INTERNACIONAL
¿Por qué una planta eligió un solo aroma para sobrevivir? El sorprendente caso del Smilax insularis
Entre la diversidad de estrategias de comunicación vegetal, Smilax insularis, una planta trepadora nativa de las islas del sur de Japón, destaca por utilizar una sola molécula volátil como base para su polinización, diferenciándose claramente de la mayoría de las plantas, que recurren a mezclas complejas de compuestos.
Este mecanismo ha sido objeto de análisis detallado por parte de investigadores de la Universidad de Kobe, referente en botánica. Tanto el equipo de Kenji Suetsugu, en su investigación publicada en Current Biology, como el medio Muy Interesante, han documentado con precisión este sistema, explicando que la singularidad del proceso radica en la utilización de dihydroedulan I: un solo compuesto químico para atraer polinizadores, a diferencia de la estrategia multifactorial habitual en otras especies.
El mecanismo central consiste en la producción de dihydroedulan I, un compuesto que funciona como señal química y permite atraer únicamente a la cecidomia Dasineura heterosmilacicola. Esta diminuta mosca pertenece a la familia Cecidomyiidae y su ciclo vital depende directamente de la planta: las hembras depositan los huevos en los órganos reproductores de la flor y las larvas se alimentan de los tejidos vegetales.
En este proceso, el insecto efectúa la polinización, posibilitando la reproducción y el mantenimiento poblacional de ambas especies. Sin la intervención de otros estímulos olfativos o visuales, la emisión de dihydroedulan I desencadena la visita del polinizador.
Función y especificidad de dihydroedulan I
El compuesto I asume el rol de mensajero químico entre la planta y el insecto. De acuerdo con la investigación, esta molécula es la única responsable de atraer a Dasineura heterosmilacicola hacia las flores de la planta.
Mientras la mayor parte de las flores liberan una combinación de sustancias volátiles para captar la atención de distintos grupos de insectos, en este caso la señal es tan restringida que ningún otro polinizador reacciona ante ella. Así, se reduce la competencia por la polinización.
La especificidad de este mecanismo fue comprobada en experimentos de campo realizados por el equipo de Suetsugu de la Universidad de Kobe: únicamente la presencia de dihydroedulan I suscitó la llegada de la cecidomia. Otros insectos presentes en el área no mostraron reacción alguna ante este estímulo químico, lo que refuerza el alto grado de especialización entre las dos especies.
Sincronización y supervivencia
La interacción entre Smilax insularis y su polinizador está condicionada por una sincronización temporal precisa. La planta libera el compuesto volátil justo cuando las flores están en condiciones de ser polinizadas. A la vez, el ciclo de vida de Dasineura heterosmilacicola se ajusta para que las hembras adultas emerjan y busquen flores activamente al coincidir con la emisión de dihydroedulan I por parte de la planta.
Este ajuste temporal permite el encuentro óptimo entre planta e insecto. Como resultado, se reduce el uso de recursos de forma innecesaria y se evita la exposición de la flor a visitantes que no participan en la polinización.
La relación entre ambas especies se describe como un mutualismo, en el que la mosca poliniza la flor a la vez que utiliza los tejidos reproductivos de la planta para depositar huevos. Las larvas se alimentan de los tejidos vegetales durante su desarrollo.
A pesar del beneficio recibido por el insecto, la planta controla el impacto larval mediante mecanismos de regulación en el desarrollo floral. Esto mantiene un equilibrio en la interacción, permitiendo la estabilidad de la relación a lo largo del tiempo.
Singularidad y consecuencias evolutivas del sistema de señalización
El uso de un solo compuesto químico en la comunicación planta-insecto constituye una rareza evolutiva dentro del reino vegetal. La investigación de Suetsugu y sus colegas subraya que este método de señalización ha demostrado ser estable en el caso de Smilax insularis y su polinizador. La especificidad extrema de la señal disminuye la posibilidad de interferencia de otros insectos o plantas, reduciendo los errores en la comunicación química.
La estabilidad del sistema responde, en parte, a la sincronía entre los ciclos ecológicos y la dependencia entre la planta y el insecto, que han evolucionado de manera conjunta y mantienen la eficacia del mecanismo, incluso frente a cambios ambientales.
