Studied how the skeleton of the deep-sea glass sponge Euplectella aspergillum enables passive ventilation.
As reported in: Falcucci, Amati, Bella et al. (2024). Adapting to the Abyss: Passive Ventilation in the Deep-Sea Glass Sponge Euplectella aspergillum. Physical Review Letters. doi:10.1103/physrevlett.132.208402
Shatilovich and colleagues radiocarbon-dated revived Panagrolaimus nematodes to about 46,000 years, named them a new species, P. kolymaensis, and found their cryptobiosis toolkit partly shared with C. elegans dauer larvae.
Publisher update notice: correction
As reported in: Shatilovich, Gade, Pippel et al. (2023). A novel nematode species from the Siberian permafrost shares adaptive mechanisms for cryptobiotic survival with C. elegans dauer larva. PLOS Genetics. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1010798
Watson and colleagues introduced RFdiffusion, a generative AI method for designing new protein structures and binders.
Built / tested: designed binders
As reported in: Watson, Juergens, Bennett et al. (2023). De novo design of protein structure and function with RFdiffusion. Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06415-8
Qin and colleagues built a single-cell atlas of antler regrowth and identified antler blastema progenitor cells with strong self-renewal.
As reported in: Qin, Zhang, Zheng et al. (2023). A population of stem cells with strong regenerative potential discovered in deer antlers. Science. doi:10.1126/science.add0488
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Moss and colleagues reviewed echolocation in more than 1,100 bat species and 70 toothed whale species, which converged on features like directional sound and faster pulses near targets.
As reported in: Moss, Ortiz, Wahlberg (2023). Adaptive echolocation behavior of bats and toothed whales in dynamic soundscapes. Journal of Experimental Biology. doi:10.1242/jeb.245450
Karst and colleagues argued that positive citation bias and overinterpreted results have spread misinformation about common mycorrhizal networks in forests. The two views are an ongoing published debate.
Publisher update notice: correction
As reported in: Karst, Jones, Hoeksema (2023). Positive citation bias and overinterpreted results lead to misinformation on common mycorrhizal networks in forests. Nature Ecology & Evolution. doi:10.1038/s41559-023-01986-1
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Spatola and colleagues profiled the genomes of 302 free-roaming dogs and found dogs living at the power plant were genetically distinct from those in Chernobyl City, with 15 families, the largest spanning the exclusion zone.
As reported in: Spatola, Buckley, Dillon et al. (2023). The dogs of Chernobyl: Demographic insights into populations inhabiting the nuclear exclusion zone. Science Advances. doi:10.1126/sciadv.ade2537
Van Wassenbergh and colleagues measured pecking impacts in three woodpecker species and found the skull acts as a stiff hammer rather than a shock absorber, contrary to the idea behind woodpecker-inspired helmets; models suggest the brain is still safe.
As reported in: Van Wassenbergh, Ortlieb, Mielke et al. (2022). Woodpeckers minimize cranial absorption of shocks. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.052
Adamatzky recorded electrical spikes in four fungi and found species-specific patterns clustered into trains, which he grouped into possible "words" while assuming they carry information.
As reported in: Adamatzky (2022). Language of fungi derived from their electrical spiking activity. Royal Society Open Science. doi:10.1098/rsos.211926
Burraco and Orizaola found Eastern tree frogs inside the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone had much darker backs than frogs outside it, darkest near areas with the highest radiation at the time of the accident; current radiation levels did not seem to affect coloration.
As reported in: Burraco, Orizaola (2022). Ionizing radiation and melanism in Chornobyl tree frogs. Evolutionary Applications. doi:10.1111/eva.13476
Car and colleagues studied 19 Eastern tree frog populations around Chernobyl and found no loss of genetic diversity, higher mitochondrial diversity, and signs of a raised mitochondrial mutation rate and small population sizes.
As reported in: Car, Gilles, Armant et al. (2022). Unusual evolution of tree frog populations in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Evolutionary Applications. doi:10.1111/eva.13282
Pascual-Torner and colleagues compared genomes of T. dohrnii and a mortal relative and found expansions of genes for DNA repair, telomere maintenance and stem cells.
Publisher update notice: correction correction
As reported in: Pascual-Torner, Carrero, Pérez-Silva et al. (2022). Comparative genomics of mortal and immortal cnidarians unveils novel keys behind rejuvenation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.2118763119
Xu and colleagues showed cryptochrome 4 from the European robin, a migratory songbird, responds to magnetic fields in the lab.
As reported in: Xu, Jarocha, Zollitsch et al. (2021). Magnetic sensitivity of cryptochrome 4 from a migratory songbird. Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03618-9
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Jumper and colleagues described AlphaFold, an AI system predicting protein 3D structures with high accuracy.
Built / tested: AlphaFold software
As reported in: Jumper, Evans, Pritzel et al. (2021). Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold. Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2
Shmakova and colleagues revived a living bdelloid rotifer from 24,000-year-old Arctic permafrost.
As reported in: Shmakova, Malavin, Iakovenko et al. (2021). A living bdelloid rotifer from 24,000-year-old Arctic permafrost. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.077
Verseux and colleagues found the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7938 grew well under a low-pressure nitrogen/CO2 atmosphere, and could be grown on Mars-regolith-like substrate, supporting cyanobacterium-based life support on Mars.
As reported in: Verseux, Heinicke, Ramalho et al. (2021). A Low-Pressure, N2/CO2 Atmosphere Is Suitable for Cyanobacterium-Based Life-Support Systems on Mars. Frontiers in Microbiology. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.611798
Casiraghi and colleagues used wrist monitors in communities from rural with no electricity to urban and found sleep started later and was up to 1.5 hours shorter on nights before the full moon.
As reported in: Casiraghi, Spiousas, Dunster et al. (2021). Moonstruck sleep: Synchronization of human sleep with the moon cycle under field conditions. Science Advances. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abe0465
Pelletier and colleagues found which genes the minimal cell needs to divide normally.
As reported in: Pelletier, Sun, Wise et al. (2021). Genetic requirements for cell division in a genomically minimal cell. Cell. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.008
Choe and colleagues reviewed transgenic fluorescent zebrafish lines and their impact on biomedical research; such lines are the origin of GloFish pets.
As reported in: Choe, Choi, Kee et al. (2021). Transgenic fluorescent zebrafish lines that have revolutionized biomedical research. Laboratory Animal Research. doi:10.1186/s42826-021-00103-2
Kriegman and colleagues found clusters of frog cells could gather loose cells into new working copies, a form of self-replication not seen in any organism.
As reported in: Kriegman, Blackiston, Levin et al. (2021). Kinematic self-replication in reconfigurable organisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.2112672118
Mitiouchkina and colleagues made plants that glow on their own using fungal genes.
Publisher update notice: correction
Built / tested: glowing plants
As reported in: Mitiouchkina, Mishin, Somermeyer et al. (2020). Plants with genetically encoded autoluminescence. Nature Biotechnology. doi:10.1038/s41587-020-0500-9
Granger and colleagues found live gray whale strandings were more frequent on days with more solar-storm radio-frequency noise, suggesting their navigation may be disrupted and that they may sense magnetic fields.
As reported in: Granger, Walkowicz, Fitak et al. (2020). Gray whales strand more often on days with increased levels of atmospheric radio-frequency noise. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.01.028
Kriegman and colleagues used AI to design new lifeforms in simulation and built them from frog cells, which then showed the predicted behaviours.
As reported in: Kriegman, Blackiston, Levin et al. (2020). A scalable pipeline for designing reconfigurable organisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1910837117
Wang and colleagues found the nanowires are chains of cytochrome proteins with stacked hemes.
As reported in: Wang, Gu, O’Brien et al. (2019). Structure of Microbial Nanowires Reveals Stacked Hemes that Transport Electrons over Micrometers. Cell. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.029
Wang and colleagues studied ruminant headgear genomes and found selection on cancer-related genes that may function in deer antler development.
As reported in: Wang, Zhang, Wang et al. (2019). Genetic basis of ruminant headgear and rapid antler regeneration. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aav6335
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Wang and colleagues found antler stem cells carry classic mesenchymal stem cell markers plus some embryonic stem cell markers.
As reported in: Wang, Berg, Ba et al. (2019). Deer antler stem cells are a novel type of cells that sustain full regeneration of a mammalian organ—deer antler. Cell Death & Disease. doi:10.1038/s41419-019-1686-y
De Santana and colleagues found there are three electric eel lineages, two of them new species; one of the new species discharged 860 volts, making it the strongest known living generator of bioelectricity.
As reported in: de Santana, Crampton, Dillman et al. (2019). Unexpected species diversity in electric eels with a description of the strongest living bioelectricity generator. Nature Communications. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-11690-z
Lyson and colleagues described fossils from Colorado showing mammal diversity doubled within about 100,000 years after the K-Pg extinction, with larger mammals appearing alongside new plants like the bean family over the next 700,000 years.
As reported in: Lyson, Miller, Bercovici et al. (2019). Exceptional continental record of biotic recovery after the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aay2268
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Dexter, Prabakaran and Gunawardena confirmed a 1906 report that Stentor roeseli responds to repeated stimulation with a hierarchy of bending, ciliary change, contraction and detachment, with contract-vs-detach like a fair coin toss.
Publisher update notice: erratum
As reported in: Dexter, Prabakaran, Gunawardena (2019). A Complex Hierarchy of Avoidance Behaviors in a Single-Cell Eukaryote. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.059
Liu and colleagues cloned macaques (Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua) by somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Publisher update notice: erratum
Built / tested: cloned monkeys
As reported in: Liu, Cai, Wang et al. (2018). Cloning of Macaque Monkeys by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. Cell. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2018.01.020
Nowoshilow and colleagues assembled the 32-gigabase axolotl genome and found evidence that species-restricted genes may contribute to limb regeneration.
Publisher update notice: correction
As reported in: Nowoshilow, Schloissnig, Fei et al. (2018). The axolotl genome and the evolution of key tissue formation regulators. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature25458
Kotlobay and colleagues decoded the genetically encodable glowing system of fungi.
As reported in: Kotlobay, Sarkisyan, Mokrushina et al. (2018). Genetically encodable bioluminescent system from fungi. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1803615115
Kotlobay and colleagues identified the fungal luciferase and the enzymes that make the fungal luciferin from caffeic acid, and found fungal bioluminescence evolved through events including two gene duplications.
As reported in: Kotlobay, Sarkisyan, Mokrushina et al. (2018). Genetically encodable bioluminescent system from fungi. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1803615115
Shatilovich and colleagues isolated viable soil nematodes (Panagrolaimus and Plectus) from Pleistocene permafrost of the Kolyma River Lowland, in deposits 30,000 to 40,000 years old.
As reported in: Shatilovich, Tchesunov, Neretina et al. (2018). Viable Nematodes from Late Pleistocene Permafrost of the Kolyma River Lowland. Doklady Biological Sciences. doi:10.1134/S0012496618030079
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Grinnell gave a personal history of the key discoveries in the decades after Griffin and Galambos discovered bat echolocation in 1941.
As reported in: Grinnell (2018). Echolocation: a personal historical perspective. Canadian Journal of Zoology. doi:10.1139/cjz-2017-0316
Wei and colleagues built a CT-based model of a bottlenose dolphin head, simulating how biosonar from the phonic lips travels through air sacs, the melon and other tissues into the water.
As reported in: Wei, Au, Ketten et al. (2018). Finite element simulation of broadband biosonar signal propagation in the near- and far-field of an echolocating Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. doi:10.1121/1.5034464
Hendry and colleagues sequenced the bacteria living in the lures of deep-sea anglerfishes and found their genomes are about 50% smaller than free-living relatives, with losses suggesting they are becoming dependent on their host.
As reported in: Hendry, Freed, Fader et al. (2018). Ongoing Transposon-Mediated Genome Reduction in the Luminous Bacterial Symbionts of Deep-Sea Ceratioid Anglerfishes. mBio. doi:10.1128/mbio.01033-18
Stork's review put the global totals at about 1.5 million beetle, 5.5 million insect and 7 million land arthropod species, with earlier estimates of 30 million or more now seeming extremely unlikely and about 80% of insects still undescribed.
