September 18, 2006, 10:25 PM CT
Massive Protected Areas For Animals
The Minister of Forestry Economy of the Republic of Congo announced recently plans to create two new protected areas that together could be larger than Yellowstone National Park, spanning nearly one million hectares (3,800 square miles). Instead of bison and elk, these new protected areas contain elephants, chimpanzees, hippos, crocodiles, and some of the highest densities of gorillas on earth. The announcement was made by Minister Henri Djombo and officials from the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) at the United Nations.
"We are delighted that the Republic of Congo continues to take a leadership role in safeguarding its world-class wildlife and wildlands for generations to come," said Dr. John Robinson, WCS executive vice president for conservation and science. "This is an extraordinary achievement for the entire Congo basin region".
"The Republic of Congo depends on forest resource use for economic development, but it is also deeply committed to biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest management. It has already set aside an estimated 11 percent of the country's surface area as protected areas, 90 percent of which is tropical forest. Establishing these new protected areas reinforces the protected area network portfolio and affirms this commitment," said Henri Djombo, Congo's Minister of Forestry Economy.........
Posted by: Kelly Permalink Source
September 18, 2006, 6:37 PM CT
Fish That Can Walk
In this undated photo released by Conservation International, an epaulette shark (Hemiscyillum freycineti), one of over fifty likely new species discovered
There are many more species to be discovered under the sea. Researchers examining the undersea fauna off Indonesia's Papua province said Monday they had discovered dozens of new species, including a shark that walks on its fins and a shrimp that looks like a praying mantis.
"It's one of the most stunningly beautiful landscapes and seascapes on the planet," said Mark Erdmann, a senior adviser of Conservation International who led two surveys to the area earlier this year.
"Above and below water, it's simply mind blowing," he said.........
Posted by: Kelly Permalink Source
September 17, 2006, 10:30 PM CT
Demoting Southeast Asia's Forest Ox
It was one of the most famous discoveries of the 20th century. Shrouded in mystery since its recognition as a new species in 1937, the kouprey -- an ox with dramatic, curving horns -- has been an icon of Southeast Asian conservation. Feared extinct, it's been the object of perilous expeditions to the region's jungles by adventurers, researchers and journalists.
Now, in a paper published by the Journal of Zoology (London), Northwestern University biologists and a Cambodian conservationist present compelling genetic evidence that the kouprey may never have existed as a wild, natural species.
The scientists compared a published DNA sequence from the kouprey with sequences obtained from a true Cambodian wild ox, the banteng. The scientists had predicted, based on a study of kouprey anatomy, that the kouprey was a hybrid form and would show mitochondrial DNA similar to that of the banteng. The prediction was confirmed by their analysis.
The kouprey, which is now the national animal of Cambodia, may have originated as a domestic hybrid, between banteng and zebu cattle, that later became wild. ("Kouprey" means "forest ox" in the Khmer language.).
"The kouprey has acquired a rather romantic, exotic reputation," said Gary J. Galbreath, senior author of the paper and associate director of Northwestern's Program in Biological Sciences. "Some people would understandably be sad to see it dethroned as a species."........
Posted by: Kelly Permalink Source
September 15, 2006, 2:04 PM CT
Best Look Ever At Water-Life Connection
No one has ever seen exactly how water molecules interact with proteins - even though water is the essential element for life. that is, not until now.
Scientists led by Ohio State University physicist Dongping Zhong revealed these interactions for the first time, and report the results in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Proteins are complex molecules that form the main support structure for plant and animal cells, and they also regulate biochemical reactions.
Zhong's project aims eventually to explain how water helps enable life-supporting biological functions such as protein folding or enzyme catalysis. But for now, this early result ends decades of controversy on what happens in the microscopic realm where water and proteins meet.
The controversy, Zhong explained, stemmed from the fact that scientists across different disciplines used different methods to study the problem. Because of that, they got different answers on the speed with which these essential biochemical reactions take place.
"A biologist will tell you that water and proteins must interact on a nanosecond [one billionth of a second] time scale, because that's how fast proteins move," he said. "And a physicist will tell you that the interaction would happen much faster -- on the picosecond [one trillionth of a second] time scale -- because that's how fast water molecules move. And someone who uses X-rays will give you a different answer than someone who uses nuclear magnetic resonance and so on".........
Posted by: Janet Permalink Source
September 15, 2006, 1:46 PM CT
Watching Seeds In 3D
Embryonic photosynthesis leads to the production of seed-internal oxygen that is important for seed development and quality. In order to visualise seed-internal structures that could serve for oxygen storage conventional microscopic methods could not be used because they require the seed to be cut thus leading to air escape. By using holotomography at the ESRF, researchers could get the full picture of an arabidopsis seed without any structural modification.
Scientists have identified individual cells within the seed and rendered them to show their three-dimensional organisation. They have also distinguished an intercellular air network, which should represent an important circulation system for air and perhaps water during germination. However, researchers can't yet assure that this is the path the oxygen follows to "feed" the seed: "Solving this question needs a nano-method to determine the exact composition of air in the network during seed formation, but unfortunately this method is not available yet", explains Silva Lerbs-Mache, the corresponding author of the paper.