El descubrimiento de un modelo de señalización floral sustentado en un único compuesto permite profundizar en el estudio de las comunicaciones químicas vegetales.
Comprender el modo en que se logra tal especificidad podría facilitar el desarrollo de estrategias agrícolas enfocadas en atraer polinizadores concretos o en el manejo de plagas selectivas, sin afectar a otras especies. Además, la documentación de este caso aporta datos al debate sobre la evolución de las señales en sistemas mutualistas y apoya la conservación de la biodiversidad.
Cecidomyiinae,Smilax insularis
INTERNACIONAL
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Abortion pill mifepristone stays available by mail for now as FDA faces 6-month review deadline
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A federal judge allowed the abortion pill mifepristone to continue being distributed by mail nationwide for now, but warned the Biden-era policy could soon face major legal changes as a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety review of the drug unfolds.
The legal challenge to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s January 2023 Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) seeks to end the «certified pharmacies» regulation that allows for the drug to be mailed across state lines while the federal agency continues its review.
U.S. District Court Judge David C. Joseph, appointed by President Donald Trump, ruled against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill on Tuesday, citing what he referred to as a «government by lawsuit.»
«…It is the completion of FDA’s promised good faith, evidence-based, and expeditious review of the mifepristone REMS, not «government by lawsuit,» that this Court finds to be in the public interest,» Joseph wrote in his ruling.
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A federal judge Tuesday allowed the abortion pill mifepristone to continue being distributed by mail nationwide. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters, File)
Joseph also cited a letter from both Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary asking their respective agencies to «conduct a comprehensive safety review» of the 2023 mifepristone REMS.
Murrill told Fox News Digital she plans on taking Joseph’s ruling to the Fifth Circuit despite the ongoing mifepristone REMS review from both agencies.
«Judge Joseph concluded that Louisiana has standing to sue and is likely to succeed in showing that the 2023 REMS is unlawful,» Murrill said to Fox News Digital in a statement.
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Pro-life supporters rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (Olivier Douliery/AFP, File)
«He also concluded that Louisiana suffers irreparable harm every day that the 2023 REMS remains in effect,» she added. «Accordingly, under binding Fifth Circuit precedent, the only thing left to do is vacate the 2023 REMS pending the outcome of this litigation. We will ask the Fifth Circuit to do so.»
The ruling sets up a high-stakes legal fight over abortion pills, with a federal appeals court showdown looming and the FDA under pressure to justify rules that dramatically expanded access in recent years.
In the past year, many red states nationwide have taken the 2023 REMS mail-order regulation to the courts.
In one notable incident last year, a Texas man who fathered an unborn child sued a California doctor who prescribed his ex-girlfriend mifepristone through the organization «Aid Access.» His case, Rodriguez v. Coeytaux, is still ongoing.
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A federal judge ruled against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill on Tuesday, citing what he referred to as a «government by lawsuit.» (Chris Graythen/Getty Images, File)
In the State of Louisiana v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Murrill seeks a full rollback of the REMS policy regardless of the findings of the review.
Joseph denied injunction without prejudice in the suit that Louisiana brought to the court, but also granted stay of the case. His ruling orders the FDA to complete their safety review, which had been postponed through the November midterm elections, and to report back in six months.
«Should the agency fail to complete its review and make any necessary revisions to the REMS within a reasonable timeframe, the Court’s analysis – and the weight accorded to these factors – will inevitably change,» Joseph wrote in his ruling.
Joseph did point to Louisiana’s standing in the suit, claiming the state is suffering «ongoing harm» after the Dobbs decision in 2022 allowed the state to ban abortion.
«Thus, in that post-Dobbs regulatory environment, there is evidence that the 2023 REMS was approved without adequate consideration, at least in part, as part of an effort to circumvent anti-abortion states’ ability to regulate abortion,» Joseph wrote. «Likewise, there is evidence that the consequences of this action were predictable – out-of-state providers and related entities would expand access to mifepristone in ways designed to reach into jurisdictions like Louisiana.»
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Mifepristone was first approved by the FDA in 2000 under strict guidelines. (Charlie Neibergall/AP, File)
However, Joseph pointed to the FDA as the ultimate decision maker on the issue, as a matter of «public health judgment.»