As reported in: Stork (2018). How Many Species of Insects and Other Terrestrial Arthropods Are There on Earth?. Annual Review of Entomology. doi:10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043348
Ruby, Smith and Buffenstein analysed over 3,000 lifespan records and found mortality risk did not increase with age.
As reported in: Ruby, Smith, Buffenstein (2018). Naked mole-rat mortality rates defy Gompertzian laws by not increasing with age. eLife. doi:10.7554/eLife.31157
Toyota and colleagues showed wounding releases glutamate, which sets off a fast calcium wave that reaches distant leaves within minutes and triggers defences.
As reported in: Toyota, Spencer, Sawai-Toyota et al. (2018). Glutamate triggers long-distance, calcium-based plant defense signaling. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aat7744
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Cotruvo and colleagues discovered lanmodulin in the bacterium Methylobacterium extorquens, a protein that changes shape in response to picomolar lanthanides but needs near-millimolar calcium.
As reported in: Cotruvo, Featherston, Mattocks et al. (2018). Lanmodulin: A Highly Selective Lanthanide-Binding Protein from a Lanthanide-Utilizing Bacterium. Journal of the American Chemical Society. doi:10.1021/jacs.8b09842
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Martini and Haddock classified more than 350,000 deep-sea video observations off California, from the surface to 3,900 m, and found 76% of observed individuals were capable of bioluminescence, including more than 97% of cnidarians.
As reported in: Martini, Haddock (2017). Quantification of bioluminescence from the surface to the deep sea demonstrates its predominance as an ecological trait. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/srep45750
Kaskova and colleagues reported the structure of the light-emitting molecule in fungal bioluminescence and proposed the chemical steps that produce it.
As reported in: Kaskova, Dörr, Petushkov et al. (2017). Mechanism and color modulation of fungal bioluminescence. Science Advances. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1602847
Hughes and colleagues found the patterns of mass bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998, 2002 and 2016 matched sea temperatures each year, and that local protection gave little or no resistance to extreme heat.
As reported in: Hughes, Kerry, Álvarez-Noriega et al. (2017). Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature21707
Vanselow and colleagues proposed that geomagnetic storms may have disoriented 29 young male sperm whales that stranded in the North Sea in 2016, since storm disruptions can shift apparent magnetic latitude by up to 460 km.
As reported in: Vanselow, Jacobsen, Hall et al. (2017). Solar storms may trigger sperm whale strandings: explanation approaches for multiple strandings in the North Sea in 2016. International Journal of Astrobiology. doi:10.1017/s147355041700026x
Arnold reviewed how directed evolution brings new chemistry to life.
As reported in: Arnold (2017). Directed Evolution: Bringing New Chemistry to Life. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. doi:10.1002/anie.201708408
Park and colleagues found naked mole-rats survive 18 minutes of anoxia by switching to fructose-fuelled metabolism.
As reported in: Park, Reznick, Peterson et al. (2017). Fructose-driven glycolysis supports anoxia resistance in the naked mole-rat. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aab3896
Durant and colleagues briefly altered electrical signalling in planarian fragments, producing a stable share of two-headed worms; when the normal-looking ones were cut again, the same share regrew two heads, revealing a hidden change in their patterning.
As reported in: Durant, Morokuma, Fields et al. (2017). Long-Term, Stochastic Editing of Regenerative Anatomy via Targeting Endogenous Bioelectric Gradients. Biophysical Journal. doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2017.04.011
Duan and colleagues concluded nature does not rely on long-lived electronic quantum coherence for photosynthetic energy transfer.
As reported in: Duan, Prokhorenko, Cogdell et al. (2017). Nature does not rely on long-lived electronic quantum coherence for photosynthetic energy transfer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1702261114
Bellono and colleagues found that two ion channels, CaV1.3 and BK, work together in little skate electrosensory cells, with special adaptations that let them detect very weak electrical signals.
As reported in: Bellono, Leitch, Julius (2017). Molecular basis of ancestral vertebrate electroreception. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature21401
Boothby and colleagues showed tardigrades use disordered proteins to survive drying out.
As reported in: Boothby, Tapia, Brozena et al. (2017). Tardigrades Use Intrinsically Disordered Proteins to Survive Desiccation. Molecular Cell. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2017.02.018
Ocko and colleagues measured air flow in Macrotermes michaelseni mounds and found the same daily solar heating mechanism drives convection.
As reported in: Ocko, King, Andreen et al. (2017). Solar-powered ventilation of African termite mounds. Journal of Experimental Biology. doi:10.1242/jeb.160895
Brau and colleagues showed chameleon tongue mucus is highly viscous, so viscous adhesion does not limit prey size.
As reported in: Brau, Lanterbecq, Zghikh et al. (2016). Dynamics of prey prehension by chameleons through viscous adhesion. Nature Physics. doi:10.1038/nphys3795
Huang, Boyken and Baker reviewed progress in designing proteins from scratch and their possible uses.
As reported in: Huang, Boyken, Baker (2016). The coming of age of de novo protein design. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature19946
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Catania described electric eels leaping out of the water to press their chin against a threat while discharging high-voltage volleys, supporting Alexander von Humboldt's 1800 account of eels attacking horses.
As reported in: Catania (2016). Leaping eels electrify threats, supporting Humboldt’s account of a battle with horses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1604009113
Kaliman and colleagues tested Voronoi tessellations built from nucleus centres against real epithelial cell shapes and defined the limits of the method's accuracy.
As reported in: Kaliman, Jayachandran, Rehfeldt et al. (2016). Limits of Applicability of the Voronoi Tessellation Determined by Centers of Cell Nuclei to Epithelium Morphology. Frontiers in Physiology. doi:10.3389/fphys.2016.00551
Tenaillon and colleagues analysed 264 genomes over 50,000 generations and found most fixed mutations in normal-mutation-rate populations were beneficial.
As reported in: Tenaillon, Barrick, Ribeck et al. (2016). Tempo and mode of genome evolution in a 50,000-generation experiment. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature18959
Uebe and Schüler reviewed how magnetotactic bacteria build their magnetic organelles (magnetosomes) and the value of giving non-magnetic bacteria this ability.
As reported in: Uebe, Schüler (2016). Magnetosome biogenesis in magnetotactic bacteria. Nature Reviews Microbiology. doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2016.99
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Van't Hof and colleagues found the black (carbonaria) peppered moth form was caused by a jumping gene (transposable element) inserted into the gene cortex, dated to around 1819.
As reported in: Hof, Campagne, Rigden et al. (2016). The industrial melanism mutation in British peppered moths is a transposable element. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature17951
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Mo and colleagues used X-ray measurements to show sea cucumber tissue changes stiffness via the matrix between collagen fibrils, not the fibrils themselves.
As reported in: Mo, Prévost, Blowes et al. (2016). Interfibrillar stiffening of echinoderm mutable collagenous tissue demonstrated at the nanoscale. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1609341113
Hutchison and colleagues designed and built a minimal bacterial genome (JCVI-syn3.0).
As reported in: Hutchison, Chuang, Noskov et al. (2016). Design and synthesis of a minimal bacterial genome. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aad6253
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Hashimoto and colleagues found the tardigrade protein Dsup reduced radiation damage in human cells.
As reported in: Hashimoto, Horikawa, Saito et al. (2016). Extremotolerant tardigrade genome and improved radiotolerance of human cultured cells by tardigrade-unique protein. Nature Communications. doi:10.1038/ncomms12808
Böhm and colleagues found the flytrap counts trigger-hair signals to decide when to close and start digesting prey.
As reported in: Böhm, Scherzer, Krol et al. (2016). The Venus Flytrap Dionaea muscipula Counts Prey-Induced Action Potentials to Induce Sodium Uptake. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.11.057
Lamichhaney and colleagues sequenced 120 birds covering all Darwin's finch species and two relatives and found extensive gene flow between species throughout their radiation.
As reported in: Lamichhaney, Berglund, Almén et al. (2015). Evolution of Darwin’s finches and their beaks revealed by genome sequencing. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature14181
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Purtov and colleagues identified 3-hydroxyhispidin as the luciferin of glowing fungi, unlike any of the eight other known luciferins, and found it triggers light in four different genera of luminous fungi.
As reported in: Purtov, Petushkov, Baranov et al. (2015). The Chemical Basis of Fungal Bioluminescence. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. doi:10.1002/anie.201501779
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Catania reported that electric eels concentrate their electric field to induce involuntary fatigue in struggling prey.
As reported in: Catania (2015). Electric Eels Concentrate Their Electric Field to Induce Involuntary Fatigue in Struggling Prey. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.09.036
Okabe noted leaf primordia typically arise at the golden angle of 137.5° and examined whether this arrangement has biophysical, adaptive value.
As reported in: Okabe (2015). Biophysical optimality of the golden angle in phyllotaxis. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/srep15358
Schaible and colleagues tracked 2,256 Hydra over 3.9 million observation-days and found extremely low, constant mortality and no systematic decline in fertility with age.
As reported in: Schaible, Scheuerlein, Dańko et al. (2015). Constant mortality and fertility over age in Hydra. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1521002112
King, Ocko and Mahadevan directly measured air flow in mounds and found daily temperature oscillations drive ventilation.
As reported in: King, Ocko, Mahadevan (2015). Termite mounds harness diurnal temperature oscillations for ventilation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1423242112
Ibsen and colleagues made C. elegans neurons sensitive to low-pressure ultrasound by expressing the TRP-4 channel, activating them non-invasively with the help of microbubbles.
As reported in: Ibsen, Tong, Schutt et al. (2015). Sonogenetics is a non-invasive approach to activating neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature Communications. doi:10.1038/ncomms9264
Zhan and colleagues sequenced 101 Danaus genomes and found monarchs were ancestrally migratory and spread out of North America, with the strongest migration-linked selection centred on flight muscle function.
As reported in: Zhan, Zhang, Niitepõld et al. (2014). The genetics of monarch butterfly migration and warning colouration. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature13812
Spinner and colleagues found setae under chameleon feet maximize friction across a wide range of surface roughness.
As reported in: Spinner, Westhoff, Gorb (2014). Subdigital setae of chameleon feet: Friction-enhancing microstructures for a wide range of substrate roughness. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/srep05481
Catania showed electric eel discharges activate prey motor neurons, causing whole-body muscle lock in swimming prey and twitches that reveal hidden prey.
As reported in: Catania (2014). The shocking predatory strike of the electric eel. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1260807
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Kühlbrandt described how new detectors and image processing are giving high-resolution cryo-EM structures of biomolecules.
As reported in: Kühlbrandt (2014). The Resolution Revolution. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1251652
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Hutchins and colleagues found 326 genes change during green anole tail regeneration, with growing cells spread along the tail rather than in a tip blastema.
As reported in: Hutchins, Markov, Eckalbar et al. (2014). Transcriptomic Analysis of Tail Regeneration in the Lizard Anolis carolinensis Reveals Activation of Conserved Vertebrate Developmental and Repair Mechanisms. PLoS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0105004
Motta-Mena and colleagues adapted the bacterial LOV-domain protein EL222 to turn genes on with blue light and off quickly in the dark.
Built / tested: blue-light gene switch
As reported in: Motta-Mena, Reade, Mallory et al. (2014). An optogenetic gene expression system with rapid activation and deactivation kinetics. Nature Chemical Biology. doi:10.1038/nchembio.1430
Gagliano and colleagues found Mimosa learns to stop folding its leaves after repeated harmless disturbance, more strongly when grown in energetically costly conditions, and still showed this learned response after a month left undisturbed.
As reported in: Gagliano, Renton, Depczynski et al. (2014). Experience teaches plants to learn faster and forget slower in environments where it matters. Oecologia. doi:10.1007/s00442-013-2873-7
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Engels and colleagues showed migratory European robins could not use their magnetic compass in the presence of urban broadband electromagnetic noise.
