Science

Science

[:es]New genes control plant height, could lead to flood-proof crops[:]

Stature matters to plants. Short crops can carry more grain without bending under their own weight—a key trait that helped power the Green Revolution in the 1960s. But tall plants are better at surviving long floods. Now, researchers have found two genes that together help control the height of rice plants: one that accelerates the…
Science

[:es]The pandemic virus is slowly mutating. But is it getting more dangerous?[:]

It’s only a tiny change. At some point early in the pandemic, one of the 30,000 letters in the genome of SARS-CoV-2 changed from an A to a G. Today, that mutation, at position 23,403, has spread around the world. It is found in the vast majority of newly sequenced viruses and has become the…
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[:es]New method to edit cell’s ‘powerhouse’ DNA could help study variety of genetic diseases[:]

In a biological beating of swords into plowshares, researchers have converted a bacterial toxin into a genome editing tool that, for the first time, can make precise changes to DNA in mitochondria, the cell’s power plants. The tool, which worked in lab experiments with human cells, could open the door to new studies of—and one…
Science

[:es]Underwater caves in Mexico preserve one of the world’s oldest ochre mines[:]

Crouching as she wound her way through a pinched underground corridor, a young woman grasped a torch in one hand, soot blackening the craggy ceiling above her. Guided by stacks of stones deeper and deeper in the darkness of the cave, she finally spied her prize: a blood-red vein of rock in the fire-lit wall.…
Science

[:es]Ancient DNA reveals a Bronze Age bias for male horses[:]

Myths about horses and gender abound. Many equestrians, for example, say they prefer “predictable” geldings over “moody” mares, despite no real difference in their behavior while ridden. Now, a new study suggests our biased views of horses may have ancient origins. Based on ancient DNA from hundreds of horse skeletons, researchers suggest Bronze Age Eurasians…
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[:es]Pools in the Mexican desert are a window into Earth’s early life[:]

The landscape—more than 300 turquoise-blue pozas scattered across 800 square kilometers, among marshes and majestic mountains—wasn’t the only draw. The waters, whose chemistry resembled that of Earth’s ancient seas, teemed with microbes; unusual bacterial mats and formations called stromatolites carpeted the shallows.
Science

[:es]NASA’s new rover will collect martian rocks—and clues to planet’s ancient climate[:]

NASA’s newest Mars rover, Perseverance, is going back in time to the bottom of a vanished lake. If all goes well, in February 2021 it will land in Jezero crater and pop the dust covers off its camera lenses. Towering in front of it, in all likelihood, will be a 60-meter cliff of mudstone: the…
Science

[:es]The chicken first crossed the road in Southeast Asia, ‘landmark’ gene study finds[:]

It is the world’s most common farm animal as well as humanity’s largest single source of animal protein. Some 24 billion strong, it outnumbers all other birds by an order of magnitude. Yet for 2 centuries, biologists have struggled to explain how the chicken became the chicken.
Science

[:es]Alaskan megaeruption may have helped end the Roman Republic[:]

For ages, the shadow of a volcano has hung over the fall of the Roman Republic. Ancient historians told of the Sun’s mysterious disappearance after Julius Caesar’s murder in 44 B.C.E., which was followed by bouts of cold and crop failures. Now, a team of scientists and historians has discovered that one of the largest…