Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDPs), marked by high blood pressure, may influence fetal and placental growth differently by sex. To investigate this, researchers in the United States analyzed birth data and found that male babies of mothers with HDPs had higher birthweight, while female babies had relatively heavier placentas. These findings highlight sex-specific responses to HDPs and may help guide more personalized strategies for monitoring and managing pregnancy and fetal health outcomes.

Symbiotic bacteria that live permanently with a host and are connected to its metabolism lose many genes over the course of evolution that are no longer required. A research team at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology investigated whether these highly specialized bacteria can adapt their gene activity to different environmental conditions despite their greatly reduced genome, using reed beetles of the genera Donacia and Macroplea. To this end, the expression of symbiont genes was analyzed at different temperatures and at various stages of the reed beetles' development. These symbionts retain only a few genes. Nevertheless, they were found to be able to adapt their gene expression in a targeted manner. For instance, they activate special stress genes in response to cold and adapt their metabolic pathways to their host's diet during different life stages. This demonstrates that symbionts with a greatly reduced genome can still respond flexibly to the needs of their symbiotic partners.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is increasingly recognized as an independent risk factor for premature myocardial infarction (MI), yet the molecular bridge linking chronic axial inflammation to acute coronary events remains poorly mapped. Mining four public microarray cohorts (GSE128470, GSE73754, GSE100927, GSE122897) that profile peripheral blood mononuclear cells from AS patients, MI patients and healthy controls, integrative bioinformatics now delivers a concise pathogenic blueprint. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis identified one AS-related and one MI-related module that significantly overlap; machine-learning (LASSO + SVM-RFE) distilled these to two hub genes—S100A12 and MCEMP1—whose transcript levels rise concordantly across both diseases. ROC curves yield AUCs of 0.92–0.96 for distinguishing AS-MI cases from either disease alone, and a nomogram incorporating age, CRP and the two hubs achieves a net reclassification improvement of 34 %.

Researchers from the University of Adelaide have found a critically endangered bird known as the ‘Goldilocks’ of the grasslands in a previously unrecorded habitat niche in South Australia.

The Plains-wanderer is a ground-dwelling bird, so evolutionarily unique that it is often referred to as a living fossil.

It was believed to rely exclusively on sparce native grasslands, but new research, published in Ecology and Evolution, suggests its habitat preference may be more flexible than previously thought.

North American river otters eat, play and defecate in the same place. But their terrible food hygiene make them ideal for detecting future health threats in the environment, according to scientists. In a new study published Aug. 14, Smithsonian scientists analyzed the otters’ diets and “latrine” habitats in the Chesapeake Bay for the first time. They discovered river otters often eat food riddled with parasites—and that may not be a bad thing for the larger ecosystem.

Kyoto, Japan -- For many endangered species, population decline to the brink of extinction leads to inbreeding, exposing a species to deleterious recessive mutations that severely limit its potential to recover. But the red-headed wood pigeon, endemic to the Ogasawara Islands in Japan, followed a different trajectory.

Although this pigeon population fell to below 80 individuals in the 2000s, it began to increase markedly after the removal of an introduced predator, the feral cat. Such a remarkable recovery raised questions regarding inbreeding, and why harmful mutations that could cause inbreeding depression, or a loss of genetic diversity, didn't hinder the species' revival.

In an effort to unravel this biological puzzle, a team of researchers at Kyoto University set out to investigate the factors that contributed to this unlikely comeback.