As reported in: Engels, Schneider, Lefeldt et al. (2014). Anthropogenic electromagnetic noise disrupts magnetic compass orientation in a migratory bird. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature13290
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McCall and colleagues showed bromide is a required cofactor for forming sulfilimine cross-links in collagen IV of basement membranes; bromine-deficient fruit flies died and adding bromine back restored viability, making bromine an essential trace element for animals.
As reported in: McCall, Cummings, Bhave et al. (2014). Bromine Is an Essential Trace Element for Assembly of Collagen IV Scaffolds in Tissue Development and Architecture. Cell. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.009
Valiadi and Iglesias-Rodriguez reviewed bioluminescent dinoflagellates, single-celled algae whose bioluminescent species appear to be found in surface waters worldwide.
As reported in: Valiadi, Iglesias-Rodriguez (2013). Understanding Bioluminescence in Dinoflagellates—How Far Have We Come?. Microorganisms. doi:10.3390/microorganisms1010003
Wainwright and colleagues found northern clingfish adhere to surfaces from fine sandpaper to very rough textures with forces 80–230 times body weight, outperforming man-made suction cups.
As reported in: Wainwright, Kleinteich, Kleinteich et al. (2013). Stick tight: suction adhesion on irregular surfaces in the northern clingfish. Biology Letters. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2013.0234
Karihaloo and colleagues found honeybee comb cells start circular and become rounded hexagons as warm wax flows near cell junctions.
As reported in: Karihaloo, Zhang, Wang (2013). Honeybee combs: how the circular cells transform into rounded hexagons. Journal of The Royal Society Interface. doi:10.1098/rsif.2013.0299
Takeo and colleagues showed in mice that Wnt activation in nail stem cells is needed for the digit tip to regrow; amputations below them fail to regenerate.
As reported in: Takeo, Chou, Sun et al. (2013). Wnt activation in nail epithelium couples nail growth to digit regeneration. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature12214
Zantke and colleagues showed the marine worm Platynereis dumerilii has both a daily and a monthly (circalunar) clock in its forebrain; the monthly clock is set by night-time light and controls maturation.
As reported in: Zantke, Ishikawa-Fujiwara, Arboleda et al. (2013). Circadian and Circalunar Clock Interactions in a Marine Annelid. Cell Reports. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2013.08.031
Dacke and colleagues found dung beetles roll balls in straight lines under a starry sky but not under overcast skies, the first documented use of the Milky Way for orientation by an animal.
Publisher update notice: erratum
As reported in: Dacke, Baird, Byrne et al. (2013). Dung Beetles Use the Milky Way for Orientation. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.12.034
Tian and colleagues found naked mole-rat cells make hyaluronan over five times larger than mouse or human; removing it made the cells able to form tumours.
As reported in: Tian, Azpurua, Hine et al. (2013). High-molecular-mass hyaluronan mediates the cancer resistance of the naked mole rat. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature12234
Putman and colleagues reported evidence that Pacific salmon use geomagnetic imprinting as a homing mechanism.
As reported in: Putman, Lohmann, Putman et al. (2013). Evidence for Geomagnetic Imprinting as a Homing Mechanism in Pacific Salmon. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.12.041
Tramacere and colleagues used MRI, ultrasound and histology to map Octopus vulgaris suckers, finding an ellipsoidal chamber with a roof protuberance.
As reported in: Tramacere, Beccai, Kuba et al. (2013). The Morphology and Adhesion Mechanism of Octopus vulgaris Suckers. PLoS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065074
Wesołowska and Wesołowski found that amber snails carrying pulsating Leucochloridium paradoxum broodsacs in their tentacles moved farther and sat in more exposed, brighter and higher places than uninfected snails, likely making the parasite more visible to birds.
As reported in: Wesołowska, Wesołowski (2013). DoLeucochloridiumsporocysts manipulate the behaviour of their snail hosts?. Journal of Zoology. doi:10.1111/jzo.12094
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Shomrat and Levin built an automated trainer and reported that planarians formed long-term memories that persisted after their heads were cut off and regrown.
As reported in: Shomrat, Levin (2013). An automated training paradigm reveals long-term memory in planaria and its persistence through head regeneration. Journal of Experimental Biology. doi:10.1242/jeb.087809
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Mousavi and colleagues mapped electrical changes that spread from a wounded leaf to others, and found glutamate-receptor-like genes are needed for them.
As reported in: Mousavi, Chauvin, Pascaud et al. (2013). GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR-LIKE genes mediate leaf-to-leaf wound signalling. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature12478
Ravaux and colleagues kept live worms in a pressurised aquarium; 2 hours at 50–55 °C was lethal, but its thermal optimum is above 42 °C.
As reported in: Ravaux, Hamel, Zbinden et al. (2013). Thermal Limit for Metazoan Life in Question: In Vivo Heat Tolerance of the Pompeii Worm. PLoS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064074
Klinman and Kohen reviewed how quantum hydrogen tunneling in enzymatic C–H bond cleavage reveals the role of protein dynamics in catalysis.
As reported in: Klinman, Kohen (2013). Hydrogen Tunneling Links Protein Dynamics to Enzyme Catalysis. Annual Review of Biochemistry. doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-051710-133623
Dinakar and Bartels reviewed transcriptome, proteome and metabolome studies of resurrection plants.
As reported in: Dinakar, Bartels (2013). Desiccation tolerance in resurrection plants: new insights from transcriptome, proteome and metabolome analysis. Frontiers in Plant Science. doi:10.3389/fpls.2013.00482
Pol and colleagues found the acid-loving methanotroph Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum SolV, from an Italian volcanic mudpot, needs lanthanides such as lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium and neodymium to grow; they are an essential cofactor of its methanol dehydrogenase.
As reported in: Pol, Barends, Dietl et al. (2013). Rare earth metals are essential for methanotrophic life in volcanic mudpots. Environmental Microbiology. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.12249
Hall and colleagues engineered a small, bright luciferase from a deep-sea shrimp.
As reported in: Hall, Unch, Binkowski et al. (2012). Engineered Luciferase Reporter from a Deep Sea Shrimp Utilizing a Novel Imidazopyrazinone Substrate. ACS Chemical Biology. doi:10.1021/cb3002478
Yashina and colleagues regenerated whole fertile Silene stenophylla plants from immature fruit tissue about 31,800 years old, preserved in Siberian permafrost; the plants flowered and set viable seeds.
As reported in: Yashina, Gubin, Maksimovich et al. (2012). Regeneration of whole fertile plants from 30,000-y-old fruit tissue buried in Siberian permafrost. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1118386109
Jinek and colleagues showed Cas9 can be programmed with guide RNA to cut chosen DNA; Charpentier and Doudna won the 2020 Nobel Prize.
As reported in: Jinek, Chylinski, Fonfara et al. (2012). A Programmable Dual-RNA–Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1225829
Blount and colleagues sequenced genomes and found citrate use arose when a tandem duplication put a silent citrate transporter gene next to a promoter active in oxygen.
As reported in: Blount, Barrick, Davidson et al. (2012). Genomic analysis of a key innovation in an experimental Escherichia coli population. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature11514
Hiyama and colleagues found abnormalities in pale grass blue butterflies from the Fukushima area that became more severe in offspring and were inherited, and reproduced similar abnormalities with low-dose radiation exposure in the lab.
Publisher update notice: correction
As reported in: Hiyama, Nohara, Kinjo et al. (2012). The biological impacts of the Fukushima nuclear accident on the pale grass blue butterfly. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/srep00570
Cook and colleagues analysed Michael Majerus's release of 4,864 moths and found strong bird predation against black moths, enough to explain the decline of black moths in post-industrial Britain.
As reported in: Cook, Grant, Saccheri et al. (2012). Selective bird predation on the peppered moth: the last experiment of Michael Majerus. Biology Letters. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.1136
Lambert and colleagues reviewed possible quantum effects in photosynthesis, bird magnetoreception and other systems, with evidence for and against a functional role.
As reported in: Lambert, Chen, Cheng et al. (2012). Quantum biology. Nature Physics. doi:10.1038/nphys2474
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Gechev and colleagues reviewed protective sugars, proteins and antioxidants that let resurrection plants survive drying.
As reported in: Gechev, Dinakar, Benina et al. (2012). Molecular mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in resurrection plants. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. doi:10.1007/s00018-012-1088-0
Seifert and colleagues reported the first skin autotomy in mammals; African spiny mice regrew hair follicles and fully regenerated ear holes including cartilage.
As reported in: Seifert, Kiama, Seifert et al. (2012). Skin shedding and tissue regeneration in African spiny mice (Acomys). Nature. doi:10.1038/nature11499
Vignolini and colleagues found the Pollia condensata fruit's blue comes from helicoidally stacked cellulose layers, more intense than any previously described biological material.
As reported in: Vignolini, Rudall, Rowland et al. (2012). Pointillist structural color in Pollia fruit. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1210105109
Seeley and colleagues found scout bees send stop signals to bees promoting rival nest sites, helping the swarm reach one decision.
As reported in: Seeley, Visscher, Schlegel et al. (2012). Stop Signals Provide Cross Inhibition in Collective Decision-Making by Honeybee Swarms. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1210361
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Cholewiak and colleagues reviewed the hierarchical terms used for humpback song (units, phrases, themes) and proposed guidelines for consistently defining phrases.
As reported in: Cholewiak, Sousa‐Lima, Cerchio (2012). Humpback whale song hierarchical structure: Historical context and discussion of current classification issues. Marine Mammal Science. doi:10.1111/mms.12005
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Gracheva and colleagues found vampire bats detect infrared through a ganglion-specific splice form of the heat channel TRPV1.
As reported in: Gracheva, Cordero-Morales, González-Carcacía et al. (2011). Ganglion-specific splicing of TRPV1 underlies infrared sensation in vampire bats. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature10245
Hert and colleagues analysed 3,412 cattle in 232 herds in Europe from satellite photos and found no alignment with the geomagnetic field, citing image quality, possible bias and confounders as reasons the earlier result may differ. The two findings remain a published disagreement.
As reported in: Hert, Jelinek, Pekarek et al. (2011). No alignment of cattle along geomagnetic field lines found. Journal of Comparative Physiology A. doi:10.1007/s00359-011-0628-7
Eguchi and colleagues removed the lens 18 times from the same newts over 16 years; even in animals 30 years old, the regrown lenses matched normal ones.
As reported in: Eguchi, Eguchi, Nakamura et al. (2011). Regenerative capacity in newts is not altered by repeated regeneration and ageing. Nature Communications. doi:10.1038/ncomms1389
Hughes and colleagues studied carpenter ants infected by Ophiocordyceps fungi in a Thai rainforest, which leave their canopy nests and bite into leaf veins about 25 cm above the ground before dying, in "graveyard" patches where conditions suit the fungus.
As reported in: Hughes, Andersen, Hywel-Jones et al. (2011). Behavioral mechanisms and morphological symptoms of zombie ants dying from fungal infection. BMC Ecology. doi:10.1186/1472-6785-11-13
Wagner, Wang and Reddien found single transplanted neoblasts restored regeneration in lethally irradiated planarians, showing adult pluripotent stem cells.
As reported in: Wagner, Wang, Reddien (2011). Clonogenic Neoblasts Are Pluripotent Adult Stem Cells That Underlie Planarian Regeneration. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1203983
Garland and colleagues found multiple humpback song types spread repeatedly eastward across western and central South Pacific populations over 11 years.
As reported in: Garland, Goldizen, Rekdahl et al. (2011). Dynamic Horizontal Cultural Transmission of Humpback Whale Song at the Ocean Basin Scale. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.03.019
Spatzal and colleagues used atomic-resolution X-ray data and spin-echo spectroscopy to show that the light atom at the centre of nitrogenase's iron-molybdenum (FeMo) cofactor is a carbon species.
As reported in: Spatzal, Aksoyoglu, Zhang et al. (2011). Evidence for Interstitial Carbon in Nitrogenase FeMo Cofactor. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1214025
Umena and colleagues solved the structure of photosystem II at 1.9 Å, locating every metal atom of the Mn4CaO5 cluster where water is split, with five oxygen bridges and four bound water molecules.
