October 1, 2006, 8:37 PM CT

Questions About Gmos And Allergies

The potential of genetically engineered foods to cause allergic reactions in humans is a big reason for opposition to such crops. Eventhough protocols are in place to ask questions about the allergy-causing possibilities, there has been no test that offers definitive answers.

But all of that could change as a Michigan State University researcher has developed the first animal model to test whether genetically engineered foods could cause human allergic reactions. Venu Gangur, MSU assistant professor of food science and human nutrition, has received a $447,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to validate the test.

Genetically engineered crops are created by inserting a protein from a different organism into the original crop's genome. This is commonly done to create a plant that is more resistant to insects or diseases.

The Food and Agriculture Organization within the World Health Organization has a structured approach to determining whether genetically engineered foods cause allergies, as per Gangur, who also is a faculty member in the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center. "But it has a major flaw. A critical question in that process asks, 'Does the protein cause an allergic reaction in animals?' The problem is that there has been no good animal model available to test this".........

Posted by: Erica      Permalink         Source

October 1, 2006, 8:27 PM CT

Hearts Or Tails?

A new paper in the recent issue of G&D elucidates the genetics of heart formation in the sea squirt, and lends surprising new insight into the genetic changes that may have driven the evolution of the multi-chambered vertebrate heart.

Brad Davidson and his colleagues in Michael Levine's lab at UC Berkeley have discovered that the transcription factor Ets1/2, along with the signaling molecule FGF, controls early heart formation in the sea squirt, Ciona intestinalis.

Sea squirts are most usually found in shallow ocean waters attached to algae, rocks or seaweed. They have been used for over 100 years as a highly useful experimental model organism for the study of animal development. A simple chordate, Ciona is being used in the lab to study the heart development of higher organisms because it shares several characteristics with vertebrates - eventhough ultimately, Ciona, develops a heart with just one chamber (as opposed to vertebrates' multi-chambered heart).

All of the cells that form the Ciona heart are originally derived from two early embryonic cells (called bastomeres). These cells divide into separate lineages: the smaller rostral cells become heart muscle, while the larger caudal cells become tail muscle. Davidson and his colleagues observed that Ets1/2 underlies the cells' decision to become either heart or tail. When activated, Ets1/2 instructs cells to form heart muscle.........

Posted by: Kelly      Permalink         Source

October 1, 2006, 8:08 PM CT

Cloned mice created from non-stem cel

Did you know that stem cells are not actually mandatory for cloning?

New research dismisses the notion that adult stem cells are necessary for successful animal cloning, proving instead that cells that have completely evolved to a specific type not only can be used for cloning purposes, but they may be a better and more efficient starting point. As proof, scientists report they created two mouse pups from a type of blood cell that itself is incapable of dividing to produce a second generation of its own kind.

This is the first demonstration that an animal can be derived directly from a fully differentiated cell, report lead scientists Xiangzhong (Jerry) Yang, Ph.D., of the University of Connecticut, and Tao Cheng, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh, in the journal Nature Genetics. Moreover, they say results of their studies provide compelling evidence that Dolly the sheep and other mammals cloned by somatic cell nuclear transfer were most likely derived from fully differentiated cells, not adult stem cells, as most have argued in the nine years since Dolly was first created. Because stem cells have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into any specialized cell type, they have been heralded for their promise for treating a variety of diseases and conditions. Yet, even for cloning of an embryo to the blastocyst stage, from which embryonic stem cells can be generated, adult stem cells have yielded disappointing results, with success rates in the range of 1 to 5 percent.........

Posted by: Kelly      Permalink         Source

September 28, 2006, 9:30 PM CT

Live Oak Trees Struggle For Survival

The majestic live oak is losing its battle for survival to suburban sprawl and the encroachment of taller trees, a new University of Florida study finds.

An icon in American history and literature, broad-crowned live oaks thrive in open savannas but are dying off as they are crowded and overshadowed by the encroachment of taller trees, said Francis Putz, a UF botanist and the study's co-author.

