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Featured news

15 Mar 2021

3 bacterial strains discovered on space station may help grow plants on Mars

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers science writer Interior view from the International Space Station cupola. Image: NASA Swab samples of 8 surfaces aboard the International Space Station have led to the identifying of 4 strains of bacteria, 3 of which belong to a newly discovered novel species within the genus Methylobacterium. According to researchers, these new strains might be useful in helping future space missions grow food in extreme environments. In order to withstand the rigors of space on deep-space missions, food grown outside of Earth needs a little extra help from bacteria. Now, a recent discovery aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has researchers may help create the ‘fuel’ to help plants withstand such stressful situations. Publishing their findings to Frontiers in Microbiology, researchers working with NASA described the discovery and isolation of 4 strains of bacteria belonging to the family Methylobacteriaceae from different locations aboard the ISS across two consecutive flights. While 1 strain was identified as Methylorubrum rhodesianum, the other 3 were previously undiscovered and belong to a novel species novel. The rod-shaped, motile bacteria were given the designations IF7SW-B2T, IIF1SW-B5, and IIF4SW-B5 with genetic analysis showing them to be closely related to  Methylobacterium indicum. Methylobacterium species are […]

Featured news

11 Mar 2021

Could coloring our steaks blue help reduce the world’s insatiable demand for meat?

By Prof Charles Spence, University of Oxford Image: SciePro/Shutterstock Blue has become an increasingly popular color in drinks and confectionary. Now, Prof Charles Spence of the University of Oxford asks what impact tainting meat blue would have in nudging consumers toward selecting a healthier and more sustainable diet? Have you ever heard about the infamous blue steak study? According to a story that has been circulating in the academic literature for 70 years, a group of people were once invited for a dinner of steak, fries, and peas. The lighting was so dim that it was impossible for the guests to discern the food’s true color. During the meal, the lighting was returned to normal suddenly revealing that the steak had been colored blue, the peas red, and the fries green. Many of the guests apparently immediately ran off to the bathroom to be sick. While this anecdote has appeared in numerous scientific papers over the last half century, typically to illustrate the sometimes aversive influence of (blue) food coloring, it turns out that it may be nothing more than that – a mere anecdote. According to a review of blue foods that I published recently in Frontiers in Psychology, […]

Featured news

10 Mar 2021

Use of image and performance-enhancing drugs surged during Covid-19 restrictions

By The University of Hertfordshire Image: Zenza Flarini/Shutterstock 28% of people have used image and performance-enhancing drugs (IPEDs) during the Covid-19 pandemic, rising to 32% in the UK, an international study led by the University of Hertfordshire has found. Researchers say this trend is being worsened by ‘fitspirational’ posts on social media pressuring people to achieve the ‘perfect body’. Published today in Frontiers in Psychiatry, researchers asked more than 3,000 people from 7 different countries, including the UK, about their exercise habits, use of IPEDs and the feelings they have towards their appearance. ► Read original article► Download original article (pdf) They found that 32% of the UK have used IPEDs during the pandemic – 6% for the first time ever – with 43% of those buying IPEDs from the internet, likely without medical supervision or professional advice. The study also found that men were significantly more likely to use IPEDs than women, with 28% of men reporting to have used IPEDs during lockdown compared to 16% of women. IPEDs is a broad term used to capture the range of products available that can alter a person’s appearance, physical or mental performance. IPEDs can include anything from legal products such as proteins, […]

Featured news

04 Mar 2021

Seagrass loss around the UK may be much higher than previously thought

By Suzanna Burgelman, Frontiers science writer Dogfish between seagrass. Image: Frogfish Photography The United Kingdom (UK) could have lost as much as 92% of historic seagrass meadows, a new study shows. These seagrass meadows are an essential part of healthy marine ecosystems, supporting the UK’s fish stocks, and helping to absorb and trap carbon from the atmosphere. The research highlights an urgent need to protect and restore current and degrading seagrass meadows. The loss of seagrass in the waters around the UK is much higher than previously estimated. A new study published in Frontiers in Plant Science concludes that, with high certainty, at least 44% of the UK’s seagrasses have been lost since 1936, of which 39% has been since the 1980s. This study is one of the first of its kind to bring together seagrass data from diverse sources and give a systematic estimate of the current and historic extent of seagrass, as well as seagrass loss in the UK. The study was a collaboration between researchers at University College London, Kings College London, and Swansea University. Read original article Download original article (pdf) Seagrasses as climate change superheroes Nature-based solutions are essential to mitigate the effects of the […]

