Environmental DNA Epigenetics Accurately Predicts the Age of Cultured Fish Larvae.

While acquiring age information is crucial for efficient stock management and biodiversity conservation, traditional aging methods fail to offer a universal, non-invasive, and precise way of estimating a wild animal's age. DNA methylation from tissue DNA (tDNA) was recently proposed as a method to overcome these issues and showed more accurate results than telomere-length-based age assessments. Here, we used environmental DNA (eDNA) for the first time as a template for age estimation, focusing on the larval phase (10-24 days post-hatch) of cultured (seabass), a species of major economic and conservation interest.

High-resolution three-dimensional imaging of the lateral plasma membrane of cochlear outer hair cells by atomic force microscopy.

The outer hair cells (OHCs) from the mammalian organ of Corti are assumed to enhance the sensitivity and the selectivity of the cochlea via an electromotile response to sound stimulation. These OHC mechanical changes feed energy back into the cochlea before completion of the transduction process by inner hair cells. OHC electromotility is thought to depend on specific transmembrane motor proteins.