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Research shows how the fruit fly gut builds a cozy niche to selectively promote colonization

The digestive tract of fruit flies remodels itself to accommodate beneficial microbiome species and maintain long-term stability of the gut environment, according to new research led by Carnegie's William Ludington and Allan Spradling.

30 Mar 2023

Variations in methylation linked to age in the human sperm epigenome

A higher risk of reproductive and child health issues is linked to advanced paternal age. Increasing evidence points to age-related alterations in the sperm epigenome as one underlying cause.

23 Mar 2023

Deactivating mosquito sperm to control populations of Culex

New UC Riverside research makes it likely that proteins responsible for activating mosquito sperm can be shut down, preventing them from swimming to or fertilizing eggs.

22 Mar 2023

Robust method for induced pluripotent stem cell culture

Different types of cells, such as the heart, liver, blood, and sperm cells, have characteristics that help them perform their specific functions in the body. In general, those traits are hard-wired. A heart cell will not randomly transform into a liver cell if not stimulated.

23 Feb 2023

Study sheds light on unique processes that bestow naked mole-rats’ with eternal fertility

Unlike humans and other mammals, which become less fertile with age, naked mole-rats can reproduce throughout their remarkably long lifespans.

22 Feb 2023

Novel model system helps studying human ovarian biology

Despite the fact that we all start out as an egg cell in one of our mother's ovaries, these human reproductive organs are surprisingly under-studied. Scientists have been working on creating in vitro models of human ovaries so that we can learn more about them and develop treatments for ovarian conditions, but most existing models use a combination of human and mouse cells, which do not faithfully replicate human ovary functions and take a long time to grow in the lab.

22 Feb 2023

Scientists accelerate the development of pure genetic lines by inducing mutation

Iowa State University researchers may have solved a long-standing challenge associated with accelerated development of pure genetic lines.

20 Feb 2023

An innovative strategy for on-demand contraception for men

An experimental contraceptive drug developed by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators temporarily stops sperm in their tracks and prevents pregnancies in preclinical models. The study, published in Nature Communications on Feb. 14, demonstrates that an on-demand male contraceptive is possible.

16 Feb 2023

Study reveals how complex carbon and nutrient sources are metabolized by interacting microbes

Interactions among microorganisms in soil lead to the release of nutrients derived from complex organic matter in that soil.

20 Jan 2023

Involvement of the piRNA pathway in brain plasticity and successful aging

The Neurobiology of miRNA team, headed by Davide De Pietri Tonelli of the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology), established a link between a family of small RNA molecules known as piRNAs and brain inflammation.

16 Dec 2022

Researchers uncover a mechanism of flowering plant sperm compaction

Sperm cells have compact bundles of DNA, yet exactly how and why sperm cell nuclei are condensed in flowering plants has been a mystery, until now.

4 Nov 2022

Meiotic drive systems can be maintained for long evolutionary timespans

Meiotic drivers, which are a sort of selfish gene, are, in fact, selfish. They are found in nearly all species’ genomes, including humans, and unfairly convey their genetic information to more than half of their offspring, resulting in infertility and impaired organism health.

21 Oct 2022

The biological advantages of sperm swimming in groups

Sperm actually swim better together when they are swimming against the current. Contrary to common belief, spermatozoa frequently cooperate to go through the female reproductive system in a variety of mammalian species, contradicting the notion that the fastest and fittest male reproductive cell wins the fertilization race.

22 Sep 2022

Rumen-protected lysine improves uterine health

Boosting milk yield when included in the diet at sufficient levels, lysine is an important amino acid for dairy cows. But how could lysine be advantageous for cows in other means? A new study by the University of Illinois reveals that rumen-protected lysine can enhance uterine health if given in the transition period.

20 Sep 2022

OsWRKY53’s peculiar role in suppressing rice’s resistance to cold weather

Rice output and quality are gravely threatened by cold stress at the booting stage, which causes a decrease in the rate of seed germination.

8 Sep 2022

Rochester biologists show a selfish “supergene” using population genomics

There are several “selfish genetic elements” in the human genome that do not appear to benefit their hosts but instead appear to exist only to reproduce themselves.

8 Jul 2022

Probiotics do not enhance unhealthy vaginal health, recent study shows

Several factors, such as the type of bacteria that naturally colonize the reproductive tract, can influence pregnancy chances in IVF. “Good” bacteria in the form of probiotics are gaining popularity in the treatment of vaginal microbiota imbalances in women.

5 Jul 2022