(Press-News.org) New research in FEBS Open Bio reveals insights into the venom of two of the most venomous fish species on earth: the estuarine stonefish (Synanceia horrida) and the reef stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa), which are typically found in the warm and shallow regions of the Indo-Pacific region, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea.
Through multiple analytical techniques, investigators discovered the presence of three neurotransmitters new to stonefish venom, namely gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), choline, and 0-acetylcholine. Although these molecules have been previously found in venoms from other species, such as hornets and spiders, this is the first report of a fish venom that contains GABA, which is capable of modulating cardiovascular function with a range of effects including increased heart rate and low blood pressure.
“Characterization of the specific composition of each of these fish species’ venom not only provides us with a better understanding of envenomation mechanisms, which are needed for the development of targeted treatments against venom effects, but may also aid in the exploration and development of venom-derived compounds in drug discovery,” said corresponding author Silvia Luiza Saggiomo, PhD, who was at the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine while conducting this research and is currently at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.
URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2211-5463.13926
Additional Information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.
About the Journal
FEBS Open Bio is an open access journal for the rapid publication of research articles across the molecular and cellular life sciences. The journal’s rigorous peer review process focusses on the technical and ethical quality of papers, rather than subjective judgements of significance.
About Wiley
Wiley is one of the world’s largest publishers and a trusted leader in research and learning. Our industry-leading content, services, platforms, and knowledge networks are tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners, including researchers, students, instructors, professionals, institutions, and corporations. We empower knowledge-seekers to transform today’s biggest obstacles into tomorrow’s brightest opportunities. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.
END
Scientists discover the molecular composition of potentially deadly venomous fish
2024-11-20
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
What are the belowground responses to long-term soil warming among different types of trees?
2024-11-20
Through a 20-year experiment, investigators have shown how different trees adjust their strategies for acquiring nutrients through their roots as soil warms with climate change.
The research, which is published in Global Change Biology, included trees that associate with different fungi that help roots absorb nutrients. Measurements showed that when exposed to warmer soils, oak trees associated with ectomycorrhizal fungi reduce interactions with soil microbes while increasing fine root exploration, whereas maple trees that associate with arbuscular mycorrhizal largely maintain ...
Do area-wide social and environmental factors affect individuals’ risk of cognitive impairment?
2024-11-20
Research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society has identified several community-level factors that may increase people’s risk of experiencing cognitive impairment.
In the study of 2,830 dementia-free US individuals aged 65+ years, 23.2% of participants were categorized as having mild cognitive impairment. People who lived in areas with higher neighborhood disadvantage, higher air pollution, higher homicide rate, and less greenspace had elevated odds of having mild cognitive impairment. Completing schooling in a Southern US state was also associated with a greater likelihood of ...
UCLA professor Helen Lavretsky reshapes brain health through integrative medicine research
2024-11-20
LOS ANGELES, California, USA, 20 November 2024 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview, Professor Helen Lavretsky reveals how her pioneering work in integrative psychiatry is transforming approaches to mental health and aging. The interview, featured in the peer-reviewed medical research journal Brain Medicine (doi: 10.61373/bm024k.0130), offers unique insights into the evolution of integrative medicine from scientific skepticism to evidence-based acceptance.
Professor Lavretsky, current President of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (2022-25), has successfully merged conventional ...
Astronauts found to process some tasks slower in space, but no signs of permanent cognitive decline
2024-11-20
A stay in space exerts extreme pressures on the human body. Astronauts’ bodies and brains are impacted by radiation, altered gravity, challenging working conditions, and sleep loss – all of which could compromise cognitive functioning. At the same time, they are required to perform complex tasks, and minor mistakes can have devastating consequences.
Little is known, however, about whether astronauts’ cognitive performance changes while in space. Now, working with 25 astronauts who spent an average of six month on the International Space Station (ISS), researchers in the US have examined changes in a wide range of cognitive performance domains. ...
Larger pay increases and better benefits could support teacher retention
2024-11-20
Larger pay increases and better benefits could help keep K-12 teachers in the teacher workforce, finds a new, nationally representative RAND survey.
U.S. teachers reported modest pay increases between the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years, only $2,000 on average and well below their desired increase of $16,000. Black teachers and teachers in states where collective bargaining is prohibited reported they received the smallest pay increases.
“Teachers who received larger pay increases also said they were less likely to intend to leave the profession,” ...
Researchers characterize mechanism for regulating orderly zygotic genome activation in early embryos
2024-11-20
Early development of an embryo is solely supported by maternally deposited RNAs and proteins until its own genome is activated through a process called zygotic genome activation (ZGA).
Recent research by Chinese scientists has revealed novel molecular mechanisms by which HIRA acts in concert with dPCIF1 to establish a totipotent chromatin and facilitate orderly zygotic genome activation in the early embryos of Drosophila.
Results of the study were published in PNAS on Nov. 14 as “HIRA and dPCIF1 coordinately establish totipotent chromatin and control orderly ZGA in Drosophila embryos.”
The ...
AI analysis of urine can predict flare up of lung disease a week in advance
2024-11-20
Researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse patient urine samples and predict when symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will flare up according to a study published today (Wednesday) in ERJ Open Research [1].
The patients taking part in the study carried out a simple daily dipstick test on their urine and sent their results to researchers using their mobile phones.
Using AI to analyse the results, researchers were able to ‘forecast’ a deterioration in symptoms one week in advance. ...
New DESI results weigh in on gravity
2024-11-20
Gravity has shaped our cosmos. Its attractive influence turned tiny differences in the amount of matter present in the early universe into the sprawling strands of galaxies we see today. A new study using data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has traced how this cosmic structure grew over the past 11 billion years, providing the most precise test to date of gravity at very large scales.
DESI is an international collaboration of more than 900 researchers from over 70 institutions around the world and is managed by the Department of Energy’s ...
New DESI data shed light on gravity’s pull in the universe
2024-11-20
A University of Texas at Dallas physicist and his international colleagues in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration are engaged in a multiyear data-gathering mission to try to answer one of the most puzzling observations in astrophysics: Why does the expansion of the universe appear to be accelerating?
Competing theories have attempted to explain this observation. One is that dark energy is somehow pushing galaxies apart. A second theory posits that gravity, the attractive force that in local environments like the solar system draws objects together, works differently at large cosmological scales and needs to be modified to explain cosmic ...
Boosting WA startups: Report calls for investment in talent, diversity and innovation
2024-11-20
A new report from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre reveals Western Australia’s startup and innovation ecosystem requires targeted reforms and investment to unlock its full potential, calling for improvements in talent development, gender diversity and access to capital and infrastructure to support a more diversified economy.
The report, titled ‘Dare to Venture: Startups and the innovation ecosystem in Western Australia’, highlights WA’s strengths in mining, ...