* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Friday, May 9, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Georgia Entertainment CEO says large-scale production is slowing down – Decaturish

    Georgia Entertainment CEO Warns of Slowdown in Large-Scale Productions

    Zugalu Entertainment Welcomes Crimson Herring Studios to Its Family!

    Fall 2025 TV Schedule: Your Guide to the Complete Lineup – Wyoming News Now

    Get Ready for Fall 2025: Your Ultimate Guide to the Exciting TV Lineup!

    Blackstone River Theatre presents music from Scotland with Cantrip – The Valley Breeze

    Experience the Enchanting Sounds of Scotland: Cantrip Takes the Stage at Blackstone River Theatre!

    The viral wireless audio dongle for in-flight entertainment just got a big upgrade – and I love it – ZDNET

    Game-Changer for In-Flight Entertainment: The Upgraded Wireless Audio Dongle You’ll Love!

    Tahoe City Downtown Association opens 4th of July Entertainment Grant Program – Sierra Sun

    Celebrate Independence Day: Tahoe City Launches Exciting 4th of July Entertainment Grant Program!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Technology Innovation to Take Center Stage at The 2025 National Restaurant Association Show – Restaurant Technology News

    Get Ready for a Tech Revolution: The 2025 National Restaurant Association Show Unveils Cutting-Edge Innovations!

    Newmont signs deal to use Chrysos Corporation technology – Capital Brief

    Newmont Partners with Chrysos Corporation to Revolutionize Mining Technology

    Air Force Invests in Whisper’s Ultraquiet Propulsion Technology – FLYING Magazine

    Air Force Invests in Whisper’s Ultraquiet Propulsion Technology – FLYING Magazine

    Trump administration set to overhaul Biden’s AI chip export regulations – TechHQ

    Trump administration set to overhaul Biden’s AI chip export regulations – TechHQ

    Technology is the key to empathy in insurance – InsuranceNewsNet

    Unlocking Empathy: How Technology is Transforming the Insurance Experience

    Technology – Inflexion

    Revolutionizing the Future: The Impact of Cutting-Edge Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Georgia Entertainment CEO says large-scale production is slowing down – Decaturish

    Georgia Entertainment CEO Warns of Slowdown in Large-Scale Productions

    Zugalu Entertainment Welcomes Crimson Herring Studios to Its Family!

    Fall 2025 TV Schedule: Your Guide to the Complete Lineup – Wyoming News Now

    Get Ready for Fall 2025: Your Ultimate Guide to the Exciting TV Lineup!

    Blackstone River Theatre presents music from Scotland with Cantrip – The Valley Breeze

    Experience the Enchanting Sounds of Scotland: Cantrip Takes the Stage at Blackstone River Theatre!

    The viral wireless audio dongle for in-flight entertainment just got a big upgrade – and I love it – ZDNET

    Game-Changer for In-Flight Entertainment: The Upgraded Wireless Audio Dongle You’ll Love!

    Tahoe City Downtown Association opens 4th of July Entertainment Grant Program – Sierra Sun

    Celebrate Independence Day: Tahoe City Launches Exciting 4th of July Entertainment Grant Program!

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Technology Innovation to Take Center Stage at The 2025 National Restaurant Association Show – Restaurant Technology News

    Get Ready for a Tech Revolution: The 2025 National Restaurant Association Show Unveils Cutting-Edge Innovations!

    Newmont signs deal to use Chrysos Corporation technology – Capital Brief

    Newmont Partners with Chrysos Corporation to Revolutionize Mining Technology

    Air Force Invests in Whisper’s Ultraquiet Propulsion Technology – FLYING Magazine

    Air Force Invests in Whisper’s Ultraquiet Propulsion Technology – FLYING Magazine

    Trump administration set to overhaul Biden’s AI chip export regulations – TechHQ

    Trump administration set to overhaul Biden’s AI chip export regulations – TechHQ

    Technology is the key to empathy in insurance – InsuranceNewsNet

    Unlocking Empathy: How Technology is Transforming the Insurance Experience

    Technology – Inflexion

    Revolutionizing the Future: The Impact of Cutting-Edge Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Tiny Tweaks to Neurons Can Rewire Animal Motion

March 11, 2024
in Science
Tiny Tweaks to Neurons Can Rewire Animal Motion
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It was as if this ion channel were a dial that could twist one neuron type into the other. But what was actually different about this protein in the snake’s body and rattle?

At first, the researchers thought that rattle motor neurons must have extra KV72/3 potassium channels. If the rattle neurons had more channels, the scientists figured, then they could discharge ions more quickly, bringing the voltage back down to prepare the channels to quickly fire again.

To find out, Bothe and Chagnaud extracted and sequenced RNA from both types of rattlesnake motor neurons and sent the data to Jason Gallant, an evolutionary biologist at Michigan State University, so he could compare the expression of the KV72/3 channel gene between the two tissues. The gene for KV72/3 channels is the same in every cell of the animal’s body — but if the rattle neurons had more KV72/3 channels, the researchers would expect to see higher gene expression in that tissue.

Alas, their simple explanation was not proved out. “There really is no difference in the level of gene expression in these potassium channels, which was disappointing,” Gallant said. “But I think it opens up a more realistic view of biology.”

Variations in the gene’s expression would have provided a simple, open-and-shut way to explain how the evolutionary screws on rattlesnake motor neurons are adjusted. But biology offers other possibilities. Chagnaud and Bothe speculated that after the channel proteins are constructed from the genetic blueprint, they could be modified into slightly different forms that manage ions differently. More research will be needed to pin down the details — to find the control that adjusts the control.

