Using zebrafish as a model organism, UMaine researchers measured how Mylpf protein levels corresponded to muscle development, revealing a surprisingly sensitive relationship between protein levels and muscle health. When Mylpf function was eliminated, fast-twitch muscles failed to build the structures they needed to contract or generate force. Crucially, the severity of this defect tracked closely with how much protein was present. By testing many combinations of gene doses in a single study, the team was able to model the protein's effects with unusual mathematical rigor.

A project led by University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture researchers will help reduce the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer by designing corn plants that better use nitrogen already in the soil.

Scott Lenaghan, associate professor of food science, and Neal Stewart, professor of plant sciences, secured $2.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). Their project, “SyN-Fix: Synthetic Biology to Improve Nitrogen Cycling in the Maize Rhizosphere,” is one of nine awarded to develop technologies that reduce synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use in corn and sorghum farming, which are key crops for U.S. ethanol production.

A new study has uncovered how antidepressants affect different groups of serotonin-producing brain cells in opposite ways, offering new insights into why selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can cause unpleasant side effects at the start of treatment but lead to symptom relief over time.

Hiroshima University researchers say a newly proposed three-step “detour” pathway for making dolichol, a molecule cells need to properly process proteins, may be more universal than scientists realized. Experiments in yeast suggest eukaryotes may rely on overlapping biochemical pathways, including the evolutionarily conserved “detour” and evidence of a possible “backup route,” to produce a molecule essential to life. 

Join us in Florence, Italy for this year's Society for Experimental Biology (SEB) Annual Conference!

A recent publication has revealed the first photographic evidence and confirmed sighting of the Cozumel dwarf fox in over twenty years. This exciting discovery confirms that this elusive and endangered mammal continues to survive on the island of Cozumel, Mexico. The full publication is available in the open-access journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation.

Some barley beers labeled as “gluten-free” contain small amounts of gluten residues that may trigger celiac disease, which are not detected by the standard antibody-based tests currently in use. This is the conclusion of a study by the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich. In the study, researchers compared two antibody-based testing methods with a mass spectrometric detection method newly developed at the Institute. The study results show that modern food analytical methods could help further improve the safety of gluten-free products in the future.

The horses at the Children’s Zoo in Gothenburg don’t mind being pet by children and adults. However, they do get stressed by the noise from an excavator. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have discovered this after fitting heart rate monitors to eight Gotland russ horses.