Incorporation of animal-based foods into early hominin diets has been hypothesized to be a major catalyst of many important evolutionary events, including brain expansion. However, direct evidence of the onset and evolution of animal resource consumption in hominins remains elusive. The nitrogen-15 to nitrogen-14 ratio of collagen provides trophic information about individuals in modern and geologically recent ecosystems (<200,000 years ago), but diagenetic loss of this organic matter precludes studies of greater age.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) remains a challenging disease with no drugs available to change the trajectory. It is a condition associated with excessive and highly progressive scarring of the lungs with remodelling and extracellular matrix deposition. It is a highly "destructive" disease of the lungs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ability of stony corals to thrive in the oligotrophic (low-nutrient, low-productivity) surface waters of the tropical ocean is commonly attributed to their symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic dinoflagellates. The evolutionary history of this symbiosis might clarify its organismal and environmental roles, but its prevalence through time, and across taxa, morphologies and oceanic settings, is currently unclear. Here we report measurements of the nitrogen isotope (N/N) ratio of coral-bound organic matter (CB-δN) in samples from Mid-Devonian reefs (Givetian, around 385 million years ago), which represent a constraint on the evolution of coral photosymbiosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngew Chem Int Ed Engl
December 2024
Organoboron compounds are widely utilized in organic synthesis for their diverse reactivity, modular preparation, and stability compared to other classes of organometallic reagents. While organoboron species are commonly employed as nucleophiles in cross-coupling reactions, their potential as racemic building blocks in enantioconvergent transformations remains largely untapped. Herein, we demonstrate the direct utilization of alkylboronic pinacol esters in intermolecular enantioconvergent transformations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF