Publications by authors named "Shinichi Nakagawa"

Eyespot patterns have evolved in many prey species. These patterns were traditionally explained by the eye mimicry hypothesis, which proposes that eyespots resembling vertebrate eyes function as predator avoidance. However, it is possible that eyespots do not mimic eyes: according to the conspicuousness hypothesis, eyespots are just one form of vivid signals where only conspicuousness matters.

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  • Subtropical coral reefs, while less studied than tropical reefs, are crucial ecosystems that support diverse marine life and provide significant socio-economic benefits, prompting increased research on their response to ocean warming over the past two decades.
  • A systematic approach was used to review 90 primary research publications published between 2010 and 2023, focusing on the type and scope of studies related to subtropical corals and their reaction to warming seas.
  • Most studies were experimental (49%) and observational (39%), with significant research focused on corals in regions like Southern China (13%) and the Western Mediterranean (10%), highlighting various stressors linked to ocean warming.
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  • - The study explores how social environments impact individual behavior, particularly under competition, suggesting that higher population density leads to greater behavioral variation and predictability among animals.
  • - Using the eastern water dragon lizard, researchers found that while females were generally more sociable, there were no significant sex differences in behavioral variation or predictability.
  • - The results indicate that for females, predictable social behavior is linked to improved survival, while males show a connection between average social behavior and fitness, pointing to sex-dependent effects of social predictability.
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Splicing modulation by a small compound offers therapeutic potential for diseases caused by splicing abnormality. However, only a few classes of compounds that can modulate splicing have been identified. We previously identified BAY61-3606, a multiple kinase inhibitor, as a compound that relaxes the splicing fidelity at the 3' splice site recognition.

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  • The study investigates how biogenic silicon, a common plant defense mechanism, affects the performance of herbivorous animals that consume these plants.
  • Meta-analyses of 150 studies show that silicon-rich plants have significantly higher silicon levels, leading to a 33% decline in herbivore performance, especially affecting tissue-chewing herbivores.
  • Fluid-feeding herbivores are less impacted, with their performance declining only by 14%, indicating that silicon defenses are particularly effective against chewing herbivores, regardless of their dietary habits.
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  • * Studies show that the loss of the Men1 protein in osteoblasts leads to structural bone changes similar to those observed in osteoporosis patients, characterized by decreased bone-forming and increased bone-resorbing activities.
  • * The research suggests that loss of Men1 triggers cellular senescence via mTORC1 activation and AMPK suppression, with potential treatment benefits from metformin, indicating a new avenue for therapeutic strategies against age-related osteoporosis.
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Despite the growing concerns about the replicability of ecological and evolutionary studies, no results exist from a field-wide replication project. We conduct a large-scale in silico replication project, leveraging cutting-edge statistical methodologies. Replicability is 30%-40% for studies with marginal statistical significance in the absence of selective reporting, whereas the replicability of studies presenting 'strong' evidence against the null hypothesis H is >70%.

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Protein sequence diversification significantly impacts physiological traits. In this study, using medaka fish (Oryzias latipes), we identify a novel protein variant affecting shape preference behavior. Re-analysis of sequencing data reveals that LOC101156433 encodes a unique Hmgn2 variant with unusual subnuclear localization, clustered separately from the Hmgn2 clades of other species.

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In a growing digital landscape, enhancing the discoverability and resonance of scientific articles is essential. Here, we offer 10 recommendations to amplify the discoverability of studies in search engines and databases. Particularly, we argue that the strategic use and placement of key terms in the title, abstract and keyword sections can boost indexing and appeal.

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Awards can propel academic careers. They also reflect the culture and values of the scientific community. But do awards incentivize greater transparency, inclusivity, and openness in science? Our cross-disciplinary survey of 222 awards for the "best" journal articles across all 27 SCImago subject areas revealed that journals and learned societies administering such awards generally publish little detail on their procedures and criteria.

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Air pollution has the potential to disrupt ecologically- and economically-beneficial services provided by invertebrates, including pollination and natural pest regulation. To effectively predict and mitigate this disruption requires an understanding of how the impacts of air pollution vary between invertebrate groups. Here we conduct a global meta-analysis of 120 publications comparing the performance of different invertebrate functional groups in unpolluted and polluted atmospheres.

