Biology-blog.com: The place for biology

Long-term apple scab resistance remains elusive

There are hundreds of choices when picking a crabapple tree from the nursery, but a Purdue University expert says only a handful are resistant to a widespread fungus or other serious diseases. After reviewing 33 years of data, Janna Beckerman, a Purdue assistant professor of botany and plant pathology, observed that only five of 287 crabapple varieties had durable resistance to a serious disease of crabapple trees. The results of her study........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 6/25/2009 7:29:08 PM)

How piranhas got their teeth

How did piranhas the legendary freshwater fish with the razor bite get their telltale teeth? Scientists from Argentina, the United States and Venezuela have uncovered the jawbone of a striking transitional fossil that sheds light on this question. Named Megapiranha paranensis, this previously unknown fossil fish bridges the evolutionary gap between flesh-eating piranhas and their plant-eating cousins. Present-day piranhas have a single row........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 6/25/2009 6:05:13 PM)

Domestication of Capsicum annuum chile pepper

Without the process of domestication, humans would still be hunters and gatherers, and modern civilization would look very different. Fortunately, for all of us who do not relish the thought of spending our days searching for nuts and berries, early civilizations successfully cultivated a number of species of animals and plants found in their surroundings. Current studies of the domestication of various species provide a fascinating glimpse........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 6/21/2009 8:56:16 PM)

Dino-not-so-soaring

The largest animals ever to have walked the face of the earth may not have been as big as previously thought, reveals a paper published recently in the Zoological Society of London's Journal of Zoology Scientists have discovered that the original statistical model used to calculate dinosaur mass is flawed, suggesting dinosaurs have been oversized. Widely cited estimates for the mass of Apatosaurus louisae, one of the largest of the........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 6/21/2009 8:48:27 PM)

Reviving American chestnuts may mitigate climate change

A Purdue University study shows that introducing a new hybrid of the American chestnut tree would not only bring back the all-but-extinct species, but also put a dent in the amount of carbon in the Earth's atmosphere. Douglass Jacobs, an associate professor of forestry and natural resources, observed that American chestnuts grow much faster and larger than other hardwood species, allowing them to sequester more carbon than other trees over........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 6/10/2009 9:41:25 PM)

Evolution can occur in less than 10 years

How fast can evolution take place? In just a few years, as per a newly released study on guppies led by UC Riverside's Swanne Gordon, a graduate student in biology. Gordon and her colleagues studied guppies small fresh-water fish biologists have studied for long from the Yarra River, Trinidad. They introduced the guppies into the nearby Damier River, in a section above a barrier waterfall that excluded all predators. The guppies and........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 6/10/2009 8:50:25 PM)

Complexity of animal mating choices

When female tiger salamanders choose a mate, it turns out that size does matter - tail size that is - and that's not the only factor they weigh. Findings of a Purdue University study show that animals make more complex decisions about choosing mates than once thought. The results of Andrew DeWoody's study, released Monday (June 8) in the journal Molecular Ecology, refute a theory that animals use major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 6/8/2009 10:19:38 PM)

Different genes cause loss of body parts

New research shows that when two species of stickleback fish evolved and lost their pelvises and body armor, the changes were caused by different genes in each species. That surprised researchers, who expected the same genes would control the same changes in both related fish. Results of the study, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Divisions of Environmental Biology and Integrative Organismal Systems, are published online........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 6/5/2009 4:47:44 AM)

City rats loyal to their neighborhoods

n the rat race of life, one thing is certain: there's no place like home. Now, a study published this week in the journal Molecular Ecology finds the same is as true for rats as for humans. Eventhough inner city rodents appear to roam freely, most form distinct neighborhoods where they spend the majority of their lives. Like any major city, Baltimore, Md., has a number of lively neighborhoods--each with its own personality. But........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/28/2009 5:12:36 AM)

Thanks to spillover from landscape corridors

Recently, images of melting sea ice and shrinking rainforests have highlighted the world's biodiversity crisis and made us aware of the need to find a balance between preserving natural ecosystems while still having enough land for human use. "About 10 percent of the world's land surface is afforded formal protection. We need to manage that 10 percent as best as we possibly can to preserve biodiversity but also be mindful of human needs,........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 5/24/2009 8:53:27 PM)

Endangered right whales found where presumed extinct

Using a system of underwater hydrophones that can record sounds from hundreds of miles away, a team of researchers from Oregon State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has documented the presence of endangered North Atlantic right whales in an area they were believed to be extinct. The discovery is especially important, scientists say, because it is in an area that appears to be opened to shipping if the........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/20/2009 7:34:42 PM)

