Thermotolerance is a biological process by which cells, tissues, or organisms acquire the capacity to survive and maintain function under elevated temperatures that would otherwise be lethal or damaging. It involves coordinated molecular responses including induction of heat shock proteins and molecular chaperones, stabilization of protein structure, remodeling of membranes, modulation of reactive oxygen species detoxification systems, and activation of protective signaling pathways such as heat shock factor (HSF)-mediated transcription. Thermotolerance can be constitutive or inducible, often developing after a mild heat pretreatment, and contributes to cellular homeostasis, proteostasis, and integrity of critical processes such as DNA replication, transcription, translation, and photosynthesis under thermal stress.
Researchers have developed an AI-based system that automatically and objectively detects the moment when fish experience loss of equilibrium (LOE) due to temperature stress. The system combines DeepLabCut, a deep-learning ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 10, 2026
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10
Off Florida's coast, a team of scientists and trained volunteers in scuba gear descends to the ocean floor, planting young coral onto a reef and examining how others are faring in increasingly warm waters.
Ecology
Sep 10, 2026
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72
Plants are home to a diverse array of microorganisms that support their growth and help them adapt to environmental stress—of which there has been an abundance lately. High temperatures and drought caused by human-induced ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 8, 2026
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26
For most mammals, cold suppresses neural activity and diminishes the sense of touch. But the thirteen-lined ground squirrel can detect touch in conditions as low as 4°C (39°F), about as cold as the inside of a refrigerator, ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 4, 2026
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11
Climate change continues to threaten the world's coral reefs, which support at least a quarter of all marine life. Though probiotics have been shown to rehabilitate corals in aquarium experiments, demonstrating the efficacy ...
Ecology
Sep 3, 2026
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9
Corals that partner with heat-tolerant algae may be better equipped to survive warming oceans—but that resilience comes with an unexpected trade-off, according to a new study from Boston University published in Science Advances.
Plants & Animals
Aug 27, 2026
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6
As climate change drives more frequent and intense heat waves, plants face growing challenges to survive and remain productive. Researchers at VIB, Ghent University, KU Leuven and their international collaborators have uncovered ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 26, 2026
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12
The threat that rising temperatures fueled by climate change pose to the health of older people has been dramatically underestimated, according to a U.S. modeling study published Tuesday.
Environment
Aug 18, 2026
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36
Climate change presents animals and plants with a fundamental challenge: What can they do when their established habitats become increasingly warm? They can adapt to the changing conditions—or move to areas where the climate ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 17, 2026
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10
The 2019 heat wave that struck Mo'orea—a volcanic island in French Polynesia—swept through its coral reefs like an invisible wildfire. Colorful, lively corals bleached into ghostly, chalk-white skeletons as soaring ocean ...
Evolution
Aug 5, 2026
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