New rice fights off drought


Researchers have created drought resistant transgenic rice using a gene from a small Eurasian flowering plant

Palaeospondylus: mystery of vertebrate evolution solved


Micro-CT scans using synchrotron radiation X-rays reveal Palaeospondylus morphology, finally allowing its placement on the evolutionary tree.

Diazoxide pills for Alzheimer’s disease?


Drug therapy with with diazoxide relieved symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of mice and improved memory.

Pathogenic genetic variation linked to H. pylori-related stomach cancer


Researchers find that the risk of stomach cancer due to infection withH. Pylori bacteria increases with specific genetic variations.

Plant hormone combats dehydration


Scientists show that CLE25 is a plant hormone that travels from roots to leaves and helps close stomata in times of dehydration stress.

Telework: a societal game-changer


COVID-19 series — installment #3: Team Leader Osamu Sakura (@RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project) talks about how the pandemic has affected society through the need for telework.

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Protein pileup affects social behavior through altered brain signaling


When a normal cellular cleanup process is disrupted, social behavior in mice is disrupted and they start behaving in ways that resemble human symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia.

Flies use fecal deposits as pheromones


Bioluminescence imaging of fly brains reveals neurons sensitive to fly poo laced with pheromones (you can see the fecal “landmark” in the dotted circle). Need we say more?

Boosting betaine may be a treatment for schizophrenia


Supplementing model mice with glycine betaine (trimethylglycine), a compound originally derived from beets, can alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia.

Dietary amino acid linked to cancer in flies


Researchers have found a dietary amino acid linked to oncogene expression / tumor formation; reduced consumption reduced cancer in flies.

Blood cell mutations linked to leukemia are inevitable


Researchers show that blood cell mutations increase with age identify risk factors for developing leukemia in Japanese and European populations.

Extra “eye” movements are the key to better self-driving cars


If self-driving cars make saccades like people, they might make fewer mistakes identifying important features of the road.

Social contact-seeking behavior and loneliness in the brain


Levels of the peptide amylin in the brain are related to loneliness; activating amylin neurons in the MPOA drives isolated mice to seek social contact.

Next stop: clinical hair regeneration


A new recipe for continuous cyclical hair regeneration in mice. This means that the hair will continue to fall out and regrow like normal hair.

Why (mouse) mothers take risks to protect their infants


The calcitonin receptor and its ligand amylin act in the brain to motivate mouse mothers to protect their pups, even in risky/dangerous situations.

Eating a high fat diet without getting obese?


Scientists discover that without innate immune cells in the intestines, eating a high fat diet does not lead to obesity in mice.