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Dogs have long been our loyal companions, but now they’re also being trained as conservation detectives to sniff out invasive species that threaten America’s agriculture and forests. A new study led by Virginia Tech found that volunteer dog-handler teams can effectively detect the elusive egg masses of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect damaging farms and forests across the eastern and central United States.

The researchers asked a simple yet profound question: “What if we tapped into the tens of thousands of dog owners already doing scent detection as a hobby around the country?” They recruited over 1,000 dog owners, with more than 40 percent having prior experience in sport scent detection or related activities. Ultimately, 182 teams from across the U.S. were selected and given devitalized egg masses as training aids.

The results? Dogs correctly identified the egg masses 82 percent of the time in controlled tests. In real-world field trials, accuracy dropped to 61 percent – still better than many human searches. Of the dogs that passed both tests, 92 percent were successful in finding live egg masses with minimal extra training.

This study highlights the untapped power of community science, where thousands of people out there doing scent work with their dogs just for fun can be a valuable resource for fighting the spread of an invasive pest. The findings show that trained pet dogs can also detect powdery mildew, a major fungal disease of grapes and vineyards, with over 90 percent accuracy.

For Sally Dickinson, lead author of the study, this research is about empowering people to work alongside their dogs to protect the places and communities they care about. It’s about giving more dogs and their humans a chance to do meaningful work – a mission that reflects her personal experience as a firefighter and career search-and-rescue canine handler.

As the project reflects, it’s time to unleash the power of citizen scientists in fighting invasive species. With the help of our loyal companions, we can safeguard agriculture and protect the environment for future generations.

The human body begins as a single cell that multiplies and differentiates into thousands of specialized cells. Researchers at the Göttingen Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks (CIDBN) and the Max Planck Institute have made a groundbreaking discovery: embryonic cells “listen” to each other through molecular mechanisms previously known only from hearing.

Using an interdisciplinary approach combining developmental genetics, brain research, hearing research, and theoretical physics, the researchers found that in thin layers of skin, cells register the movements of their neighboring cells and synchronize their own tiny movements with those of the others. This coordination allows groups of neighboring cells to pull together with greater force, making them highly sensitive and able to respond quickly and flexibly.

The researchers created computer models of tissue development, which showed that this “whispering” among neighboring cells leads to an intricate choreography of the entire tissue, protecting it from external forces. These findings were confirmed by video recordings of embryonic development and further experiments.

Dr. Matthias Häring, group leader at the CIDBN, explained that using AI methods and computer-assisted analysis allowed them to examine about a hundred times more cell pairs than was previously possible in this field, giving their results high accuracy.

The mechanisms revealed in embryonic development are also known to play a role in hearing, where hair cells convert sound waves into nerve signals. The ear is sensitive because of special proteins that convert mechanical forces into electrical currents. This discovery suggests that such sensors of force may have evolved from our single-celled ancestors, which emerged long before the origin of animal life.

Professor Fred Wolf, Director of the CIDBN, noted that future work should determine whether the original function of these cellular “nanomachines” was to perceive forces inside the body rather than perceiving the outside world. This phenomenon could provide insights into how force perception at a cellular level has evolved.

Scientists in China have made a groundbreaking discovery that could potentially alter our understanding of pandemics. Researchers from the Yunnan Institute of Endemic Disease Control and Prevention have found two new viruses in bats that are closely related to the deadly Nipah and Hendra viruses, which can cause severe brain inflammation and respiratory disease in humans.

The study, published in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens, analyzed 142 bat kidneys from ten species collected over four years across five areas of Yunnan province. Using advanced genetic sequencing, the team identified 22 viruses – 20 of them never seen before. Two of these newly discovered viruses belong to the henipavirus genus, which includes Nipah and Hendra viruses known for their high fatality rates in humans.

The researchers’ findings are concerning because these henipaviruses can spread through urine, raising the risk of contaminated fruit and the possibility of the viruses jumping to humans or livestock. This highlights the importance of comprehensive microbial analyses of previously understudied organs like bat kidneys to better assess spillover risks from bat populations.

As bats are natural reservoirs for a wide range of microorganisms, including many notable pathogens that have been transmitted to humans, it is essential to conduct thorough research on these animals’ infectomes. This study not only broadens our understanding of the bat kidney infectome but also underscores critical zoonotic threats and highlights the need for comprehensive microbial analyses.

The authors emphasize that their findings raise urgent concerns about the potential for these viruses to spill over into humans or livestock, making it crucial for scientists, policymakers, and public health officials to work together to mitigate this risk. By analyzing the infectome of bat kidneys collected near village orchards and caves in Yunnan, the researchers have uncovered not only the diverse microbes bats carry but also the first full-length genomes of novel bat-borne henipaviruses closely related to Hendra and Nipah viruses identified in China.

Funding for this study came from various grants and programs, including the National Key R&D Program of China, Yunnan Revitalization Talent Support Program Top Physician Project, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and others. The funders had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.