M. Hasegawa

Occurrence and persistence of pseudo-tail spots in the barn swallow

The paper identifies pseudo-tail spots in barn swallows as a potential early stage of deceptive ornamentation, with low frequency and slow evolutionary change.

Maneuverable flight evolved with forked tails and opportunities for extrapair mating in swallows and martins (Aves: Hirundininae)

The paper examines flight performance in swallows and martins relative to tail fork depth, finding that intermediate fork depths correlate with better flight performance, suggesting sexual selection influences tail evolution.

A procedure for solid phase extractions using metal oxide coated silica column in lipidomics

The paper introduces a solid-phase extraction method using metal oxide-coated silica columns to fractionate lipids into neutral, phospholipids, and other lipid classes for lipidomics.

Sexually dimorphic leading-edge serrations evolved with sperm competition in silent swallows

This study investigates the evolution of leading-edge serrations in swallows, finding they are linked to sperm competition rather than foraging behavior, unlike in owls.

Reduced ornamentation became elaborated in benign environments in a bird species

The study examines tail ornamentation in Pacific swallows, finding that those roosting in safer, less stressful environments have longer tail feathers, suggesting reduced ornamentation can become elaborated in benign conditions.

UV-induced feather color change reflects its porphyrin content

This study shows that porphyrin, a minority pigment, explains UV-induced feather color change in barn swallows, challenging the focus on predominant pigments like pheomelanin.

Macroevolutionary analysis of swallows revived the sight-line hypothesis

This study tests the sight-line and sexual selection hypotheses for facial color patterns in swallows using phylogenetic analysis, finding support for the sight-line hypothesis over sexual selection.

Coevolutionary maintenance of forked tails and song in hirundines (Aves: Hirundininae)

The paper examines the evolutionary relationship between forked tails and song in hirundines, finding that species with forked tails are more likely to have song.

Energy transfer in ubiquitous rhodopsin pumps with xanthophyll antennas

The paper detects energy transfer from hydroxylated carotenoids to rhodopsin proton pumps in marine and freshwater bacteria.

Male mate preference against tail-elongated females in the barn swallow

The paper tests male mate preference in barn swallows using model presentations and finds males avoid tail-elongated female models, challenging the idea that males prefer more ornamented females.

Metabolic shift toward ketosis in asocial cavefish increases social-like affinity.

This study shows that a ketogenic diet increases social affinity in asocial cavefish, suggesting a link between metabolic shifts and social behavior.

Compensatory traits can explain concave cost function of purely sexual traits

The paper shows that compensatory traits can produce a concave cost function for ornaments, challenging conclusions about evolutionary forces from experimental studies.

Proton-pumping rhodopsins in marine diatoms

This study identifies diatom rhodopsin as a light-driven proton pump localized to plastid membranes and suggests it contributes to a CO2-concentrating mechanism in diatoms.

ATR inhibition enhances 5-fluorouracil sensitivity independent of non-homologous end-joining and homologous recombination repair pathway

This study shows that ATR inhibition increases 5-FU sensitivity in cancer cells, independent of DNA repair pathways.

Interleukin-11 is a Marker for Both Cancer- and Inflammation-Associated Fibroblasts that Contribute to Colorectal Cancer Progression

This study identifies IL-11 as a marker for fibroblasts involved in colorectal cancer progression, showing their role in tumor development through a feed-forward loop.

Human URAT1/SLC22A12 gene promoter is regulated by 27-hydroxycholesterol through estrogen response elements

The paper identifies 27-hydroxycholesterol's role in regulating URAT1/SLC22A12 gene expression through estrogen response elements, linking cholesterol metabolism to serum uric acid levels.