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Sexual selection has been a popular subject within evolutionary biology because of its central role in explaining odd and counterintuitive traits observed in nature. Consequently, the literature associated with this field of study became vast. Meta-analytical studies attempting to draw inferences from this literature have now accumulated, varying in scope and quality, thus calling for a synthesis of these syntheses.

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  • PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are persistent chemicals that raise health and environmental concerns, prompting extensive secondary research on their effects.
  • A systematic evidence-mapping approach was used to analyze and evaluate 175 systematic reviews, focusing on the biological, environmental, and medical aspects of 35 fluorinated compounds.
  • The study found a growing trend in publications, especially in 2021, with most reviews concentrating on human exposure while highlighting gaps in the evaluation of environmental and animal impacts.
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An estimated 82-89% of ecological research and 85% of medical research has limited or no value to the end user because of various inefficiencies. We argue that registration and registered reports can enhance the quality and impact of ecological research. Drawing on evidence from other fields, chiefly medicine, we support our claim that registration can reduce research waste.

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Systematic evidence syntheses (systematic reviews and maps) summarize knowledge and are used to support decisions and policies in a variety of applied fields, from medicine and public health to biodiversity conservation. However, conducting these exercises in conservation is often expensive and slow, which can impede their use and hamper progress in addressing the current biodiversity crisis. With the explosive growth of large language models (LLMs) and other forms of artificial intelligence (AI), we discuss here the promise and perils associated with their use.

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Despite a wealth of studies documenting prey responses to perceived predation risk, researchers have only recently begun to consider how prey integrate information from multiple cues in their assessment of risk. We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that experimentally manipulated perceived predation risk in birds and evaluate support for three alternative models of cue integration: redundancy/equivalence, enhancement, and antagonism. One key insight from our analysis is that the current theory, generally applied to study cue integration in animals, is incomplete.

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  • PFAS are synthetic chemicals used in various consumer products that accumulate in animal tissues, causing negative effects on wildlife, particularly in reproduction and embryo development in birds.
  • A systematic review found that offspring of wild birds had 41% higher PFAS concentrations than their mothers, with significant variations based on the chemical properties and dietary habits of the bird species.
  • This study highlights the importance of understanding maternal PFAS transfer in birds, which can impact ecological balance and have broader implications for wildlife, ecosystems, and human health.
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is an architectural RNA that provides the structural basis for nuclear bodies known as paraspeckles. Although the assembly processes by which organizes paraspeckle components are well-documented, the physiological functions of are not yet fully understood. This is partly because knockout (KO) mice, lacking paraspeckles, do not exhibit overt phenotypes under normal laboratory conditions.

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Marine artificial structures provide substrates on which organisms can settle and grow. These structures facilitate establishment and spread of non-indigenous species, in part due to their distinct physical features (substrate material, movement, orientation) compared to natural habitat analogues such as rocky shores, and because following construction, they have abundant resources (space) for species to colonise. Despite the perceived importance of these habitat features, few studies have directly compared distributions of native and non-indigenous species or considered how functional identity and associated environmental preferences drive associations.

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A recent article claimed that researchers need not increase the overall sample size for a study that includes both sexes. This Formal Comment points out that that study assumed two sexes to have the same variance, and explains why this is a unrealistic assumption.

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MALAT1, one of the few highly conserved nuclear long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), is abundantly expressed in normal tissues. Previously, targeted inactivation and genetic rescue experiments identified MALAT1 as a suppressor of breast cancer lung metastasis. On the other hand, Malat1-knockout mice are viable and develop normally.

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Pesticides are indispensable in agriculture and have become ubiquitous in aquatic environments. Pesticides in natural environments can cause many negative impacts on aquatic species, ranging from mortality to sub-lethal physiological and behavioural changes. The complex sub-lethal impacts of pesticides are routinely tested on model species, with zebrafish (Danio rerio) being regularly used as a behavioural model.

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