"Unlike the genes that encode caffeine-synthesizing enzymes in tea and cacao plants, which are closely related, coffee’s caffeine genes are in a distinct group. That finding indicates that caffeine production evolved at least twice."

"Caffeine synthesis gave coffee grounds for evolutionary success. The eye-opening chemical fends off insect pests in leaves; in fruit and seeds, it delays other plant species’ germination."

https://pages.uoregon.edu/chendon/coffee_literature/old_literature/2014%20Science,%20Robusta%20genome%20and%20caffeine%20production.pdf

#coffee #health #convergent #molecularBiology #evolution

🆕 Interview: In this accompanying blog post, the first author, Bianca R. Nogueira, and the last author, Lily Khadempour, talk about their research and answer some questions.
#storage #strategy #convergent #specialization

https://blog.myrmecologicalnews.org/2026/02/02/digging-through-the-desert-to-uncover-the-secrets-and-the-knowledge-gaps-of-honeypot-ants/

🆕 Review Article: Honeypots: a review of repletism across the ants
#storage #strategy #convergent #specialization

https://myrmecologicalnews.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=1667&Itemid=444

Mammals have developed some unusual eating habits over the past 100 million years, but a new study has uncovered the surprising lengths to which some have gone to satisfy one of the more peculiar—a taste for #ants and #termites.

Mammals independently evolved specialized adaptations for exclusively feeding on ants and termites at least 12 times since the #Cenozoic era began, roughly 66 million years ago.

The #convergent #evolution among #mammals toward this dietary strategy—called #myrmecophagy—emerged following the K-Pg #extinction and fall of non-avian dinosaurs, which reshaped ecosystems and set the stage for ant and termite colonies to rapidly expand worldwide.

Over 200 mammal #species are known to eat ants and termites today, yet only about 20 true myrmecophages—such as giant anteaters, aardvarks and pangolins—have evolved traits like long sticky tongues, specialized claws and stomachs, and reduced or missing teeth, to efficiently consume thousands of these insects daily as their sole food source.

#evolution #ecology #biology
https://phys.org/news/2025-07-mammals-evolved-ant-eaters-dinosaur.html

Vida et al. (2025):
https://academic.oup.com/evolut/article-abstract/79/10/2315/8155241

SciTech Chronicles. . . . . . . . .Feb 22, 2025

https://bit.ly/stc022225

#fluidization #convergent #elongations #load-bearing #Octantis #eDNA #AI #sequencing #biomass #emulsions #stabilize #haircare #vortex #rings #electricity #ozone #nutrient #release #beads #glass

No sé si hi ha màxima més vertadera en la #cultura #catalana que la que diu:

"Mai et refiïs d'un #convergent"

(@)ITNewsBot(@)schleuss.online:
"It’s Spreadsheets All The Way Down for This 80s Handheld - Unlike the today’s consumer computer market, the 1980s were the wild west in compa... - " https://hackaday.com/2024/09/05/its-spreadsheets-all-the-way-down-for-this-80s-handheld/ #turingincomplete #retrocomputing #programming #spreadsheet #convergent #workslate #cassette #modem #80s #lcd

https://schleuss.online/@itnewsbot/113087449627161385

Teaching a #calculus III course this fall that includes sequences and #series. In resources, I typically (externally) link to three different "flowcharts" that each asks yes/no Qs that students use to help them decide which #SeriesTest would work in determining if a series is #convergent or #divergent (example below).

However, the three I typically share don't pass accessibility standards (tagged PDF, headers, colour contrast, etc). I hate to recommend them if they aren't an #accessible document. Does anyone happen to have online a Series Test Flowchart that is accessible?