Featured news

26 Feb 2021

Improving water quality could help conserve insectivorous birds — study

Scarcity of insect prey in disturbed lakes and streams contributes to bird decline, show new results By Anna Sigurdsson and Mischa Dijkstra, science writers A new study shows for the first time that the alarming decline in insectivorous birds across the US may be due to a decline of emergent insects in lakes and streams with poor water quality. These findings highlight the need for holistic conservation across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Western wood-pepee, Contopus sordidulus. Image: vagabond54/Shutterstock A new study shows that a widespread decline in abundance of emergent insects – whose immature stages develop in lakes and streams while the adults live on land – can help to explain the alarming decline in abundance and diversity of aerial insectivorous birds (ie preying on flying insects) across the US. In turn, the decline in emergent insects appears to be driven by human disturbance and pollution of water bodies, especially in streams. This study, published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, is one of the first to find evidence for a causal link between the decline of insectivorous birds, the decline of emergent aquatic insects, and poor water quality. Human activities, such as urbanization and agriculture, have adverse effects on […]

Featured news

22 Feb 2021

Jingmai O’Connor: ‘I think people imagine we spend far more time digging up fossils than we actually do’

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers science writer/Jingmai O’Connor Jingmai O’Connor, associate curator of fossil reptiles at Chicago’s Field Museum. Image: Jesse Goldberg Jingmai O’Connor, associate curator of fossil reptiles at Chicago’s Field Museum, discusses a recent ‘bizarre’ ancient digestive discovery and the issue of diversity in paleontology. In a recently published study to Frontiers in Earth Science, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Field Museum in the US published findings on the discovery of quartz crystals in the stomach of a fossilized bird that lived alongside the dinosaurs. According to Jingmai O’Connor, the associate curator of fossil reptiles at Chicago’s Field Museum who contributed to the paper, it appeared to be “some kind of bizarre form of soft tissue preservation that we’ve never seen before”. She added: “Figuring out what’s in this bird’s stomach can help us understand what it ate and what role it played in its ecosystem.” O’Connor is an American paleontologist whose research focuses on the dinosaur-bird transition and the Mesozoic evolution of birds and other flying dinosaurs. Her research includes studies of exceptional soft tissues, such as lung and ovary traces preserved in specimens from Jehel Biota between 130 million and 130 million years ago. […]

Featured news

15 Feb 2021

Strange creatures accidentally discovered beneath Antarctica’s ice shelves

Prior research has suggested that the watery depths below the Antarctic ice shelves are too cold and nutrient poor to sustain much life. But a new study from British Antarctic Survey reveals the discovery of a colony of sponges and other animals attached to a boulder on the sea floor – challenging researchers’ understanding about the existence of life in extreme environments. British Antarctic survey camera travelling down the 900-meter-long bore hole in the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf. (marine creature pictured is unrelated to the discovery) CREDIT: Dr Huw Griffiths/British Antarctic Survey By K.E.D Coan, science writer/British Antarctic Survey Far underneath the ice shelves of the Antarctic, there’s more life than expected, finds a recent study in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. During an exploratory survey, researchers drilled through 900 meters of ice in the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, situated on the south eastern Weddell Sea. At a distance of 260km away from the open ocean, under complete darkness and with temperatures of -2.2°C, very few animals have ever been observed in these conditions. But this study is the first to discover the existence of stationary animals – similar to sponges and potentially several previously unknown species – attached to a boulder […]

Featured news

03 Feb 2021

Why we cannot ignore the place of viruses on the ‘Tree of Life’

By Dr Hugh Harris, APC Microbiome Ireland/University College Cork Image: Corona Borealis Studio/Shutterstock One particular virus has come to dominate our lives. Now Dr Hugh Harris of APC Microbiome Ireland and University College Cork writes that viruses deserve a place on the ‘Tree of Life’. A single virus has dramatically changed our lives. SARS-CoV-2 is keeping most of us at home, often with other members of our family. The next time we get annoyed by a relative, some perspective might be achieved by thinking about how inclusive the concept of family can be. A family tree is a familiar sight to many people. There is something intriguing and even nostalgic about looking into the past, beyond our parents and grandparents. We all want to know where we came from. How far back do the branches of kinship reach? A visit to the zoo might have us looking at the chimpanzees and gorillas as they go about their day – these are our cousins. Richard Dawkins described a thought experiment where a female chimpanzee held the hand of her mother. The mother, in turn, held the hand of her own mother and so on back across the generations, forming an unbroken […]

Featured news

28 Jan 2021

Voters perceive political candidates with a disability as qualified for elected office

Image: Shutterstock By Suzanna Burgelman, Frontiers science writer Political candidates with a disability have historically been underrepresented. A new study has found for the first time that voters do not apply certain stereotypes associated with disability to such candidates. Voters see them as honest, hard-working, and concerned with social welfare issues. The results show that the cause of under-representation may not lay with voters’ perceptions, but with a lack of support from governments and political parties. Worldwide, over one billion people live with a disability. Historically, they have been discriminated against and stigmatized by society. To improve their rights, they should be included in political decision-making, yet there is a lack of political representatives who are known to have a disability. This under-representation may be due to several factors, including how voters perceive a political candidate with a disability. However, a new study published in Frontiers in Political Science, found for the first time that voters do not apply negative stereotypes when evaluating candidates with a disability. Rather, voters tend to perceive candidates with a disability as capable, honest, and caring. Stereotypes as information short-cuts To form an impression of others, and with a lack of motivation and resources to […]