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A Plant From the USA Has Invaded Europe – How Did They Do It?

Lead Image: The plant, Ambrosia artemisiifolia (also known as ragweed), has already spread all the way to Denmark. In order to comprehend the spread of the invasive North American plant known as ragweed, researchers looked into its genes. One of the world’s biggest environmental issues is alien species. However, scientists often are unable to explain why or how these species are able to spread so rapidly. “Invasive species are a key factor in the crisis that is affecting biological diversity now,” says Michael D. Martin, professor of evolutionary genomics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) University Museum. The…

“Unexpected” – Scientists Discover an Anti-Aging Mechanism

Lead Image: The mechanism delays and, in some cases, prevents the natural aging of immune cells. The mechanism extends the life of the immune system. A multinational team headed by University College London scientists has discovered a new mechanism that slows down and maybe even prevents the normal aging of immune cells, one of the nine “hallmarks of aging.” The discovery in-vitro (cells) and validated in mice was “unexpected,” according to the researchers, who believe harnessing the mechanism might extend the life of the immune system, enabling people to live healthier and longer lives, and would also have therapeutic use…

Living Bioelectronic Sensors Send a Jolt of Electricity When Triggered

Lead Image: Pucklike bioelectronics designed at Rice University contain programmable bacteria and are attached to an electrode that delivers a signal when they detect a target contaminant, enabling real-time sensing. Credit: Brandon Martin/Rice University New bacterial sensors detect the presence of a variety of contaminants in water. When you hit your finger with a hammer, you feel the pain immediately. And you react immediately. But what if the pain didn’t come until 20 minutes after the hit? By then, the injury might be harder to heal. “I think it’s the most complex protein pathway for real-time signaling that has been…

Potentially Hazardous “Planet Killer” Asteroid Discovered Lurking in the Inner Solar System

Twilight observations with the US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera at NOIRLab’s Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile have enabled astronomers to spot three near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) hiding in the glare of the Sun. These NEAs are part of an elusive population that lurks inside the orbits of Earth and Venus. One of the asteroids is the largest object that is potentially hazardous to Earth to be discovered in the last eight years. Credit: DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine Twilight observations spot three large near-Earth objects lurking in the inner Solar System. Astronomers have spotted three near-Earth asteroids (NEA) hiding in…

The Green Revolution – Were We Lied To?

Lead Image: The collection of research and technology transfer programs known as the “Green Revolution,” sometimes known as the “Third Agricultural Revolution,” took place between 1950 and the late 1960s and significantly enhanced agricultural productivity in many regions of the globe. A founding narrative of the Green Revolution was discovered to be false. In a recent analysis, a researcher at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT revealed that one of the founding narratives of the Green Revolution, a movement to modernize agriculture through technology that began more than 50 years ago, was untrue. The Green Revolution is frequently credited…