Mind’s eye: Pineal gland photoreceptor’s 2 genes help fish detect color
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 11-Jul-2025 13:10 ET (11-Jul-2025 17:10 GMT/UTC)
An international team of scientists has identified fossils of snow leopards for the first time, in a research published in Science Advances. The discovery has allowed them to trace the evolutionary history of the species during the Quaternary period and to propose how it dispersed from the Tibetan plateau to the Iberian Peninsula, far from the high and icy Himalayan mountains. The study suggests that snow leopards prefer rocky terrain and cold climates over high altitudes. These data may help to ensure the protection of this iconic animal.
Developing rice with tolerance to higher nighttime temperatures has become a focus for rice breeders because studies are showing nights are getting warmer in rice-growing regions. Vibha Srivastava, professor of plant biotechnology in the crop, soil and environmental sciences department for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, explores the topic of breeding rice and the potential for gene editing to tolerate night heat in the December issue of Current Opinion in Plant Biology with an article titled “Beat the heat: Breeding, genomics, and gene editing for high nighttime temperature tolerance in rice.”
Scientists have revealed the secret to the structural integrity of tiny particles that transport cargo from cell to cell through blood vessels and bodily fluids: special proteins that keep their membranes intact as they negotiate shifting electrical impulses in different biological environments.