As reported in: Umena, Kawakami, Shen et al. (2011). Crystal structure of oxygen-evolving photosystem II at a resolution of 1.9 Å. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature09913
Egevang and colleagues tracked 11 Arctic terns with 1.4 g geolocators and found some flew more than 80,000 km a year, the longest known animal migration, with a previously unknown stopover in the North Atlantic.
As reported in: Egevang, Stenhouse, Phillips et al. (2010). Tracking of Arctic terns Sterna paradisaea reveals longest animal migration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0909493107
Haddock, Moline and Case reviewed how bioluminescence evolved many times across ocean life and is used for functions from defence to reproduction.
As reported in: Haddock, Moline, Case (2010). Bioluminescence in the Sea. Annual Review of Marine Science. doi:10.1146/annurev-marine-120308-081028
Morita reviewed gravitropism, in which starch-filled plastids (amyloplasts) moving inside gravity-sensing cells trigger plants to reorient their growth; starch is important but not essential.
As reported in: Morita (2010). Directional Gravity Sensing in Gravitropism. Annual Review of Plant Biology. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.043008.092042
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De Vera and colleagues exposed the lichen Xanthoria elegans to Mars-like conditions for 22 days and found no significant decrease in vitality.
As reported in: Vera, Möhlmann, Butina et al. (2010). Survival Potential and Photosynthetic Activity of Lichens Under Mars-Like Conditions: A Laboratory Study. Astrobiology. doi:10.1089/ast.2009.0362
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Gracheva and colleagues identified TRPA1 channels as the infrared receptors in snake pit organs, detecting radiant heating rather than light chemically.
As reported in: Gracheva, Ingolia, Kelly et al. (2010). Molecular basis of infrared detection by snakes. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature08943
Fletcher and Mullins reviewed how the cytoskeleton, a network of protein filaments, lets cells resist deformation, move cargo and change shape, and how forces acting through it affect cell behaviour.
As reported in: Fletcher, Mullins (2010). Cell mechanics and the cytoskeleton. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature08908
Deisseroth summarized the origins and uses of optogenetics as Nature Methods' Method of the Year.
As reported in: Deisseroth (2010). Optogenetics. Nature Methods. doi:10.1038/nmeth.f.324
Yao and colleagues used nanoscale tests and simulated predator attacks to show the multilayered iron-plated shell of Chrysomallon squamiferum resists penetration, dissipates energy and stops cracks.
As reported in: Yao, Dao, Imholt et al. (2010). Protection mechanisms of the iron-plated armor of a deep-sea hydrothermal vent gastropod. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0912988107
Hernroth and colleagues found organs far from the lost arm of Asterias rubens, including the pyloric caeca, start dividing, suggesting progenitor cells of mixed origin build the new arm.
As reported in: Hernroth, Farahani, Brunborg et al. (2010). Possibility of mixed progenitor cells in sea star arm regeneration. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution. doi:10.1002/jez.b.21352
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Tero and colleagues showed Physarum forms networks with efficiency, fault tolerance and cost comparable to the Tokyo rail system, and derived design rules from it.
As reported in: Tero, Takagi, Saigusa et al. (2010). Rules for Biologically Inspired Adaptive Network Design. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1177894
Gibson and colleagues created a bacterial cell controlled by a chemically synthesized genome (JCVI-syn1.0).
As reported in: Gibson, Glass, Lartigue et al. (2010). Creation of a Bacterial Cell Controlled by a Chemically Synthesized Genome. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1190719
Kondo and Miura reviewed the reaction-diffusion model; long debated, it is now supported by a number of compelling biological examples.
As reported in: Kondo, Miura (2010). Reaction-Diffusion Model as a Framework for Understanding Biological Pattern Formation. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1179047
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Holdo and colleagues compared 14 movement models and found the Serengeti wildebeest migration was best explained by rainfall-driven grass intake and grass nitrogen content.
As reported in: Holdo, Holt, Fryxell (2009). Opposing Rainfall and Plant Nutritional Gradients Best Explain the Wildebeest Migration in the Serengeti. The American Naturalist. doi:10.1086/597229
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Kragl and colleagues tracked GFP-labelled cells and found each limb tissue makes progenitors with restricted potential, so limbs regrow without cells becoming fully pluripotent.
As reported in: Kragl, Knapp, Nacu et al. (2009). Cells keep a memory of their tissue origin during axolotl limb regeneration. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature08152
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Geiser and Turbill found that 93.5% of 61 recently extinct mammal species kept a constant high body temperature, suggesting the ability to use torpor or hibernation helps protect species from extinction.
As reported in: Geiser, Turbill (2009). Hibernation and daily torpor minimize mammalian extinctions. Naturwissenschaften. doi:10.1007/s00114-009-0583-0
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Logan reviewed exoelectrogenic bacteria and how they transfer electrons outside the cell.
As reported in: Logan (2009). Exoelectrogenic bacteria that power microbial fuel cells. Nature Reviews Microbiology. doi:10.1038/nrmicro2113
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Nakamasu and colleagues identified the interaction network between zebrafish pigment cells that generates Turing-type skin patterns.
As reported in: Nakamasu, Takahashi, Kanbe et al. (2009). Interactions between zebrafish pigment cells responsible for the generation of Turing patterns. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0808622106
Schwarz, Mendel and Ribbe reviewed molybdenum, essential for nearly all organisms and the catalytic centre of enzymes such as nitrogenase, nitrate reductases, sulphite oxidase and xanthine oxidoreductases, held in either an iron-molybdenum cofactor or pterin-based cofactors.
As reported in: Schwarz, Mendel, Ribbe (2009). Molybdenum cofactors, enzymes and pathways. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature08302
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Fraga reviewed the history and recent developments in understanding firefly luminescence.
As reported in: Fraga (2008). Firefly luminescence: A historical perspective and recent developments. Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences. doi:10.1039/b719181b
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Jönsson and colleagues reported tardigrades surviving exposure to space in low Earth orbit.
As reported in: Jönsson, Rabbow, Schill et al. (2008). Tardigrades survive exposure to space in low Earth orbit. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.06.048
Yang and colleagues showed mice lacking the H2S-making enzyme CSE had high blood pressure.
As reported in: Yang, Wu, Jiang et al. (2008). H 2 S as a Physiologic Vasorelaxant: Hypertension in Mice with Deletion of Cystathionine γ-Lyase. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1162667
Takai and colleagues showed high pressure raised the growth limit of the methanogen Methanopyrus kandleri strain 116 from 116 °C to 122 °C.
As reported in: Takai, Nakamura, Toki et al. (2008). Cell proliferation at 122°C and isotopically heavy CH 4 production by a hyperthermophilic methanogen under high-pressure cultivation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0712334105
Blount, Borland and Lenski reported one population evolved the ability to use citrate by 31,500 generations, and replay experiments showed it depended on an earlier potentiating mutation.
As reported in: Blount, Borland, Lenski (2008). Historical contingency and the evolution of a key innovation in an experimental population of Escherichia coli. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0803151105
A review of magnetotactic bacteria and the magnetite crystals (magnetosomes) they grow.
As reported in: Faivre, Schüler (2008). Magnetotactic Bacteria and Magnetosomes. Chemical Reviews. doi:10.1021/cr078258w
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Dadachova and Casadevall reviewed how fungi survive, adapt to and possibly exploit ionizing radiation with melanin.
As reported in: Dadachova, Casadevall (2008). Ionizing radiation: how fungi cope, adapt, and exploit with the help of melanin. Current Opinion in Microbiology. doi:10.1016/j.mib.2008.09.013
Thauer and colleagues reviewed how methanogenic archaea get energy.
As reported in: Thauer, Kaster, Seedorf et al. (2008). Methanogenic archaea: ecologically relevant differences in energy conservation. Nature Reviews Microbiology. doi:10.1038/nrmicro1931
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Begall and colleagues analysed satellite images of 8,510 cattle in 308 pastures and field data on 2,974 deer and reported that they tend to align their bodies roughly north-south, with magnetic north a better predictor than geographic north.
Publisher update notice: correction
As reported in: Begall, Červený, Neef et al. (2008). Magnetic alignment in grazing and resting cattle and deer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0803650105
Saigusa and colleagues hit Physarum with three unfavourable pulses at regular intervals; afterwards it slowed down on its own when the next pulse would have come, implying it anticipated the change.
As reported in: Saigusa, Tero, Nakagaki et al. (2008). Amoebae Anticipate Periodic Events. Physical Review Letters. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.018101
Jönsson and colleagues found tardigrades survived exposure to space in low Earth orbit.
As reported in: Jönsson, Rabbow, Schill et al. (2008). Tardigrades survive exposure to space in low Earth orbit. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.06.048
Werren, Baldo and Clark reviewed the biology of Wolbachia, endosymbiotic bacteria found in arthropods and nematodes.
As reported in: Werren, Baldo, Clark (2008). Wolbachia: master manipulators of invertebrate biology. Nature Reviews Microbiology. doi:10.1038/nrmicro1969
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Zhang and colleagues used cryo-electron tomography to image chemoreceptor arrays in intact E. coli; forming arrays required the proteins CheA and CheW.
As reported in: Zhang, Khursigara, Hartnell et al. (2007). Direct visualization of Escherichia coli chemotaxis receptor arrays using cryo-electron microscopy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0610106104
Hanlon reviewed how cephalopods rapidly change appearance to blend in.
As reported in: Hanlon (2007). Cephalopod dynamic camouflage. Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.03.034
Michalopoulos reviewed how the liver restores lost mass after partial removal using all its mature cell types.
As reported in: Michalopoulos (2007). Liver regeneration. Journal of Cellular Physiology. doi:10.1002/jcp.21172
Dadachova and colleagues found ionizing radiation changed melanin's electronic properties and enhanced growth of melanized fungi.
As reported in: Dadachova, Bryan, Huang et al. (2007). Ionizing Radiation Changes the Electronic Properties of Melanin and Enhances the Growth of Melanized Fungi. PLoS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000457
Vyas and colleagues found latent Toxoplasma infection in mice and rats converted aversion to cat odours into attraction, a change specific to cat odour rather than a general loss of fear.
As reported in: Vyas, Kim, Giacomini et al. (2007). Behavioral changes induced by Toxoplasma infection of rodents are highly specific to aversion of cat odors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0608310104
Engel and colleagues reported evidence of long-lived electronic quantum coherence in energy transfer in the FMO photosynthetic complex.
As reported in: Engel, Calhoun, Read et al. (2007). Evidence for wavelike energy transfer through quantum coherence in photosynthetic systems. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature05678
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Blackledge and Eliason found bigger orb webs intercept more prey, while narrow-meshed webs were almost three times more likely to catch large insects.
As reported in: Blackledge, Eliason (2007). Functionally independent components of prey capture are architecturally constrained in spider orb webs. Biology Letters. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0218
Patek and colleagues found trap-jaw ant (Odontomachus bauri) mandibles close at 35–64 metres per second in about 0.13 milliseconds, with forces over 300 times the ant's body weight, and the ants also use the strike to launch themselves.
As reported in: Patek, Baio, Fisher et al. (2006). Multifunctionality and mechanical origins: Ballistic jaw propulsion in trap-jaw ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0604290103
Hendrickx and colleagues reviewed the microbial ecology of MELiSSA, a compartmentalized artificial ecosystem that biotransforms organic waste to regenerate food and oxygen for long space missions.
As reported in: Hendrickx, De Wever, Hermans et al. (2006). Microbial ecology of the closed artificial ecosystem MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative): Reinventing and compartmentalizing the Earth's food and oxygen regeneration system for long-haul space exploration missions. Research in Microbiology. doi:10.1016/j.resmic.2005.06.014
Zahradka and colleagues described how D. radiodurans reassembles hundreds of genome fragments using a process they called ESDSA, followed by crossovers.
