Genetic and other predisposing factors can influence the progression from initiation of drug intake to compulsive substance use through distinct biobehavioral processes. Operant cocaine self-administration studies in laboratory mice offer a powerful method to dissect the biology of this progression from initiation, dose-response, extinction, and cued reinstatement in a controlled, tractable system. However, many such studies e...

Lower Jurassic marine basins across the northwest European epicontinental shelf were commonly marked by deposition of organic-rich black shales. Organic-carbon burial was particularly widespread during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE: also known as the Jenkyns Event) with its accompanying negative carbon-isotope excursion (nCIE). Lower Toarcian black shales in central and southern Germany are known as the Posidonia Sh...

There has been a drastic decline in the number of eastern black rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis michaeli ) across Africa, leaving individuals restricted to small, isolated populations that are vulnerable to extinction. Focusing on highly threatened populations in Tanzania, this study investigated the genetic impacts of past management interventions on mitochondrial control region diversity in extant subpopulations, assessed whet...

Hard substrates play an important role in global marine systems as settlement surface for sessile reef-forming species such as corals, seaweeds, and shellfish. In soft-sediment systems, natural hard substrates such as stones, bedrock and driftwood are essential as they support diverse assemblages of reef-associated species. However, availability of these hard substrates has been declining in many estuaries and shallow seas wor...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) attacks the corticomotor system, with motor cortex function affected early in disease. Younger females have a lower relative risk of succumbing to ALS than males and older females, implicating a role for female sex hormones in disease progression. However, the mechanisms driving this dimorphic incidence are still largely unknown. We endeavoured to determine if estrogen mitigates disease prog...

Main conclusion Droughts negatively affect sorghum’s productivity and nutritional quality. Across its diversity centers, however, there exist resilient genotypes that function differently under drought stress at various levels, including molecular and physiological. Abstract Sorghum is an economically important and a staple food crop for over half a billion people in developing countries, mostly in arid and semi-arid regions w...

Aim The fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans and resultant white‐nose syndrome (WNS) continues to advance across North America, infecting new bat hibernacula. Western North America hosts the highest bat diversity in the United States and Canada, yet little is known about hibernacula and hibernation behaviour in this region. An improved understanding of the distribution of suitable hibernacula is critical for land manag...

Globally, collapse of ecosystems—potentially irreversible change to ecosystem structure, composition and function—imperils biodiversity, human health and well‐being. We examine the current state and recent trajectories of 19 ecosystems, spanning 58° of latitude across 7.7 M km 2 , from Australia's coral reefs to terrestrial Antarctica. Pressures from global climate change and regional human impacts, occurring as chronic ‘press...

Fungal infections are becoming a serious problem due to their high morbidity and mortality combined with the rise in drug resistance and dearth of new antimycotic drugs. The scorpion venom-derived peptide BmKn2, and its synthetic analogue Kn2–7, were previously observed to have antibacterial activity. These peptides and their d -amino acid analogues (dBmKn2 and dKn2–7) were tested for antifungal activity against drug resistant...