Bird songs change with the landscape

When the going gets rough, the tough apparently sing slower. As vegetation reclaimed formerly cleared land in California, Oregon and Washington over the last 35 years, male white-crowned sparrows have lowered their pitch and slowed down their singing so that their love songs would carry better through heavier foliage. "This is the first time that anyone has shown that bird songs can shift with rapid changes in habitat," says biologist........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/20/2009 6:51:39 PM)

Snail venoms reflect reduced competition

A study of venomous snails on remote Pacific islands reveals genetic underpinnings of an ecological phenomenon that has fascinated researchers since Darwin. The research, by University of Michigan evolutionary biologists Tom Duda and Taehwan Lee, is scheduled to be published online May 20 in the open-access journal PLoS ONE In the study, Duda and Lee explored ecological release, a phenomenon believed to be responsible for some of the........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/20/2009 6:49:13 PM)

World's largest leatherback turtle population

An international team of researchers has identified a nesting population of leatherback sea turtles in Gabon, West Africa as the world's largest. The research, reported in the recent issue of Biological Conservation, involved country-wide land and aerial surveys that estimated a population of between 15,730 and 41,373 female turtles using the nesting beaches. The study highlights the importance of conservation work to manage key sites and........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/18/2009 5:32:55 AM)

Predators ignore peculiar prey

Rare traits persist in a population because predators detect common forms of prey more easily. Scientists writing in the open access journal BMC Ecology observed that birds will target salamanders that look like the majority even reversing their behavior in response to alterations in the ratio of a distinguishing trait. Benjamin Fitzpatrick, from the University of Tennessee, worked with Kim Shook and Reuben Izally to study the effects of........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/13/2009 5:25:31 AM)

Global warming driving Michigan mammals north

Some Michigan mammal species are rapidly expanding their ranges northward, apparently in response to climate change, a newly released study shows. In the process, these historically southern species are replacing their northern counterparts. The finding, by scientists at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Ohio's Miami University, appears in the recent issue of the journal Global Change Biology. "When you read about........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/12/2009 10:08:56 PM)

Gecko vision

Rockville, MD Nocturnal geckos are among the very few living creatures able to see colors at night, and scientists' discovery of series of distinct concentric zones may lead to insight into better cameras and contact lenses. The key to the exceptional night vision of the nocturnal helmet gecko is a series of distinct concentric zones of different refractive powers, as per a research studyreported in the Association for Research in Vision........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/7/2009 9:35:28 PM)

Dolphins maintain round-the-clock visual vigilance

Dolphins have a clever trick for overcoming sleep deprivation. Sam Ridgway from the US Navy Marine Mammal Program explains that they are able to send half of their brains to sleep while the other half remains conscious. What is more, the mammals seem to be able to remain continually vigilant for sounds for days on end. All of this made Ridgway and colleagues from San Diego and Tel Aviv wonder whether the dolphins' unrelenting auditory vigilance........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/1/2009 5:11:55 AM)

US shorts critical farm animal research

Dwindling federal funding jeopardizes important animal and biomedical research, together with the institutional research programs that focus on them, a group of Michigan State University researchers warn. The alarm was sounded today in the journal Science by MSU scientists James Ireland, George Smith, Jose Cibelli and five colleagues from other institutions. It comes just as the landmark sequencing of the domestic cattle genome is published........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/24/2009 5:03:20 AM)

Scenes From The Zoo

According to the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, over 600 million visitors pass through the gates of over 1,300 zoological parks, reserves and aquariums worldwide every year.Springtime brings many new animals to these parks as well, as newborns. Collected here are some photographs from zoos and aquariums around the world from the past couple of months.........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/23/2009 10:50:55 PM)

How genes are controlled in mammals

Researchers at the Omics Science Center (OSC) of the RIKEN Yokohama Institute in Japan along with scientists from McGill University and other institutions worldwide are challenging current notions of how genes are controlled in mammals. Three years of intensive research by members of the international FANTOM consortium will culminate with the publication of several milestone scientific papers in Nature Genetics and other journals on April 20.........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/22/2009 5:17:42 AM)

How cells change gears

Bioinformatics scientists from UC San Diego just moved closer to unlocking the mystery of how human cells switch from "proliferation mode" to "specialization mode." This computational biology work from the Jacobs School of Engineering's bioengineering department could lead to new ideas for curbing unwanted cell proliferationincluding some cancers. This research, published in Nature Genetics, could also improve our understanding of how organs........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 4/21/2009 5:19:01 AM)

Learning from locusts

A similarity in brain disturbance between insects and people suffering from migraines, stroke and epilepsy points the way toward new drug therapies to address these conditions. Queen's University biologists studying the locust have observed that these human disorders are linked by a brain disturbance during which nerve cells shut down. This also occurs in locusts when they go into a coma after exposure to extreme conditions such as high........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 7/2/2009 10:05:14 PM)

Prairie dogs and plants?

Prairie dogs may seem like harmless little creatures, but they can inflict serious injury on plants simply by snacking on them. Plants cannot flee from their furry predators, so how do they avoid becoming a prairie dog's lunch?. Dr. John Freeman and his colleagues explore the role of metal hyperaccumulation in plant defense in the June 2009 issue of the American Journal of Botany Certain plants species growing on soils with high metal........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 6/23/2009 5:00:21 PM)

Plant Communication

-"To thine own self be true" may take on a new meaning-not with people or animal behavior but with plant behavior. Plants engage in self-recognition and can communicate danger to their "clones" or genetically identical cuttings planted nearby, says professor Richard Karban of the Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, in groundbreaking research reported in the current edition of Ecology Letters. Karban and fellow........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 6/21/2009 8:52:35 PM)

Global sunscreen won't save corals

Emergency plans to counteract global warming by artificially shading the Earth from incoming sunlight might lower the planet's temperature a few degrees, but such "geoengineering" solutions would do little to stop the acidification of the world oceans that threatens coral reefs and other marine life, report the authors of a newly released study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters*. The culprit is atmospheric carbon dioxide, which even........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 6/16/2009 9:45:34 PM)

Zebra mussels hang on while quagga mussels take over

The zebra mussels that have wreaked ecological havoc on the Great Lakes are harder to find these days not because they are dying off, but because they are being replaced by a cousin, the quagga mussel. But zebra mussels still dominate in fast-moving streams and rivers. Research conducted by Suzanne Peyer, a doctoral candidate in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Zoology, shows that physiological differences between the two........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 6/12/2009 5:16:52 AM)

The Secret of a Snake's Slither

Snake locomotion may seem simple in comparison to walking or galloping. But in reality, it's no easy task to move without legs. Prior research has assumed that snakes move by pushing off of rocks and debris around them. But a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that it's all in their design--specifically, their scales. Overlapping belly scales provide friction with the ground that gives........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 6/10/2009 8:56:09 PM)

Bats recognize the individual voices of other bats

Bats can use the characteristics of other bats' voices to recognize each other, as per a research studyby scientists from the University of Tuebingen, Gera number of and the University of Applied Sciences in Konstanz, Gera number of. The study, published June 5 in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology, explains how bats use echolocation for more than just spatial knowledge. The scientists first tested the ability of four greater........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 6/5/2009 4:57:37 AM)

Corals' "Internal Communication"

Corals, it appears, have a genetic complexity that rivals that of humans, have sophisticated systems of biological communication that are being stressed by global change, and are only able to survive based on proper function of an intricate symbiotic relationship with algae that live within their bodies, say researchers in a paper published in this week's issue of the journal Science. Disruptions in these biological and communication systems........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 6/5/2009 4:50:38 AM)

Coryphodon

Ancestors of tapirs and ancient cousins of rhinos living above the Arctic Circle 53 million years ago endured six months of darkness each year in a far milder climate than today that featured lush, swampy forests, as per a newly released study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Jaelyn Eberle said the study shows several varieties of prehistoric mammals as heavy as 1,000 pounds each lived on what is........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 6/1/2009 7:17:50 PM)

Contaminants in Marine Mammals' Brains

The most extensive study of pollutants in marine mammals' brains reveals that these animals are exposed to a hazardous cocktail of pesticides such as DDTs and PCBs, as well as emerging contaminants such as brominated flame retardants. Eric Montie, the main author on the study currently in press and published online April 17 in Environmental Pollution, performed the research as a student in the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution-MIT Joint........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/21/2009 6:10:50 AM)

Important Role For Junk Dna

Researchers have called it "junk DNA." They have long been perplexed by these extensive strands of genetic material that dominate the genome but seem to lack specific functions. Why would nature force the genome to carry so much excess baggage?. Now scientists from Princeton University and Indiana University who have been studying the genome of a pond organism have observed that junk DNA may not be so junky after all. They have discovered........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 5/21/2009 6:07:53 AM)