As reported in: Zahradka, Slade, Bailone et al. (2006). Reassembly of shattered chromosomes in Deinococcus radiodurans. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature05160
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Armus and colleagues reported that Paramecium caudatum could be trained in a discrimination learning task using electrical stimulation as reinforcement.
As reported in: Armus, Montgomery, Jellison (2006). Discrimination Learning in Paramecia (P. caudatum). The Psychological Record. doi:10.1007/bf03396029
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Federle and colleagues found tree frog toe pad attachment is significantly enhanced by boundary friction, not just capillary and viscous forces from mucus.
As reported in: Federle, Barnes, Baumgartner et al. (2006). Wet but not slippery: boundary friction in tree frog adhesive toe pads. Journal of The Royal Society Interface. doi:10.1098/rsif.2006.0135
Reguera and colleagues showed Geobacter uses conductive filaments to pass electrons outside the cell.
As reported in: Reguera, McCarthy, Mehta et al. (2005). Extracellular electron transfer via microbial nanowires. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature03661
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Clegg reviewed the adaptations behind desiccation tolerance in Artemia cysts, focusing on the critical role of the outer shell layer and on how dried cysts respond to high temperatures.
As reported in: Clegg (2005). Desiccation Tolerance in Encysted Embryos of the Animal Extremophile, Artemia. Integrative and Comparative Biology. doi:10.1093/icb/45.5.715
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Blackstone, Morrison, and Roth found H2S put mice into a reversible suspended-animation-like state.
As reported in: Blackstone, Morrison, Roth (2005). H 2 S Induces a Suspended Animation-Like State in Mice. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1108581
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Boyden and colleagues used channelrhodopsin-2 to make neurons fire with millisecond precision using light.
Built / tested: light-controlled neurons
As reported in: Boyden, Zhang, Bamberg et al. (2005). Millisecond-timescale, genetically targeted optical control of neural activity. Nature Neuroscience. doi:10.1038/nn1525
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Forterre and colleagues showed the trap closes by a rapid snap-through of its curved leaf shape.
As reported in: Forterre, Skotheim, Dumais et al. (2005). How the Venus flytrap snaps. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature03185
Lane and colleagues sequenced and characterised a cadmium-containing carbonic anhydrase from the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii, which helps explain why cadmium behaves like a nutrient in the oceans.
As reported in: Lane, Saito, George et al. (2005). A cadmium enzyme from a marine diatom. Nature. doi:10.1038/435042a
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Spalding and colleagues used the rise in atmospheric carbon-14 from nuclear weapons testing, which declined after 1963 and is recorded in genomic DNA, to date when human cells were born; neurons in the adult occipital cortex were as old as the person, while non-neuronal cells were replaced.
As reported in: Spalding, Bhardwaj, Buchholz et al. (2005). Retrospective Birth Dating of Cells in Humans. Cell. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2005.04.028
Abzhanov and colleagues found that activity of the gene Bmp4 in the developing upper beak matched deep, broad beaks in Darwin's ground finches, and that boosting it in chicken embryos produced similar beak shapes.
As reported in: Abzhanov, Protas, Grant et al. (2004). Bmp4 and Morphological Variation of Beaks in Darwin's Finches. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1098095
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Patek, Korff and Caldwell showed the peacock mantis shrimp's extremely fast strike stores and releases energy through a saddle-shaped spring in its exoskeleton.
As reported in: Patek, Korff, Caldwell (2004). Deadly strike mechanism of a mantis shrimp. Nature. doi:10.1038/428819a
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Crookes and colleagues described reflectins, the unusual proteins in squid reflective tissues.
As reported in: Crookes, Ding, Huang et al. (2004). Reflectins: The Unusual Proteins of Squid Reflective Tissues. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1091288
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de Groot and van Leeuwen found chameleon tongues project up to 1.5 body lengths at up to 500 m/s², needing more power than the muscle alone can deliver, evidence for an elastic mechanism.
As reported in: de Groot, van Leeuwen (2004). Evidence for an elastic projection mechanism in the chameleon tongue. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences. doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2637
Daly and colleagues found D. radiodurans accumulates very high manganese and low iron, and proposed that Mn(II) helps it recover from radiation injury.
As reported in: Daly, Gaidamakova, Matrosova et al. (2004). Accumulation of Mn(II) in Deinococcus radiodurans Facilitates Gamma-Radiation Resistance. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1103185
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Nyholm and McFall-Ngai reviewed how the Hawaiian bobtail squid selects the glowing bacterium Vibrio fischeri from seawater to colonize its light organ.
As reported in: Nyholm, McFall-Ngai (2004). The winnowing: establishing the squid–vibrio symbiosis. Nature Reviews Microbiology. doi:10.1038/nrmicro957
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Jones and Nishiguchi found the light from the bobtail squid's bacterial light organ tracks the brightness of light from above, suggesting the squid use and control Vibrio fischeri light for counterillumination.
As reported in: Jones, Nishiguchi (2004). Counterillumination in the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes Berry (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Marine Biology. doi:10.1007/s00227-003-1285-3
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Geiser compared torpid mammals and birds and found species using only daily torpor mostly rely on falling body temperature to cut metabolic rate, while hibernators also actively inhibit their metabolism.
As reported in: Geiser (2004). Metabolic Rate and Body Temperature Reduction During Hibernation and Daily Torpor. Annual Review of Physiology. doi:10.1146/annurev.physiol.66.032102.115105
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Dausmann and colleagues found a tropical primate, the fat-tailed dwarf lemur of Madagascar, hibernates, and that its slowed metabolism is not necessarily tied to a low body temperature.
As reported in: Dausmann, Glos, Ganzhorn et al. (2004). Hibernation in a tropical primate. Nature. doi:10.1038/429825a
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Lohmann and colleagues reported evidence that sea turtles use a geomagnetic map in navigation.
As reported in: Lohmann, Lohmann, Ehrhart et al. (2004). Geomagnetic map used in sea-turtle navigation. Nature. doi:10.1038/428909a
Belshaw and colleagues found the human ERV family HERV-K(HML2) spread mainly by repeatedly reinfecting the germ line, implying an infectious pool of these retroviruses persisted in primates.
As reported in: Belshaw, Pereira, Katzourakis et al. (2004). Long-term reinfection of the human genome by endogenous retroviruses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0307800101
Parmesan and Yohe analysed species' shifts in timing and range and found a pattern uniquely predicted by 20th-century climate trends, giving very high confidence that climate change is already affecting living systems.
As reported in: Parmesan, Yohe (2003). A globally coherent fingerprint of climate change impacts across natural systems. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature01286
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Allen, Nelson and Alling reviewed Biosphere 2, described as the first laboratory for biospherics, and what it revealed about the opportunities and difficulties of material closure.
As reported in: Allen, Nelson, Alling (2003). The legacy of biosphere 2 for the study of biospherics and closed ecological systems. Advances in Space Research. doi:10.1016/s0273-1177(03)00103-0
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Kuhlman and colleagues designed Top7, a protein with a fold not seen in nature, and confirmed its structure closely matched the design.
Built / tested: designed protein Top7
As reported in: Kuhlman, Dantas, Ireton et al. (2003). Design of a Novel Globular Protein Fold with Atomic-Level Accuracy. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1089427
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Kashefi and Lovley reported a microorganism that extended the upper temperature limit for life.
As reported in: Kashefi, Lovley (2003). Extending the Upper Temperature Limit for Life. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1086823
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Reviewed the roles of amorphous calcium carbonate in how organisms build minerals.
As reported in: Addadi, Raz, Weiner (2003). Taking Advantage of Disorder: Amorphous Calcium Carbonate and Its Roles in Biomineralization. Advanced Materials. doi:10.1002/adma.200300381
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Nagel and colleagues described channelrhodopsin-2, a directly light-gated cation channel that later became the main optogenetics tool.
As reported in: Nagel, Szellas, Huhn et al. (2003). Channelrhodopsin-2, a directly light-gated cation-selective membrane channel. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1936192100
Libersat reviewed how the jewel wasp uses a venom cocktail to change the behaviour of the cockroach it hunts, and proposed that the venom dampens neurons in the cockroach's head ganglia.
As reported in: Libersat (2003). Wasp uses venom cocktail to manipulate the behavior of its cockroach prey. Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology. doi:10.1007/s00359-003-0432-0
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Warén and colleagues described a vent gastropod with dermal sclerites mineralised with iron sulfides, mainly pyrite plus magnetic greigite; iron sulfide was not known as a skeletal material in animals.
As reported in: Warén, Bengtson, Goffredi et al. (2003). A Hot-Vent Gastropod with Iron Sulfide Dermal Sclerites. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1087696
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Reviewed the origin, diversity, fine structure and biological functions of siliceous spicules and skeletons in sponges.
As reported in: Uriz, Turon, Becerro et al. (2003). Siliceous spicules and skeleton frameworks in sponges: Origin, diversity, ultrastructural patterns, and biological functions. Microscopy Research and Technique. doi:10.1002/jemt.10395
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Vukusic and Sambles reviewed natural photonic structures, from Morpho butterfly scales to light-collecting brittlestar calcite and anti-reflective insect eyes.
Publisher update notice: erratum
As reported in: Vukusic, Sambles (2003). Photonic structures in biology. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature01941
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Korb reviewed termite mound thermoregulation and ventilation, summarizing research on how mounds work.
As reported in: Korb (2003). Thermoregulation and ventilation of termite mounds. Naturwissenschaften. doi:10.1007/s00114-002-0401-4
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van den Burg reviewed how enzymes from extremophiles, which work under extreme conditions, have led to novel industrial applications.
As reported in: van den Burg (2003). Extremophiles as a source for novel enzymes. Current Opinion in Microbiology. doi:10.1016/S1369-5274(03)00060-2
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Poss and colleagues reviewed zebrafish as a model for regeneration, including their remarkable ability to regrow fins.
As reported in: Poss, Keating, Nechiporuk (2003). Tales of regeneration in zebrafish. Developmental Dynamics. doi:10.1002/dvdy.10220
Autumn and colleagues showed gecko adhesion relies mainly on van der Waals forces.
As reported in: Autumn, Sitti, Liang et al. (2002). Evidence for van der Waals adhesion in gecko setae. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.192252799
Kier showed suckers attach by lowering pressure inside the cavity using a 3D muscle array; suckers reached pressures below 0 kPa on wettable but not non-wettable surfaces.
As reported in: Kier (2002). The Structure and Adhesive Mechanism of Octopus Suckers. Integrative and Comparative Biology. doi:10.1093/icb/42.6.1146
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Nagel and colleagues showed a light-sensitive protein from Chlamydomonas algae acts as a light-gated channel.
As reported in: Nagel, Ollig, Fuhrmann et al. (2002). Channelrhodopsin-1: A Light-Gated Proton Channel in Green Algae. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1072068
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Shimizu-Sato and colleagues built a plant phytochrome-based system that switches gene expression on and off with red and far-red light in yeast.
Built / tested: light-switchable gene system
As reported in: Shimizu-Sato, Huq, Tepperman et al. (2002). A light-switchable gene promoter system. Nature Biotechnology. doi:10.1038/nbt734
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Thomas and colleagues found that crickets infected with the hairworm Paragordius tricuspidatus were more likely to jump into water, where the adult worm needs to live, than uninfected crickets.
As reported in: Thomas, Schmidt-Rhaesa, Martin et al. (2002). Do hairworms (Nematomorpha) manipulate the water seeking behaviour of their terrestrial hosts?. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. doi:10.1046/j.1420-9101.2002.00410.x
Federle studied the mechanics and wet adhesion of the foldable pretarsal pads (arolia) of weaver ants.
As reported in: Federle (2002). An Integrative Study of Insect Adhesion: Mechanics and Wet Adhesion of Pretarsal Pads in Ants. Integrative and Comparative Biology. doi:10.1093/icb/42.6.1100
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Poss, Wilson and Keating showed zebrafish fully regenerate their hearts within 2 months after 20% of the ventricle is removed, by cardiomyocyte proliferation instead of scarring.