Mifepristone was first approved by the FDA in 2000 under strict guidelines, requiring a pregnancy at seven weeks’ gestation or fewer, and only administered in-person after being seen by a prescribing physician.
The guidelines were first relaxed in 2016, where the gestational age of the proposed pregnancy was lengthened to 10 weeks, and required fewer in-person visits to obtain a prescription.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, where mifepristone was prescribed and sent via mail under unprecedented circumstances, the same rules were legalized under the FDA’s REMS in 2023.
Reuters reported that mifepristone is the single-most popular method of abortion in the U.S., representing about 60% of all abortions.
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A Kansas law requiring that patients be informed of reversal regimens for medication abortion is one of two being challenged in a lawsuit by abortion providers. (Charlie Riedel/AP)
Joseph’s ruling orders the FDA to finish their review, which may revise rules under the 2023 REMS guidelines. It also allows the court to act if the agency continues to delay its safety review more than six months.
«Should the agency fail… the Court’s analysis… will inevitably change,» Joseph concluded.
Joseph maintained mifepristone access in Louisiana for now, but signaled the legal and scientific basis for those rules may not hold.
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«This is one of the many reasons why the investigation into the FDA must be sped up so that states can begin to regulate abortions if the feds don’t,» 40 Days for Life President Shawn Carney told Fox News Digital. «This was one of the great promises by RFK that they initiated last year, because we now know how dangerous these abortion drugs are.»
«The investigation into the FDA must be sped up because every abortion pill sent through the mail is a huge, unregulated danger that has been a disaster since Biden deregulated it,» Carney added.
The FDA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
abortion, federal judges, drugs, reproductive health, health care, federal courts, politics
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Iran releases 2 French citizens after ‘three and a half years of detention,’ Macron says
Iran using war to cover up executions of political dissidents, activist claims
Iranian activist Sheyda Rahbari details the surge in executions of political dissidents by the terrorist Islamic regime. She notes the regime’s increasing pressure on its people, openly threatening them with arrest and execution. Rahbari cites the execution of an 18-year-old protestor, Amir Hussein Hamedi, as a heartbreaking example of the regime’s brutality.
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French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris were released by Iran on Tuesday after «three and a half years of detention,» President Emmanuel Macron announced.
The pair, who were arrested in May 2022 while visiting Iran, were accused by Iranian state television of being spies who sought to stir up unrest, according to Reuters. France previously denounced their detention as unjustified and unfounded.
«Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris are free and on their way to French territory, after three and a half years of detention in Iran. This is a relief for all of us and obviously for their families,» Macron wrote on X.
«Thank you to the Omani authorities for their mediation efforts, to the State services, and to the citizens who mobilized tirelessly and thus contributed to their return,» he added.
SON OF BRITISH COUPLE DETAINED IN IRAN ‘LET DOWN’ BY STARMER’S LEADERSHIP ON PARENT’S IMPRISONMENT AMID WAR
A woman walks past posters of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens held in Iran, during support rallies outside the National Assembly in Paris on May 7, 2025, marking their three-year detention and demanding their release. (Abdul Saboor/Reuters)
The nonprofit United Against Nuclear Iran described Kohler as the head of a federation of teachers unions in France, with Paris being her partner.
France’s foreign ministry said last May that Kohler and Paris were being detained as «state hostages by the Islamic Republic of Iran.»
AFGHANISTAN FREES US CITIZEN DENNIS COYLE OVER A YEAR AFTER TALIBAN ARREST
French President Emmanuel Macron holds a press conference on July 10, 2025, in London, England. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
«They are being held in shameful conditions and have been able to receive only four consular visits, under very restrictive conditions,» the ministry said at the time.
Iranian authorities freed the pair from prison in November but didn’t let them leave the country, according to The Associated Press.
Noemie Kohler, sister of Cecile Kohler, and Anne-Laure Paris, daughter of Jacques Paris, attend a press conference in Paris, France, on June 27, 2025. Both are relatives of French citizens held in Iran. (Benoit Tessier/Reuters)
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French officials said they were then being kept safe at the French Embassy in Tehran, until their departure from Iran on Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
france, emmanuel macron, iran, foreign affairs, personal freedoms
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