adaptation (2017) (plos.org)
The evolutionary reasons for variation in nose shape across human populations have been subject to continuing debate.

Human Evolution, Climate Adaptation, Anthropology, Biology

139 points by thunderbong 22 days ago | 86 comments

The Alpha Myth: How captive wolves led us astray (anthonydavidadams.substack.com)
In 1947, at Switzerland's Basel Zoo, animal behaviorist Rudolf Schenkel peered into an enclosure of captive wolves, meticulously documenting their interactions. What he witnessed – aggressive displays of dominance, rigid hierarchies, the emergence of an "alpha" male – would spawn decades of misunderstanding about power, leadership, and masculinity.

Animal Behavior, Science, Biology, Leadership, Masculinity

403 points by ada1981 25 days ago | 353 comments

The ocean teems with networks of interconnected bacteria (quantamagazine.org)
Tiny bridges, known as bacterial nanotubes, connect the inner spaces of photosynthesizing bacteria throughout the oceans — forming little-known cellular networks of trade and communication.

Science, Biology, Marine Biology, Microbiology

142 points by abe94 25 days ago | 19 comments

Mitochondrial swap from cancer to immune cells thwarts anti-tumour defences (nature.com)
Immune cells can destroy cancer, but tumours often evade such responses. The bidirectional transfer of mitochondria between cancer and immune cells is a newly discovered mechanism that thwarts anticancer defences.

Cancer, Biology, Immunology, Science

5 points by gronky_ 25 days ago | 0 comments

Microplastics block blood flow in the brain, mouse study reveals (nature.com)
For the first time, scientists have tracked microplastics moving through the bodies of mice in real time1.

Science, Health, Environment, Biology, Research

103 points by four_fifths 25 days ago | 69 comments

Scientists Say They've Discovered How Cancer Hijacks and Corrupts Immune Cells (singularityhub.com)
Cancer cells steal from and poison the cells tasked with fighting them off.

Cancer, Immunology, Biology, Science

5 points by Brajeshwar 28 days ago | 0 comments