Green fluorescent proteins in marine creature

Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a family of green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) in a primitive sea animal, along with new clues about the role of the proteins that has nothing to do with their famous glow. GFPs recently gained international attention with the awarding of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared by UC San Diego's Roger Tsien, as........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/20/2009 7:30:57 PM)

Small evolutionary shifts make big impacts

In the developing fetus, cell growth follows a very specific schedule. In the eye's retina, for example, cones -- which help distinguish color during the day -- develop before the more light-sensitive rods -- which are needed for night vision. But minor differences in the timing of cell proliferation can explain the large differences found in the eyes of two species -- owl monkeys and capuchin monkeys -- that evolved from a common ancestor. ........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/20/2009 6:27:22 PM)

New insight into primate eye evolution

Scientists comparing the fetal development of the eye of the owl monkey with that of the capuchin monkey have observed that only a minor difference in the timing of cell proliferation can explain the multiple anatomical differences in the two kinds of eyes. The findings help researchers understand how a structure as complex as the eye could change gradually through evolution, yet remain functional. The findings also offer a lesson in how........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/19/2009 5:11:05 AM)

New dinosaur species possible

EdmontonThe discovery of a gruesome feeding frenzy that played out 73 million years ago in northwestern Alberta may also lead to the discovery of new dinosaur species in northwestern Alberta. University of Alberta student Tetsuto Miyashita and Frederico Fanti, a paleontology graduate student from Italy, made the discovery near Grande Prairie, 450 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Miyashita and Fanti came across a nesting site and found........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/13/2009 5:10:56 AM)

Bacteria create aquatic superbugs

For bacteria in wastewater therapy plants, the stars align perfectly to create a hedonistic mating ground for antibiotic-resistant superbugs eventually discharged into streams and lakes. In the first known study of its kind, Chuanwu Xi of the University of Michigan School of Public Health and his team sampled water containing the bacteria Acinetobacter at five sites in and near Ann Arbor's wastewater therapy plant. They found the........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 5/12/2009 10:15:11 PM)

Northern Shrimp Populations in the North Atlantic

Even for Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis), which support commercial fisheries worldwide, timing is everything in life. The tiny creatures, eaten in shrimp rolls and shrimp salad, occupy a pivotal role in the oceanic food chain and may serve as early indicators of changing climate due to their sensitivity to temperature. Northern shrimp also seem to have an uncanny sense of reproductive timing, releasing their larvae to match the arrival of........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/7/2009 10:18:23 PM)

Wildlife Trade And Ecosystems

Wildlife imports into the United States are fragmented and insufficiently coordinated, failing to accurately list more than four in five species entering the country. So reports a team of researchers from the Wildlife Trust, Brown University, Pacific Lutheran University, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Global Invasive Species Programme. A paper on their findings is published in this week's issue of the journal........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 5/1/2009 5:27:13 AM)

Fish may feel pain and react like humans

Fish don't make noises or contort their faces to show that it hurts when hooks are pulled from their mouths, but a Purdue University researcher believes they feel that pain all the same. Joseph Garner, an assistant professor of animal sciences, helped develop a test that found goldfish do feel pain, and their reactions to it are much like that of humans. A paper detailing the finding was reported in the early online version of the journal........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/30/2009 9:35:56 PM)

Plants could override climate change effects on wildfires

Researchers predict that global climate change will make a number of regions around the world warmer and drier, a factor which, taken by itself, would seem to increase the risk of wildfires. But a newly released study led by a Montana State University researcher shows that changes in the types of vegetation covering an area play a major role in determining how often that area is burned by fires and could even counteract the effects of........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 4/22/2009 10:11:51 PM)

Lizards bask for more than warmth

Keeping warm isn't the only reason lizards and other cold-blooded critters bask in the sun. As per a research studyreported in the May/recent issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, chameleons alter their sunbathing behavior based on their need for vitamin D. "It's a longstanding assumption that thermoregulation is the only reason that lizards bask," says Kristopher Karsten, a biologist at Texas Christian University who led the........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/21/2009 5:20:44 AM)

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria protect soybeans

An invasion of soybean aphids poses a problem for soybean farmers requiring application of pesticides, but a team of Penn State entomologists thinks a careful choice of nitrogen-fixing bacteria may provide protection against the sucking insects. Soybeans are legumes, plants that can have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria - rhizobia - and therefore do not need additional nitrogen fertilizer. Each type of legume - peas,........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 4/20/2009 9:54:52 PM)

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