As reported in: Poss, Wilson, Keating (2002). Heart Regeneration in Zebrafish. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1077857
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Graur and Pupko questioned the 250 million-year age of the salt-crystal bacterium, noting doubts that spores could survive that long and the extraordinary similarity of its gene sequence to modern Bacillus.
As reported in: Graur, Pupko (2001). The Permian Bacterium that Isn't. Molecular Biology and Evolution. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003887
Miller and Bassler reviewed quorum sensing: bacteria release autoinducer molecules and change gene activity once a threshold concentration is reached, controlling things like glow, virulence and biofilms.
As reported in: Miller, Bassler (2001). Quorum Sensing in Bacteria. Annual Review of Microbiology. doi:10.1146/annurev.micro.55.1.165
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Lohmann and colleagues found that hatchling loggerhead turtles exposed to magnetic fields matching three distant ocean regions swam in directions that would keep them in the North Atlantic gyre along their migration route.
As reported in: Lohmann, Cain, Dodge et al. (2001). Regional Magnetic Fields as Navigational Markers for Sea Turtles. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1064557
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Sumbre and colleagues triggered normal-looking reaching movements in octopus arms cut off from the brain, suggesting the motor program lives in the arm itself.
As reported in: Sumbre, Gutfreund, Fiorito et al. (2001). Control of Octopus Arm Extension by a Peripheral Motor Program. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1060976
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O'Neill and colleagues showed Arabidopsis growth depends on borate cross-links in the cell-wall pectin rhamnogalacturonan II: dwarf mur1 mutants had only half of it cross-linked, and adding borate rescued the defect.
As reported in: O'Neill, Eberhard, Albersheim et al. (2001). Requirement of Borate Cross-Linking of Cell Wall Rhamnogalacturonan II for Arabidopsis Growth. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1062319
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Vreeland and colleagues reported isolating and growing a spore-forming Bacillus (strain 2-9-3) from a brine inclusion in a 250 million-year-old Permian salt crystal.
Disputed: the 250-million-year age is challenged by Graur & Pupko 2001 (doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003887).
As reported in: Vreeland, Rosenzweig, Powers (2000). Isolation of a 250 million-year-old halotolerant bacterium from a primary salt crystal. Nature. doi:10.1038/35038060
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Ritz, Adem and Schulten proposed that birds sense magnetic fields through radical-pair chemical reactions in eye photoreceptors.
As reported in: Ritz, Adem, Schulten (2000). A Model for Photoreceptor-Based Magnetoreception in Birds. Biophysical Journal. doi:10.1016/S0006-3495(00)76629-X
Huiskes and colleagues modelled bone cells responding to mechanical load, explaining how trabecular architecture emerges and adapts as an optimal structure.
As reported in: Huiskes, Ruimerman, van Lenthe et al. (2000). Effects of mechanical forces on maintenance and adaptation of form in trabecular bone. Nature. doi:10.1038/35015116
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Brim and colleagues engineered D. radiodurans to treat mixed radioactive waste containing ionic mercury.
As reported in: Brim, McFarlan, Fredrickson et al. (2000). Engineering Deinococcus radiodurans for metal remediation in radioactive mixed waste environments. Nature Biotechnology. doi:10.1038/71986
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Autumn and colleagues measured the adhesive force of a single gecko foot hair.
As reported in: Autumn, Liang, Hsieh et al. (2000). Adhesive force of a single gecko foot-hair. Nature. doi:10.1038/35015073
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Boetius and colleagues described a marine consortium of archaea and sulfate-reducing bacteria that apparently carries out anaerobic oxidation of methane.
As reported in: Boetius, Ravenschlag, Schubert et al. (2000). A marine microbial consortium apparently mediating anaerobic oxidation of methane. Nature. doi:10.1038/35036572
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Boyd and colleagues fertilized a patch of the polar Southern Ocean with iron, raising phytoplankton biomass and causing a large drawdown of CO2 and nutrients.
As reported in: Boyd, Watson, Law et al. (2000). A mesoscale phytoplankton bloom in the polar Southern Ocean stimulated by iron fertilization. Nature. doi:10.1038/35037500
Berdoy, Webster and Macdonald found that Toxoplasma gondii infection appears to change rats' perception of cat predation risk, in some cases turning their natural aversion to cat odour into attraction, while leaving other behaviours and general health intact.
As reported in: Berdoy, Webster, Macdonald (2000). Fatal attraction in rats infected with Toxoplasma gondii. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences. doi:10.1098/rspb.2000.1182
Mi and colleagues found syncytin, an envelope protein from an ancient retrovirus captured in the human genome, makes cells fuse and may be important in forming the human placenta.
As reported in: Mi, Lee, Li et al. (2000). Syncytin is a captive retroviral envelope protein involved in human placental morphogenesis. Nature. doi:10.1038/35001608
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Ban and colleagues solved the atomic structure of the large ribosomal subunit of Haloarcula marismortui, showing its RNAs fit together like a 3D jigsaw and that the active site where proteins are joined is free of protein.
As reported in: Ban, Nissen, Hansen et al. (2000). The Complete Atomic Structure of the Large Ribosomal Subunit at 2.4 Å Resolution. Science. doi:10.1126/science.289.5481.905
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Wimberly and colleagues reported the crystal structure of the 30S ribosomal subunit from Thermus thermophilus at 3 Å resolution.
As reported in: Wimberly, Brodersen, Clemons et al. (2000). Structure of the 30S ribosomal subunit. Nature. doi:10.1038/35030006
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Szulgit and Shadwick found two dermis extracts made sea cucumber tissue stiff or compliant, even after cells were lysed, so they act on the extracellular matrix.
As reported in: Szulgit, Shadwick (2000). Dynamic Mechanical Characterization of a Mutable Collagenous Tissue: Response of Sea Cucumber Dermis to Cell Lysis and Dermal Extracts. Journal of Experimental Biology. doi:10.1242/jeb.203.10.1539
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Nakagaki, Yamada and Tóth reported that the slime mold Physarum can find a path through a maze.
As reported in: Nakagaki, Yamada, Tóth (2000). Maze-solving by an amoeboid organism. Nature. doi:10.1038/35035159
Gardner, Cantor and Collins built a synthetic two-state (bistable) gene network in E. coli that flips between states and stays there, and gave a simple theory predicting when this works.
Built / tested: genetic toggle switch
As reported in: Gardner, Cantor, Collins (2000). Construction of a genetic toggle switch in Escherichia coli. Nature. doi:10.1038/35002131
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Elowitz and Leibler wired three repressor genes not from any natural clock into a loop in E. coli, making cells periodically switch green fluorescent protein on and off.
Built / tested: repressilator
As reported in: Elowitz, Leibler (2000). A synthetic oscillatory network of transcriptional regulators. Nature. doi:10.1038/35002125
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Eisner and Aneshansley found the beetle Hemisphaerota cyanea presses about 60,000 adhesive bristles down when attacked, resisting pulls about 60 times its body mass for 2 minutes.
As reported in: Eisner, Aneshansley (2000). Defense by foot adhesion in a beetle ( Hemisphaerota cyanea ). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.97.12.6568
Noad and colleagues recorded east Australian humpbacks rapidly replacing their song with a completely new song type, an unusually radical song change.
As reported in: Noad, Cato, Bryden et al. (2000). Cultural revolution in whale songs. Nature. doi:10.1038/35046199
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Kröger, Deutzmann and Sumper isolated silaffins, chemically modified peptides from diatom cell walls that form networks of silica nanospheres within seconds when added to silicic acid.
As reported in: Kröger, Deutzmann, Sumper (1999). Polycationic Peptides from Diatom Biosilica That Direct Silica Nanosphere Formation. Science. doi:10.1126/science.286.5442.1129
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Wakayama and colleagues produced full-term cloned mice from cumulus cell nuclei.
Built / tested: cloned mice
As reported in: Wakayama, Perry, Zuccotti et al. (1998). Full-term development of mice from enucleated oocytes injected with cumulus cell nuclei. Nature. doi:10.1038/28615
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Doyle, MacKinnon and colleagues solved the structure of a bacterial potassium channel, in which four subunits form a cone around a narrow 12 Å selectivity filter lined with oxygen atoms that fits potassium ions but not smaller sodium ions.
As reported in: Doyle, Cabral, Pfuetzner et al. (1998). The Structure of the Potassium Channel: Molecular Basis of K + Conduction and Selectivity. Science. doi:10.1126/science.280.5360.69
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Von der Emde and colleagues showed electric fish can accurately measure the distance of most objects during electrolocation regardless of size, shape or material, suggesting a new way to perceive depth.
As reported in: von der Emde, Schwarz, Gomez et al. (1998). Electric fish measure distance in the dark. Nature. doi:10.1038/27655
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Tsien reviewed how GFP forms its glowing center and how engineered colour variants became tools across biology.
As reported in: Tsien (1998). THE GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN. Annual Review of Biochemistry. doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.67.1.509
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Martínez followed three Hydra cohorts for four years and found no evidence of aging in mortality or reproduction.
As reported in: Martı́nez (1998). Mortality Patterns Suggest Lack of Senescence in Hydra. Experimental Gerontology. doi:10.1016/S0531-5565(97)00113-7
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Cary, Shank and Stein reported that Alvinella pompejana regularly experiences temperatures above 80 °C and a 60 °C gradient along its body.
As reported in: Cary, Shank, Stein (1998). Worms bask in extreme temperatures. Nature. doi:10.1038/35286
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García-Arrarás and colleagues tracked intestine regrowth in Holothuria glaberrima after evisceration: all tissue layers were present by the second week and normal proportions about a week later.
As reported in: García-Arrarás, Estrada-Rodgers, Santiago et al. (1998). Cellular mechanisms of intestine regeneration in the sea cucumber,Holothuria glaberrima Selenka (Holothuroidea:Echinodermata). The Journal of Experimental Zoology. doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-010x(19980701)281:4<288::aid-jez5>3.0.co;2-k
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Wilmut and colleagues reported lambs from fetal and adult cells, including Dolly, cloned from an adult mammary cell.
Publisher update notice: correction
Built / tested: Dolly the sheep
As reported in: Wilmut, Schnieke, McWhir et al. (1997). Viable offspring derived from fetal and adult mammalian cells. Nature. doi:10.1038/385810a0
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Clegg found that at least 60% of encysted Artemia franciscana embryos survived 4 years of continuous anoxia when fully hydrated, with no measurable use of their stored carbohydrates, and argued their metabolism comes to a reversible standstill.
As reported in: Clegg (1997). Embryos of Artemia Franciscana Survive Four Years of Continuous Anoxia: The Case for Complete Metabolic Rate Depression. Journal of Experimental Biology. doi:10.1242/jeb.200.3.467
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West, Brown and Enquist derived the 3/4 power law of metabolic rate from a model of space-filling fractal networks of branching tubes.
As reported in: West, Brown, Enquist (1997). A General Model for the Origin of Allometric Scaling Laws in Biology. Science. doi:10.1126/science.276.5309.122
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Stetter and colleagues described Pyrolobus fumarii, an archaeon from a black smoker wall at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, extending the known upper temperature limit for life to 113 °C.
As reported in: Hafenbradl, Jannasch, Stetter et al. (1997). Pyrolobus fumarii , gen. and sp. nov., represents a novel group of archaea, extending the upper temperature limit for life to 113�C. Extremophiles. doi:10.1007/s007920050010
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Noji and colleagues directly observed the rotation of F1-ATPase, part of ATP synthase, showing it is a rotary molecular motor.
As reported in: Noji, Yasuda, Yoshida et al. (1997). Direct observation of the rotation of F1-ATPase. Nature. doi:10.1038/386299a0
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Simard and colleagues used isotope labelling in the field to show carbon moved in both directions between paper birch and Douglas fir linked by ectomycorrhizal fungi, regulated by source-sink relationships.
As reported in: Simard, Perry, Jones et al. (1997). Net transfer of carbon between ectomycorrhizal tree species in the field. Nature. doi:10.1038/41557
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Beinert, Holm and Münck reviewed iron-sulfur clusters, found in all life forms, which transfer electrons and also act as catalytic centres and as sensors of iron and oxygen.