The researchers used hard X-ray-based quantitative phase tomography at ESRF beamline ID19 to obtain three-dimensional images of an arabidopsis seed. This seed is a model plant for biologists and the first one for which the genome was sequenced. "This approach is to our knowledge the only imaging technique with the penetration capacity and imaged field size suited for an investigation at sub-micrometre resolution of an optically opaque object the size of a seed" explains Peter Cloetens, first author of the paper and scientist at the ESRF. It is applied for the first time to an autonomous living system, observed without object destruction, without staining, in air, and at room temperature.........
Posted by: Erica Permalink Source
September 14, 2006, 8:44 PM CT
MIT Team Describes Unique Cloud Forest
Trees that live in an odd desert forest in Oman have found an unusual way to water themselves by extracting moisture from low-lying clouds, MIT scientists report.
In an area that is characterized mostly by desert, the trees have preserved an ecological niche because they exploit a wispy-thin source of water that only occurs seasonally, said Elfatih A.B. Eltahir, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and former MIT graduate student Anke Hildebrandt.
After studying the Oman site, they also expressed concern that the unusual forest could be driven into extinction if hungry camels continue eating too much of the foliage. As the greenery disappears it's possible the trees will lose the ability to pull water from the mist and recharge underground reservoirs.
A report on their research was published in a recent issue of Geophysical Research Letters. They are also advising the Omani government on handling the problem.
The forest is especially unique, said Eltahir and Hildebrandt, because it "is a water-limited seasonal cloud forest" that is kept alive by water droplets gathered from passing clouds -- ground fog. The water dribbles into the ground and sustains the trees later when the weather is dry. The MIT work suggests the trees actually get more of their water through contact with clouds than via rainfall.........
Posted by: Erica Permalink Source
September 14, 2006, 7:32 PM CT
Rodent's Bizarre Traits Deepen Mystery Of Genetics
A shadowy rodent has potential to shed light on human genetics and the mysteries of evolution.
Purdue University research has shown that the vole, a mouselike rodent, is not only the fastest evolving mammal, but also harbors many puzzling genetic traits that challenge current scientific understanding.
"Nobody has posters of voles on their wall," said J. Andrew DeWoody, associate professor of genetics in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, whose study appears this month in the journal Genetica. "But when it comes down to it, voles deserve more attention".
Small rodents often confused for mice, except with shorter tails and beady eyes, voles live throughout the Northern Hemisphere and are often considered agricultural pests because they eat vegetation. Nevertheless, voles are an "evolutionary enigma" with a number of bizarre traits, DeWoody said. Understanding the basis for these traits could lead to better understanding of the same phenomena in human genetics and inherited disorders, and could have implications for gene treatment, he said.
The study focuses on 60 species within the vole genus Microtus, which has evolved in the last 500,000 to 2 million years. This means voles are evolving 60-100 times faster than the average vertebrate in terms of creating different species. Within the genus (the level of taxonomic classification above species), the number of chromosomes in voles ranges from 17-64. DeWoody said that this is an unusual finding, since species within a single genus often have the same chromosome number.........
Posted by: Kelly Permalink Source
September 14, 2006, 7:09 PM CT
Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'
'Royal Purple' smokebush is a popular landscape shrub with much to recommend it: autumn foliage colour, drought-tolerant when established and a smoky-appearing inflorescence, to name a few. Part of my reason for enjoying it is that it is in one of my favourite plant families, the Anacardiaceae, and is therefore correlation to mango, cashew and poison ivy (a plant I admire, but from a distance).
In local news, there is a lecture tonight (link includes event details) with Peter Valder. I met Peter when I was in Sydney a few years ago, and he's warm and funny - I expect his lecture will be very entertaining. If you get a chance to go, I do recommend it. Please also note that he is giving a different lecture on Thursday evening in Seattle (click on the link with his name).........
Posted by: Erica Permalink Source
September 14, 2006, 7:06 PM CT
Senecio Rowleyanus
The longest running plant sale at the garden occurs today and tomorrow: the 29th Annual Indoor Plant Sale. I had a grand time yesterday trying to photograph a few of the plants available, since I don't often get the opportunity to work with indoor plants.
A native of southwestern Africa, "string of beads" grows in arid habitats. The succulent beads are actually the leaves, modified for living through extended periods of drought. Dr. T. Ombrello of Union County College has written an intriguing article on the adaptations of this Senecio and the closely related Senecio herreianus, entitled Senecios, With Windows in Their Leaves. The narrow bands you can see on some of the beads consist of transparent tissue to allow light to penetrate the interior of the bead and increase photosynthesis without increasing water loss.
It might be worth revisiting my comments on diversity within the Asteraceae in the BPotD entry on Raoulia australis. There is simply an amazing amount of diversity of form and structure in this plant family.........
Posted by: Erica Permalink Source
September 14, 2006, 6:38 PM CT
Multi-Dimensional Human Embryo
collaboration funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to produce and make available over the internet a three-dimensional image reference of the Human Embryo based on magnetic resonance imaging.
The collection of images is intended to serve students, researchers, clinicians, and the general public interested in studying and teaching human development.........
Posted by: Janet Permalink Source
