Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiang Lin, Lingyu Sun, Minhui Lu, Yuanjin Zhao
Summary: This review presents the strategies for constructing biomimetic gland models in vitro, with a focus on the role of microfluidics in promoting the development of structure and function. It provides an overview of common in vitro models of endocrine and exocrine glands, as well as the applications of gland models in disease modeling, drug screening, regenerative medicine, and personalized medicine. Finally, the review concludes with the current challenges and perspectives of these biomimetic gland models.
Article
Biology
Christian L. Cox, Albert K. Chung, Myles E. Davoll, Steph A. DeHart, Samuel T. Gerardi, Tony K. Ly, Kyle Moxley, Preston T. Nipper, Delaney R. Novak, Phillip F. Reeves, Becky J. Williams, Michael L. Logan
Summary: Regional heterothermy is a pattern where different body regions are maintained at different temperatures to prioritize certain body parts' function. This phenomenon is well understood in endotherms, but less is known about it in ectotherms. In this study, the authors investigated if diminutive snakes could maintain regional heterothermy, despite rapid temperature equilibration. The results showed that ring-necked snakes have robust regional heterothermy, and it is not solely driven by environmental variation but is instead linked to physiological or morphological mechanisms.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
A. Blanco, A. R. Larrinaga, J. M. Neto, J. Troncoso, G. Mendez, P. Dominguez-Lapido, A. Ovejero, L. Pereira, T. M. Mouga, R. Gaspar, B. Martinez, M. F. L. Lemos, C. Olabarria
Summary: Invasive macroalgae pose a significant threat to marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. A study mapping the probability of presence of six invasive macroalgae in the north-western Iberian Peninsula found that physico-chemical variables were crucial in predicting their distribution, while anthropogenic factors greatly improved the estimates of occurrence probability for these species. Management efforts should focus on strengthening control and surveillance at ports, particularly in southern Galician rias, to effectively manage these invasive macroalgae.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biology
Yun-wei Dong, Ming-ling Liao, Guo-dong Han, George N. Somero
Summary: Understanding the physiological mechanisms of thermal stress and species differences in adaptation and evolution to this stress is crucial for predicting current and future distribution patterns of species in a warming world. Studies on intertidal molluscs provide mechanistic explanations of thermal effects across different levels of biological organization and highlight the importance of temperature-sensitive traits in governing distribution patterns and coping capacities. Comparisons of congeners from different thermal habitats can effectively identify adaptive variations and illustrate the severity of threats posed by rising temperatures.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Nicole E. Moyen, George N. Somero, Mark W. Denny
Summary: Thermal performance curves are commonly used to study the effects of heat acclimation on animals, but may not accurately predict survival in the field. In intertidal mussels, cardiac thermal performance tests show changes in critical temperature and flatline temperature after heat acclimation, but further research is needed to understand their role in thermal acclimation.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xuejiao Liu, Yansong Xiong, Chunjuan Zhang, Rongji Lai, Hui Liu, Ruizi Peng, Ting Fu, Qiaoling Liu, Xiaohong Fang, Stephen Mann, Weihong Tan
Summary: This study found that single-stranded DNA with a parallel G-quadruplex structure can cooperate with a G-quadruplex-binding protein to form speckle-like puncta inside giant membrane vesicles (GMVs). The clustering behavior is dependent on the structural diversity of G-quadruplexes, and the reversible clustering behavior implies a new pathway in dynamically regulating the formation of biomolecular condensates. This discovery could provide insight into a wide range of biological processes associated with nucleic acid-modulated phase separation inside living cells.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Martin B. Nielsen, Trine K. Vogensen, Jakob Thyrring, Jesper G. Sorensen, Mikael K. Sejr
Summary: The study found that in Greenland, high gene expression levels were observed in North Atlantic mussels under conditions of high temperature and low salinity, leading to higher mortality rates.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Rachel. J. J. Clausing, Gina De La Fuente, Annalisa Falace, Mariachiara Chiantore
Summary: Restoring foundation species in historical habitats can be challenging, especially if adult facilitation is crucial for the survival of early life stages. Exposure to transient, low environmental stress and outplanting clumped individuals may enhance resilience and facilitate successful establishment of early life stages in zones of reduced abiotic stress.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
T. Y. Hui, Sam Crickenberger, Jackson W. T. Lau, Gray A. Williams
Summary: In thermally extreme environments, organisms tend to choose suboptimal temperatures to minimize risks associated with stochastic temperature variation. This hypothesis was tested on a slow-moving intertidal snail, which showed a mismatch between physiological and behavioral thermal maxima. The snails preferred temperatures cooler than their physiological thermal maxima to avoid underestimating the temporal variation in body temperature.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biology
Xiaojiang Xu, Timothy P. Rioux, Michael P. Castellani
Summary: This paper reviews three-dimensional models for human thermoregulation. It introduces the development of thermoregulatory models and key principles for mathematical description. Different representations of 3D human bodies are discussed, and recent models have used medical image datasets to develop geometrically correct human models. Finite element method is commonly used for solving governing equations and obtaining numerical solutions. These realistic geometry models provide high anatomical realism and can predict whole-body thermo-regulatory responses at a high resolution.
JOURNAL OF THERMAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Melody S. Clark, Lloyd S. Peck, Jakob Thyrring
Summary: The Arctic is warming rapidly, allowing invasive species to survive. Some marine species can tolerate high temperatures, but the Mytilus edulis is usually unable to survive in extreme heat. Research indicates that M. edulis has a wide acclimation ability, enabling it to withstand Arctic warming and temperature variations.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nathan Janetzki, Kirsten Benkendorff, Peter G. Fairweather
Summary: Mobile intertidal gastropods can use behavioral thermoregulation to mitigate thermal stress by retreating under boulders, but they tend to occupy cooler areas to avoid extreme heat. Despite choosing cooler spots, some individuals are still exposed to extreme substrate heat.
Article
Agronomy
Nan Gu, Jianyun Zhang, Guoqing Wang, Cuishan Liu, Zhenlong Wang, Haishen Lu
Summary: This study proposes a thermal-based K(c) method for estimating actual crop evapotranspiration. By using air temperature and soil heat flux as input variables, this method can accurately estimate K(c) and provide daily estimates of crop evapotranspiration.
AGRICULTURAL WATER MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Oliver Tills, Luke A. Holmes, Elliot Quinn, Tony Everett, Manuela Truebano, John I. Spicer
Summary: Phenomics is a valuable technology for high-dimensional phenotyping, but its application in assessing organismal functional sensitivity to global change drivers is limited. In this study, we used Energy Proxy Traits (EPTs) to investigate the response of a marine invertebrate to multiple environmental drivers. We found significant differences in frequency-specific energy levels and complex developmental-stage specific sensitivities. EPTs are a transferrable method for high-dimensional phenotyping and important for assessing biological sensitivity to global change.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Rosalie J. Harris, Callum Bryant, Melinda A. Coleman, Andrea Leigh, Veronica F. Briceno, Pieter A. Arnold, Adrienne B. Nicotra
Summary: Foundation seaweed species are declining and facing extinctions due to unstable sea surface temperatures. Existing methods for characterizing seaweed thermal tolerance are time-consuming and hinder comparisons between species. A new method using temperature-dependent fluorescence curves offers a high-throughput approach for rapidly assessing photosynthetic thermal tolerance of seaweeds.
JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY
(2023)