For his part, Katz didn’t consider the result disappointing at all. “So they didn’t see a [change in] gene expression. That was the answer they expected,” he said. “But the fact is that that’s a cool result.”

For many decades, researchers have assumed that motor circuits “exist as they will be used,” Katz said — meaning that initiating a behavior like walking or swimming is simply a matter of turning on the right circuit. In this view, evolving a new behavior would require an entirely new circuit layout. But in studies of organisms as diverse as crustaceans, sea slugs and now possibly snakes, researchers are finding that interactions with neuromodulators and other chemicals can modulate the activity that a circuit evokes, leading the same networks of cells to produce markedly different behaviors.

The new study, Katz said, hints that playing with this plasticity could be a way that new movement behaviors evolve. Perhaps the difference between rattle and body behavior has something to do with subtle differences in their cells’ chemical environments, not the structure or expression of the ion channel itself.

“For a lot of evolutionary modifications, your primary goal is to not break the animal, right?” Bagnall said. “Anything that you can do that tunes traits without becoming an on/off switch is a powerful means of driving change without being deeply deleterious.”

Turning and Tuning

This new study shows that it’s possible to tune motor neurons for wildly different behaviors by tweaking a single protein. But motor neurons are just one piece of the movement puzzle. They’re the last link in a chain that begins with circuits in the central nervous system known as central pattern generators, which generate the rhythmic patterns involved in walking or swimming. Those upstream circuits are better understood in other organisms, like zebra fish. In rattlesnakes, puzzling them out would be a next logical step.

“The number-one missing link,” Katz said, “is how do you create the frequency for the rattle? Where does that come from?”

Chagnaud is eager to find out if a similar Stellschraube tunes motor neurons in another species feared for its bite. Like rattlesnakes, piranhas execute two rhythmic movements with radically different frequencies: swimming, with a frequency of up to six cycles per second, and vibrating their swim bladders at frequencies of up to 140 cycles per second to make noises that sound like barks, yips and drumbeats. However, unlike rattlesnakes, piranhas use the same section of their spine to control both movement types.

“I’m curious to know, will it be KV72/3? We have no idea,” Chagnaud said. “Did evolution find the same solution to the same problem?”

He has his doubts. Although he’s hopeful about finding a similar mechanism, the surprising — and at times frustrating — discovery in rattlesnakes “was an eye-opener,” he said. Evolution is not a human designer with a goal in mind. Its methods are mysterious, and its toolbox is vast. “And you have very different screws that you can turn.”

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Quanta Magazine – https://www.quantamagazine.org/tiny-tweaks-to-neurons-can-rewire-animal-motion-20240311/

Tags: neuronssciencetweaks
Previous Post

Kamal Haasan’s ‘Indian 2’ titbits: Shooting reaches the final leg with a song wrap!

Next Post

PUBG 2024 Roadmap Reveals Destruction, Skins Market, Unreal Engine Transition

2025 IIHF World Championships Begin for Danault, Chromiak, Slukynsky – LA Kings Insider

2025 IIHF World Championships Begin for Danault, Chromiak, Slukynsky – LA Kings Insider

May 9, 2025
US Farm Economy Is Starting to See First Hits From Trump Tariffs – Bloomberg.com

US Farm Economy Is Starting to See First Hits From Trump Tariffs – Bloomberg.com

May 9, 2025
Georgia Entertainment CEO says large-scale production is slowing down – Decaturish

Georgia Entertainment CEO Warns of Slowdown in Large-Scale Productions

May 9, 2025
Georgia first responders unite for mental health conference to combat trauma – FOX 5 Atlanta

Georgia First Responders Join Forces for Groundbreaking Mental Health Conference to Tackle Trauma

May 9, 2025
Upcoming changes at CIA shine a spotlight on the spy agency’s director John Ratcliffe – CNN

Transformative Shifts at the CIA: Spotlight on Director John Ratcliffe

May 9, 2025
Technology Innovation to Take Center Stage at The 2025 National Restaurant Association Show – Restaurant Technology News

Get Ready for a Tech Revolution: The 2025 National Restaurant Association Show Unveils Cutting-Edge Innovations!

May 9, 2025
In the News: Olivia Keller ’26 Featured on ‘WoMN in Sports’ – Newsroom | University of St. Thomas

Olivia Keller ’26 Shines in Spotlight on ‘WoMN in Sports’!

May 9, 2025
Ecological and anthropogenic effects on the genomic diversity of lemurs in Madagascar – Nature

Unraveling the Impact of Nature and Humanity on Lemur Genomic Diversity in Madagascar

May 9, 2025
Scientists edge closer to solving mystery of T. rex origins – Live Science

Scientists edge closer to solving mystery of T. rex origins – Live Science

May 9, 2025
Dispatches from the Wild: An ode to science – Explore Big Sky

Adventures in Nature: Celebrating the Wonders of Science

May 9, 2025

Categories

Archives

May 2025
MTWTFSS
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031 
« Apr    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (594)
  • Economy (606)
  • Entertainment (21,519)
  • General (15,210)
  • Health (9,648)
  • Lifestyle (610)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (608)
  • Politics (613)
  • Science (15,827)
  • Sports (21,116)
  • Technology (15,596)
  • World (596)

Recent News

2025 IIHF World Championships Begin for Danault, Chromiak, Slukynsky – LA Kings Insider

2025 IIHF World Championships Begin for Danault, Chromiak, Slukynsky – LA Kings Insider

May 9, 2025
US Farm Economy Is Starting to See First Hits From Trump Tariffs – Bloomberg.com

US Farm Economy Is Starting to See First Hits From Trump Tariffs – Bloomberg.com

May 9, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version