This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"A recent study shows that common pesticides could seriously harm and disorient a songbird native to North America. Migratory bird populations across the world are declining. While that trend has been linked to a litany of complex factors, one of the most concerning is the widespread use of common pesticides, namely, organophosphates and neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids, the more modern of the pair, were originally thought to be less harmful to the human and wildlife nervous system. But mounting evidence suggests that may notbe the case. One group of animals susceptible to the brain-altering effects of the pesticides are migratory songbirds. In a recent study, researchers looked at the white-crowned sparrow in particular. The white-crowned sparrow migrates as far as northern Canada during breeding season and as far south as Central Mexico in the winter. Like many other migratory birds, the sparrow relies on the rich farmland in between to rest and refuel. And that’s where danger may lie..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource provides a set of narrated animations demonstrating the normal and toxic actions within the axon and/or synapse of neurons. A brief overview of the neuron structure and neuron-to-neuron communication is presented first. Next, axon normal functions and synapse normal functions are presented in small segments. Each set of normal functions are followed by the associated toxic actions (pyrethroid toxicity of the axon, organophosphate toxicity and neonicotinoid toxicity of the synapse, and DDT toxicity occurring in both the axon and the synapse). The interface allows the user to compare and contrast the normal functions with those with toxic actions.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"RNA interference (RNAi), a popular technique for gene silencing using double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs), can be used to manage insect pests. Once eaten by insects, the dsRNAs target specific genes to reduce growth or cause death. Multiple factors affect RNAi efficiency, but it’s unknown if the gut microbiota, which encounters the ingested dsRNAs in the gastrointestinal tract, is a factor. A recent study investigated the effects of RNAi on a major tree pest, the willow leaf beetle, and explored the influence of the microbiome with molecular biology techniques. The ingested targeted dsRNAs were highly lethal to non-axenic beetles (with gut microbes) but were less lethal to axenic (microbe-free) beetles despite equivalent gene-silencing effects. All dsRNAs altered the microbiota composition and induced overgrowth of gut bacteria, especially Enterobacter and Pseudomonas, perhaps in part because their degradation provided food for the bacteria..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.