biology

Scientists at Stanford University, in the United States, have managed to convert skin cells into active neurons by adding four proteins to them, through a process that lasts four to five weeks, according to 'Nature'.

For Wayne Parro's team, from the University of Georgia, in the USA, it is the presence of two versions of the same gene that determines the exact number of leaves of the white clover, Trifolium repens.

Of course, the silhouette of seahorses or hippocampi - common names of fish belonging to the genus Hippocampus - does not go unnoticed.

Researchers from the Spanish Institute of Molecular and Cellular Plant Biology (IBMCP), together with scientists from the University of California, have elucidated the mechanism that regulates plant growth according to the time of day. Plants do not grow continuously throughout the day, but rather concentrate growth preferably at the end of the night and the beginning of the day, and then spend the rest of the time carrying out photosynthesis and redistributing the energy resources generated.

Many species of birds of a certain longevity adopt different strategies throughout their lives that involve gregariousness in the juvenile stage and territoriality, more "solitary", in adulthood. A team of researchers from Doñana has shown that living in a group causes more stress.

For seals that hunt in the North Sea, finding prey in murky waters doesn't seem difficult. These mammals use their vibration-sensitive whiskers to guide themselves towards their prey almost as if they could see the water in which they move with complete clarity.

American scientists have identified for the first time a type of stem cells in the lung that is capable of self-regenerating lung structures such as bronchioles, the alveoli where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged, and blood vessels. The study, coordinated by Piero Anversa, director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, "could offer new treatments to people suffering from chronic lung diseases by repairing damaged areas of these organs."

Tropical carpenter ants (Camponotus Leonardi) live high in the treetops. When infected by a parasitic fungus (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) the behavior of these ants changes dramatically, they behave erratically and act like zombies.