As reported in: Beinert, Holm, Münck (1997). Iron-Sulfur Clusters: Nature's Modular, Multipurpose Structures. Science. doi:10.1126/science.277.5326.653
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Campbell and colleagues cloned sheep (Megan and Morag) by nuclear transfer from a cultured cell line.
Built / tested: cloned sheep
As reported in: Campbell, McWhir, Ritchie et al. (1996). Sheep cloned by nuclear transfer from a cultured cell line. Nature. doi:10.1038/380064a0
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Abe and Kimura proposed hydrogen sulfide as a natural signaling molecule in the brain.
As reported in: Abe, Kimura (1996). The possible role of hydrogen sulfide as an endogenous neuromodulator. The Journal of Neuroscience. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.16-03-01066.1996
Showed how specialised macromolecules stabilise amorphous calcium carbonate in biological and synthetic precipitates.
As reported in: Aizenberg, Addadi, Weiner et al. (1996). Stabilization of amorphous calcium carbonate by specialized macromolecules in biological and synthetic precipitates. Advanced Materials. doi:10.1002/adma.19960080307
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Coale and colleagues added iron to the equatorial Pacific and triggered a massive phytoplankton bloom, supporting the hypothesis that growth there is limited by iron.
As reported in: Coale, Johnson, Fitzwater et al. (1996). A massive phytoplankton bloom induced by an ecosystem-scale iron fertilization experiment in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Nature. doi:10.1038/383495a0
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Showed that spicules of the sponge Clathrina have a crystalline calcite core with an outer layer of amorphous calcium carbonate stabilised by macromolecules.
As reported in: Aizenberg, Addadi, Weiner et al. (1996). Stabilization of amorphous calcium carbonate by specialized macromolecules in biological and synthetic precipitates. Advanced Materials. doi:10.1002/adma.19960080307
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Piraino and colleagues showed Turritopsis medusae at all stages can transform back into colonial polyps, the first animal known to revert after sexual maturity.
As reported in: Piraino, Boero, Aeschbach et al. (1996). Reversing the Life Cycle: Medusae Transforming into Polyps and Cell Transdifferentiation in Turritopsis nutricula (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa). The Biological Bulletin. doi:10.2307/1543022
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Cano and Borucki reported reviving a bacterial spore from extinct bees preserved in Dominican amber, most closely related to today's Bacillus sphaericus, and argued it was not a modern contaminant.
Disputed: ancient-spore revival claims are contested (see Graur & Pupko 2001, doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003887).
As reported in: Cano, Borucki (1995). Revival and identification of bacterial spores in 25- to 40-million-year-old Dominican amber. Science. doi:10.1126/science.7538699
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Kondo and Asai described a reaction–diffusion wave on the skin of the angelfish Pomacanthus.
As reported in: Kondo, Asai (1995). A reaction–diffusion wave on the skin of the marine angelfish Pomacanthus. Nature. doi:10.1038/376765a0
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Fish and Battle found the humpback whale flipper has a wing-like cross-section with rounded tubercles along its leading edge, which they suggested act as lift-enhancing devices at high angles of attack.
As reported in: Fish, Battle (1995). Hydrodynamic design of the humpback whale flipper. Journal of Morphology. doi:10.1002/jmor.1052250105
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Chan and colleagues solved the structure of the tungsten-containing aldehyde ferredoxin oxidoreductase from Pyrococcus furiosus, an archaeon that grows best at 100 °C; each subunit holds an Fe4S4 cluster and a tungsten bound by two molybdopterin molecules.
As reported in: Chan, Mukund, Kletzin et al. (1995). Structure of a Hyperthermophilic Tungstopterin Enzyme, Aldehyde Ferredoxin Oxidoreductase. Science. doi:10.1126/science.7878465
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Chalfie and colleagues showed GFP glows in bacteria and roundworms without any added jellyfish chemicals, making it a living marker for gene expression.
Built / tested: fluorescent reporter organisms
As reported in: Chalfie, Tu, Euskirchen et al. (1994). Green Fluorescent Protein as a Marker for Gene Expression. Science. doi:10.1126/science.8303295
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Finer, Simmons and Spudich measured single myosin molecules producing piconewton forces in nanometre steps.
As reported in: Finer, Simmons, Spudich (1994). Single myosin molecule mechanics: piconewton forces and nanometre steps. Nature. doi:10.1038/368113a0
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Stemmer introduced DNA shuffling, recombining gene fragments to evolve proteins rapidly in the lab.
As reported in: Stemmer (1994). Rapid evolution of a protein in vitro by DNA shuffling. Nature. doi:10.1038/370389a0
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Svoboda and colleagues used optical trapping interferometry to directly observe single kinesin molecules stepping along microtubules.
As reported in: Svoboda, Schmidt, Schnapp et al. (1993). Direct observation of kinesin stepping by optical trapping interferometry. Nature. doi:10.1038/365721a0
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Chen and Arnold used repeated rounds of random mutation to make the enzyme subtilisin work in an unusual solvent.
Built / tested: evolved subtilisin
As reported in: Chen, Arnold (1993). Tuning the activity of an enzyme for unusual environments: sequential random mutagenesis of subtilisin E for catalysis in dimethylformamide.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.90.12.5618
Prasher and colleagues cloned and reported the primary structure (gene sequence) of Aequorea green fluorescent protein.
Built / tested: cloned GFP gene
As reported in: Prasher, Eckenrode, Ward et al. (1992). Primary structure of the Aequorea victoria green-fluorescent protein. Gene. doi:10.1016/0378-1119(92)90691-H
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Kim and Rees proposed structural models, from a 2.7 Å crystal structure, for the metal centres of the nitrogenase molybdenum-iron protein: the FeMo-cofactor, built from iron-sulfur and molybdenum-iron-sulfur clusters, and the P-clusters, made of two 4Fe:4S clusters.
As reported in: Kim, Rees (1992). Structural Models for the Metal Centers in the Nitrogenase Molybdenum-Iron Protein. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1529354
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Langbauer and colleagues played low-frequency elephant calls to wild African elephants 1.2 and 2.0 km away, and the elephants responded at both distances.
As reported in: Langbauer, Payne, Charif et al. (1991). African Elephants Respond to Distant Playbacks of Low-Frequency Conspecific Calls. Journal of Experimental Biology. doi:10.1242/jeb.157.1.35
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Lenski and colleagues founded 12 E. coli populations from one ancestor; mean fitness rose about 37% in 2,000 generations, with gains slowing over time.
As reported in: Lenski, Rose, Simpson et al. (1991). Long-Term Experimental Evolution in Escherichia coli. I. Adaptation and Divergence During 2,000 Generations. The American Naturalist. doi:10.1086/285289
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Hardin, Hall and Rosbash reported that the protein made by the Drosophila period gene feeds back on the daily cycling of its own messenger RNA.
As reported in: Hardin, Hall, Rosbash (1990). Feedback of the Drosophila period gene product on circadian cycling of its messenger RNA levels. Nature. doi:10.1038/343536a0
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Henderson and colleagues built a model of bacteriorhodopsin from high-resolution electron cryo-microscopy.
As reported in: Henderson, Baldwin, Ceska et al. (1990). Model for the structure of bacteriorhodopsin based on high-resolution electron cryo-microscopy. Journal of Molecular Biology. doi:10.1016/S0022-2836(05)80271-2
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Mladenov and colleagues found arm-tip regrowth in Leptasterias hexactis works without a true blastema but needs scattered cell division.
As reported in: Mladenov, Bisgrove, Asotra et al. (1989). Mechanisms of arm-tip regeneration in the sea star, Leptasterias hexactis. Roux's Archives of Developmental Biology. doi:10.1007/bf00376366
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Goss and colleagues described self-organised shortcuts in Argentine ant trails.
As reported in: Goss, Aron, Deneubourg et al. (1989). Self-organized shortcuts in the Argentine ant. Naturwissenschaften. doi:10.1007/BF00462870
Chisholm and colleagues described a new free-living prochlorophyte that is abundant in the sunlit (euphotic) zone of the open ocean.
As reported in: Chisholm, Olson, Zettler et al. (1988). A novel free-living prochlorophyte abundant in the oceanic euphotic zone. Nature. doi:10.1038/334340a0
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Saiki and colleagues used the T. aquaticus polymerase in PCR, improving specificity, yield and sensitivity and amplifying single-copy genes more than 10 million-fold.
As reported in: Saiki, Gelfand, Stoffel et al. (1988). Primer-directed enzymatic amplification of DNA with a thermostable DNA polymerase. Science. doi:10.1126/science.239.4839.487
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de Wet and colleagues described the firefly luciferase gene and expressed it in mammalian cells.
Built / tested: reporter assays
As reported in: de Wet, Wood, DeLuca et al. (1987). Firefly luciferase gene: structure and expression in mammalian cells.. Molecular and Cellular Biology. doi:10.1128/MCB.7.2.725
Ashkin and Dziedzic trapped and moved tobacco mosaic viruses and live E. coli with laser light without apparent damage.
As reported in: Ashkin, Dziedzic (1987). Optical Trapping and Manipulation of Viruses and Bacteria. Science. doi:10.1126/science.3547653
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Palmer, Ferrige, and Moncada showed nitric oxide release accounts for the endothelium-derived relaxing factor.
As reported in: Palmer, Ferrige, Moncada (1987). Nitric oxide release accounts for the biological activity of endothelium-derived relaxing factor. Nature. doi:10.1038/327524a0
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Ignarro and colleagues independently identified the relaxing factor from arteries and veins as nitric oxide.
As reported in: Ignarro, Buga, Wood et al. (1987). Endothelium-derived relaxing factor produced and released from artery and vein is nitric oxide.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.84.24.9265
Westheimer explained why phosphates dominate living chemistry: phosphoric acid can link two nucleotides and still carry a negative charge, which protects nucleic acids from breaking down and keeps molecules inside lipid membranes.
As reported in: Westheimer (1987). Why Nature Chose Phosphates. Science. doi:10.1126/science.2434996
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Robson and colleagues showed that the alternative nitrogenase of the bacterium Azotobacter chroococcum is a vanadium enzyme.
As reported in: Robson, Eady, Richardson et al. (1986). The alternative nitrogenase of Azotobacter chroococcum is a vanadium enzyme. Nature. doi:10.1038/322388a0
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Vale, Reese and Sheetz identified kinesin, a new force-generating protein involved in movement along microtubules.
As reported in: VALE, REESE, SHEETZ (1985). Identification of a novel force-generating protein, kinesin, involved in microtubule-based motility. Cell. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(85)80099-4
Smith displayed foreign protein pieces on the surface of virus particles, the basis of phage display used to evolve antibodies.
As reported in: Smith (1985). Filamentous Fusion Phage: Novel Expression Vectors That Display Cloned Antigens on the Virion Surface. Science. doi:10.1126/science.4001944
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Miller, McLachlan and Klug found that transcription factor IIIA from frog oocytes contains nine repeated units of about 30 amino acids, each with paired cysteines and histidines and folded around a zinc ion.
As reported in: Miller, McLachlan, Klug (1985). Repetitive zinc‐binding domains in the protein transcription factor IIIA from Xenopus oocytes.. The EMBO Journal. doi:10.1002/j.1460-2075.1985.tb03825.x
Harrison and colleagues recorded 32 coral species on the Great Barrier Reef spawning together a few nights after late-spring full moons.
As reported in: Harrison, Babcock, Bull et al. (1984). Mass Spawning in Tropical Reef Corals. Science. doi:10.1126/science.223.4641.1186
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Harrison and colleagues recorded 32 coral species on the Great Barrier Reef spawning together a few nights after late-spring full moons in 1981 and 1982, releasing eggs and sperm for external fertilization.
As reported in: Harrison, Babcock, Bull et al. (1984). Mass Spawning in Tropical Reef Corals. Science. doi:10.1126/science.223.4641.1186
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Motokawa reviewed echinoderm catch connective tissue, whose stiffness changes in seconds to minutes under nervous control, not by muscle.
