Science

The presence of the Asian small-clawed otter has been confirmed in Nepal for the first time in over 185 years.

Mongabay News reported that scientists and conservationists have been celebrating the sightings. The Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus) is the world's smallest otter. Its existence in Nepal hadn't been confirmed since 1839.

Many feared it was extinct in the area. Sightings were reported in Makalu Barun National Park over the years, but none were confirmed. In November, forestry department officials in Dadeldhura district discovered a juvenile otter. It was in a "fragile and injured state." Officials fed and cared for it, not realizing the importance of finding this critter.

The ocean is Earth’s last great mystery, a vast, uncharted world teeming with lifeforms we have yet to encounter. And now, scientists have uncovered a new deep-sea predator lurking in the shadows of the hadal zone—an extreme, inhospitable environment nearly 8 kilometers beneath the ocean’s surface. This recently identified creature, Dulcibella camanchaca, is not just a new species; it belongs to an entirely new genus, revealing an evolutionary branch previously unknown to science.

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• Researchers designed a gene-editing system that replaced up to a quarter of the main type of cell in the mouse liver with edited cells.
• The technique shows promise for treating genetic diseases that require the correction or replacement of defective genes in the liver.

Researchers shocked to see that bacteria’s antimicrobial resistance is strengthened when exposed to plastic particles and point to a potential outsized impact on refugees

Concentrations of lead in the air remain substantial in developed and developing countries, largely the result of industrial emissions. Even with the decline in lead in gasoline, developed countries, including the United States, still have substantial air lead emissions and in part as a result, blood lead levels in children are high worldwide.

In a new study, researchers used data on lead emissions in the air to estimate the effects of air lead concentration on infant mortality. The study found a statistically significant relation between air lead concentration and infant mortality.

Researchers showed that bioactive glass administered with gallium oxide in the laboratory can reduce cancer cells and leave noncancerous cells unharmed.

Abstract: Evolution in profound darkness often leads to predictable, convergent traits, such as the loss of vision. Yet, the consequences of such repeated evolutionary experiments remain obscure, especially regarding fundamental regulatory behaviors like circadian rhythms. We studied circadian clocks of blind cave spiders and their sighted relatives. In the field, cave spiders exhibit low per expression and maintain constant activity levels. Curiously, their clocks are not permanently lost; exposure to monochromatic blue light restores both circadian gene expression and behavioral rhythms. Conversely, blocking blue light in sighted relatives induces an arrhythmic “cave phenotype.” Our RNA interference experiments suggest that clock genes regulate the rhythmicity of the huddle response, establishing a link between circadian gene networks and this behavioral rhythm. We demonstrate that circadian regulation is readily toggled and may play a latent role, even in constant darkness. Overall, our study expands understanding of circadian clock variations and paves the way for future research on the maintenance of silent phenotypes.

Abstract: Evolution in profound darkness often leads to predictable, convergent traits, such as the loss of vision. Yet, the consequences of such repeated evolutionary experiments remain obscure, especially regarding fundamental regulatory behaviors like circadian rhythms. We studied circadian clocks of blind cave spiders and their sighted relatives. In the field, cave spiders exhibit low per expression and maintain constant activity levels. Curiously, their clocks are not permanently lost; exposure to monochromatic blue light restores both circadian gene expression and behavioral rhythms. Conversely, blocking blue light in sighted relatives induces an arrhythmic “cave phenotype.” Our RNA interference experiments suggest that clock genes regulate the rhythmicity of the huddle response, establishing a link between circadian gene networks and this behavioral rhythm. We demonstrate that circadian regulation is readily toggled and may play a latent role, even in constant darkness. Overall, our study expands understanding of circadian clock variations and paves the way for future research on the maintenance of silent phenotypes.

How bad can a solar storm be? Just ask a tree. Unlike human records, which go back hundreds of years, trees can remember solar storms for millennia.

Nagoya University doctoral student Fusa Miyake made the discovery in 2012 while studying rings in the stump of a 1900-year-old Japanese cedar. One ring, in particular, drew her attention. Grown in the year 774–75 AD, it contained a 12% jump in radioactive carbon-14 (14C), about 20 times greater than ordinary fluctuations from cosmic radiation. Other teams confirmed the spike in wood from Germany, Russia, the United States, Finland, and New Zealand. Whatever happened, trees all over the world experienced it.

Abstract: Experiencing negative content through art has a unique power to transform our perceptions and foster engagement. While this idea has been widely discussed, empirical evidence is scarce, since experimental testing of art experiences poses significant challenges. Here, we aimed to fill this gap by quantifying and comparing individuals’ preference for engaging with art and nonart depicting matched negative content via two behavioral measures: the choice to engage vs. avoid and the duration of engagement.

Science Magazine: This RNA-pesticide targeting the Colorado potato beetle could offer a safer, more targeted alternative to chemical pesticides

However, the authors observed that some of these antibody responses in the skin originated from de novo germinal center–like structures that centered around hair follicles. Thus, the skin has the capacity to independently facilitate B cell maturation and generate an immune response to bacterial colonization.