As reported in: MOTOKAWA (1984). CONNECTIVE TISSUE CATCH IN ECHINODERMS. Biological Reviews. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185x.1984.tb00409.x
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Okada and colleagues showed that a Flavobacterium breaks down by-products of nylon manufacture using newly evolved enzymes, one of which arose by gene duplication followed by base substitutions.
As reported in: Okada, Negoro, Kimura et al. (1983). Evolutionary adaptation of plasmid-encoded enzymes for degrading nylon oligomers. Nature. doi:10.1038/306203a0
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Felbeck found high levels of sulfur-energy and carbon-fixing (Calvin cycle) enzymes in the trophosome of the mouthless tube worm Riftia pachyptila, consistent with an autotrophic way of feeding.
As reported in: Felbeck (1981). Chemoautotrophic Potential of the Hydrothermal Vent Tube Worm, Riftia pachyptila Jones (Vestimentifera). Science. doi:10.1126/science.213.4505.336
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Cavanaugh and colleagues suggested, from tissue and enzyme evidence, that Riftia tube worms host chemoautotrophic sulfur-oxidising bacteria as symbionts.
As reported in: Cavanaugh, Gardiner, Jones et al. (1981). Prokaryotic Cells in the Hydrothermal Vent Tube Worm Riftia pachyptila Jones: Possible Chemoautotrophic Symbionts. Science. doi:10.1126/science.213.4505.340
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Alvarez and colleagues found iridium spikes of about 20 to 160 times background at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in Italy, Denmark and New Zealand and proposed that a large asteroid impact caused the extinctions.
As reported in: Alvarez, Alvarez, Asaro et al. (1980). Extraterrestrial Cause for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction. Science. doi:10.1126/science.208.4448.1095
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Furchgott and Zawadzki showed blood vessel relaxation needs the inner endothelial cells, which release a relaxing factor.
As reported in: Furchgott, Zawadzki (1980). The obligatory role of endothelial cells in the relaxation of arterial smooth muscle by acetylcholine. Nature. doi:10.1038/288373a0
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Belbenoit and colleagues observed the electric discharges of the electric catfish Malapterurus electricus and found that at night long volleys were sometimes preceded by a low-frequency train of discharges.
As reported in: Belbenoit, Moller, Serrier et al. (1979). Ethological observations on the electric organ discharge behaviour of the electric catfish, Malapterurus electricus (Pisces). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. doi:10.1007/bf00303240
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Corliss and colleagues explored Galápagos Rift hot springs with the submersible Alvin and found animal communities that appear to get their entire energy supply from chemosynthesis by sulfur-oxidising bacteria rather than photosynthesis.
As reported in: Corliss, Dymond, Gordon et al. (1979). Submarine Thermal Springs on the Galápagos Rift. Science. doi:10.1126/science.203.4385.1073
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Frankel, Blakemore and Wolfe identified magnetite as the magnetic mineral in a freshwater magnetotactic spirillum.
As reported in: Frankel, Blakemore, Wolfe (1979). Magnetite in Freshwater Magnetotactic Bacteria. Science. doi:10.1126/science.203.4387.1355
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Schreiber and Rossi found pigeon race homing efficiency fell as sunspot numbers rose, measured by arrivals before nightfall and the speed of the first arrival.
As reported in: Schreiber, Rossi (1978). Correlation between magnetic storms due to solar spots and pigeon homing performances. IEEE Transactions on Magnetics. doi:10.1109/tmag.1978.1059801
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From diving observations off Santa Barbara, Bray and Hixon found Pacific electric rays enter reefs at night and actively prey on fish using powerful electric discharges.
As reported in: Bray, Hixon (1978). Night-Shocker: Predatory Behavior of the Pacific Electric Ray ( Torpedo californica ). Science. doi:10.1126/science.200.4339.333
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Colman and colleagues determined the X-ray crystal structure of plastocyanin at 2.7 Å resolution.
As reported in: Colman, Freeman, Guss et al. (1978). X-ray crystal structure analysis of plastocyanin at 2.7 Å resolution. Nature. doi:10.1038/272319a0
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Young and Roper showed midwater squid switch on downward-facing light organs under overhead light and become invisible when their glow matches it, strongly supporting the countershading theory.
As reported in: Young, Roper (1976). Bioluminescent Countershading in Midwater Animals: Evidence from Living Squid. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1251214
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Chien, Edgar and Trela purified a stable DNA polymerase from T. aquaticus with a temperature optimum of 80 °C.
As reported in: Chien, Edgar, Trela (1976). Deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase from the extreme thermophile Thermus aquaticus. Journal of Bacteriology. doi:10.1128/jb.127.3.1550-1557.1976
Blakemore observed marine sediment bacteria that swim along the geomagnetic field and contain iron-rich particles inside membrane vesicles, which could act as a magnet in fields as weak as 0.5 gauss.
As reported in: Blakemore (1975). Magnetotactic Bacteria. Science. doi:10.1126/science.170679
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Dixon and colleagues identified jack bean urease as a metalloenzyme and suggested a simple biological role for nickel.
As reported in: Dixon, Gazzola, Blakeley et al. (1975). Jack bean urease (EC 3.5.1.5). Metalloenzyme. Simple biological role for nickel. Journal of the American Chemical Society. doi:10.1021/ja00847a045
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Rotruck and colleagues showed selenium is part of glutathione peroxidase: red cells from selenium-deficient rats lacked the enzyme's activity and could not protect haemoglobin from oxidative damage, and the purified enzyme held much of the cells' radioactive selenium-75.
As reported in: Rotruck, Pope, Ganther et al. (1973). Selenium: Biochemical Role as a Component of Glutathione Peroxidase. Science. doi:10.1126/science.179.4073.588
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Berg and Brown analysed E. coli chemotaxis by tracking individual bacteria in three dimensions.
As reported in: BERG, BROWN (1972). Chemotaxis in Escherichia coli analysed by Three-dimensional Tracking. Nature. doi:10.1038/239500a0
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Konopka and Benzer found three fruit fly mutants with altered daily rhythms (one arrhythmic, one 19-hour and one 28-hour), all in the same gene on the X chromosome, later called period.
As reported in: Konopka, Benzer (1971). Clock Mutants of Drosophila melanogaster. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.68.9.2112
Payne and McVay found humpbacks repeat 7–30 minute sound sequences ("songs") with precision, in sessions lasting hours.
As reported in: Payne, McVay (1971). Songs of Humpback Whales. Science. doi:10.1126/science.173.3997.585
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Brock and Freeze isolated Thermus aquaticus from Yellowstone hot springs; it grows best at 70 °C, up to 79 °C.
As reported in: Brock, Freeze (1969). Thermus aquaticus gen. n. and sp. n., a Nonsporulating Extreme Thermophile. Journal of Bacteriology. doi:10.1128/jb.98.1.289-297.1969
Lindenmayer introduced mathematical models of cellular interactions in development, the origin of L-systems.
As reported in: Lindenmayer (1968). Mathematical models for cellular interactions in development I. Filaments with one-sided inputs. Journal of Theoretical Biology. doi:10.1016/0022-5193(68)90079-9
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Sagan (later Margulis) proposed that complex cells arose through symbiosis, with photosynthetic plastids acquired by some early protozoans to form algae and green plants.
As reported in: Sagan (1967). On the origin of mitosing cells. Journal of Theoretical Biology. doi:10.1016/0022-5193(67)90079-3
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Adler showed E. coli in a capillary tube form visible migrating bands, moving toward oxygen and energy sources such as galactose, glucose and serine.
As reported in: Adler (1966). Chemotaxis in Bacteria. Science. doi:10.1126/science.153.3737.708
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Shimomura and colleagues purified aequorin, a light-emitting protein from Aequorea jellyfish; GFP was noted as a companion green protein in this work.
As reported in: Shimomura, Johnson, Saiga (1962). Extraction, Purification and Properties of Aequorin, a Bioluminescent Protein from the Luminous Hydromedusan, Aequorea. Journal of Cellular and Comparative Physiology. doi:10.1002/jcp.1030590302
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Caspar and Klug set out principles for how regular viruses build protective shells around their nucleic acid from many identical protein subunits, the basis of the classic theory of icosahedral capsids.
As reported in: Caspar, Klug (1962). Physical Principles in the Construction of Regular Viruses. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology. doi:10.1101/SQB.1962.027.001.005
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Connell studied how competition between species and other factors decide where the barnacle Chthamalus stellatus lives on the rocky shore, a classic study of intertidal ecology.
As reported in: Connell (1961). The Influence of Interspecific Competition and Other Factors on the Distribution of the Barnacle Chthamalus Stellatus. Ecology. doi:10.2307/1933500
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Perutz and colleagues obtained a three-dimensional Fourier synthesis of haemoglobin at 5.5 Å resolution by X-ray analysis.
As reported in: PERUTZ, ROSSMANN, CULLIS et al. (1960). Structure of Hæmoglobin: A Three-Dimensional Fourier Synthesis at 5.5-Å. Resolution, Obtained by X-Ray Analysis. Nature. doi:10.1038/185416a0
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Keilin's Leeuwenhoek Lecture reviewed the history and concept of anabiosis, or latent life.
As reported in: Keilin (1959). The Leeuwenhoek Lecture - The problem of anabiosis or latent life: history and current concept. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B - Biological Sciences. doi:10.1098/rspb.1959.0013
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Lissmann and Machin showed that the African knifefish Gymnarchus niloticus detects objects by the disturbance they cause in its own electric field, and is sensitive to a gradient of about 0.03 microvolts per cm.
As reported in: Lissmann, Machin (1958). The Mechanism of Object Location in Gymnarchus Niloticus and Similar Fish. Journal of Experimental Biology. doi:10.1242/jeb.35.2.451
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Kendrew and colleagues obtained a three-dimensional model of myoglobin by X-ray analysis.
As reported in: Kendrew, Bodo, Dintzis et al. (1958). A Three-Dimensional Model of the Myoglobin Molecule Obtained by X-Ray Analysis. Nature. doi:10.1038/181662a0
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Hodgkin and colleagues reported the structure of vitamin B12.
As reported in: HODGKIN, KAMPER, MACKAY et al. (1956). Structure of Vitamin B12. Nature. doi:10.1038/178064a0
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Franklin and Gosling reported X-ray diffraction of DNA (sodium thymonucleate) fibres.
As reported in: FRANKLIN, GOSLING (1953). Molecular Configuration in Sodium Thymonucleate. Nature. doi:10.1038/171740a0
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Hodgkin and Huxley gave a quantitative description of membrane current and its role in nerve conduction and excitation.
As reported in: Hodgkin, Huxley (1952). A quantitative description of membrane current and its application to conduction and excitation in nerve. The Journal of Physiology. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1952.sp004764
Hershey and Chase showed that when phage T2 infects bacteria its protein coat stays outside and attaches the virus, while its DNA goes in, an experiment widely cited as key evidence that DNA is the genetic material.
As reported in: Hershey, Chase (1952). INDEPENDENT FUNCTIONS OF VIRAL PROTEIN AND NUCLEIC ACID IN GROWTH OF BACTERIOPHAGE. Journal of General Physiology. doi:10.1085/jgp.36.1.39
Turing proposed that reacting, diffusing chemicals ("morphogens") can turn a uniform tissue into a pattern through instability triggered by random disturbances.
As reported in: Turing (1952). The chemical basis of morphogenesis. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. doi:10.1098/rstb.1952.0012
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Muller showed X-rays greatly increase mutation rates in fruit flies (1946 Nobel Prize).
As reported in: Muller (1927). Artificial Transmutation of the Gene. Science. doi:10.1126/science.66.1699.84
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Volterra modelled fluctuations in species abundance mathematically, the basis of Lotka–Volterra predator–prey equations.
As reported in: VOLTERRA (1926). Fluctuations in the Abundance of a Species considered Mathematically1. Nature. doi:10.1038/118558a0
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