It is an irony of nature that the successes of reforestation and urban forestry threaten live oaks, which in the past maintained the elbow room they needed from logging, cattle grazing and frequent fires, said Putz, whose work is reported in the recent issue of Forest Ecology and Management. "We are confusing our natural savanna heritage with forested landscapes and the tragedy is that the forest is killing live oaks," he said. "If we allow other trees to grow up too close to the live oak, the live oak will die. Our research clearly establishes this fate in both rural and suburban landscapes."

The live oak's broad crown, with long arching limbs that spread horizontally rather than vertically, as most trees do, give it a distinctive architectural makeup, said Tova Spector, who did the study with Putz as part of her master's degree in ecology. "Trees that grow straight and tall crowd the live oaks, causing their crowns to die back," she said.........

Posted by: Erica      Permalink         Source

September 28, 2006, 5:10 AM CT

End To Destructive High Seas Bottom Trawling

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will debate as of next week various proposals to protect the deep sea environment and prohibit bottom trawling in the high seas until effective conservation and management measures are in place. This ban has been supported by a number of organizations, including the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and several states for the last few years to halt the highly destructive exploitation of our oceans.

"A recent report from the UN Secretary General to the UNGA detailing the actions of states and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations to protect deep sea ecosystems shows a distressing lack of action outside areas of national jurisdiction", notes Kristina Gjerde , High Seas Policy Advisor to IUCN's Global Marine Programme. The scientific community has also added its voice to the debate, calling for a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling.

Scientists' Statement on Protecting the World's Deep-sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems : http://www.mcbi.org/DSC_statement/sign.htm.

Halting bottom trawling in the high seas would not have a major negative impact on the global economy or food security in developing countries since bottom trawling only accounts for 0.5% of global marine fish take. Moreover, most industries are owned by developed states and supply the European, Japanese and North American markets.........

Posted by: Kelly      Permalink         Source

September 28, 2006, 5:04 AM CT

Two New Wildlife Parks In Congo

National Geographic reports about this great new idea to create two new wildlife parks in Congo.

The Republic of Congo will set aside up to 3,800 square miles (1 million hectares) of habitat teeming with elephants, chimpanzees, hippos, crocodiles, and some of the highest densities of gorillas on Earth for two new wildlife parks.

The new protected areas will encompass a mosaic of savannas covering ancient sand dunes, riverside forests, and swamp forests.

Henri Djombo, Congo's minister of forestry economy and the environment, made the announcement at the United Nations in New York on September 18 along with officials from the U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).........

Posted by: Kelly      Permalink         Source

September 28, 2006, 4:57 AM CT

Lachenalia Mutabilis

Pretty as it is, this particular lachenalia has the potential to escape from cultivation and become weedy, as has occurred in Western Australia. The fact that it is common and widespread in its native Cape region of South Africa serves as a hint that it is adaptable, and thus likely to pose problems in non-native environments with conditions similar to the Cape.

The epithet "mutabilis" means "changeable", in this case referring to the inflorescence - the immature stalk and flowers start blue and turn yellowish-green or pinkish as they age. For photographs of the entire inflorescence with the range of colours, see this page from the International Bulb Society and the Lachenalia page from the Pacific Bulb Society's Wiki.

Photography resource link: Nature's Best Photography Magazine's International Awards - scroll down in the middle frame of the page for links to the 2004-2006 award winners. Also, there's a Picture of the Week feature on the site that might interest you.........

Posted by: Erica      Permalink         Source

September 27, 2006, 8:49 PM CT

Tarantulas Produce Silk From Their Feet

Now you have a new source to make silk. The researcher form UCI are showing who is making silk.

These scientists have found for the first time that tarantulas can produce silk from their feet as well as their spinnerets, a discovery with profound implications for why spiders began to spin silk in the first place.

Adam Summers, a UC Irvine assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, was among the team of researchers who made the discovery using zebra tarantulas from Costa Rica. The team observed that the tarantulas secrete silk from spigots on their legs, allowing them to better cling to surfaces. Until now, spiders were only known to spin silk from spinnerets located on their abdomen and to use the silk to form webs for protection and capturing prey rather than for locomotion.

The findings appear in the current issue of Nature.

"If we find that other spiders in addition to these tarantulas have the ability to secrete silk from their feet, this could represent a major change in our evolutionary hypothesis regarding spider silk," Summers said. "It could mean that silk production actually originated in the feet to increase traction, with the diversity of spinneret silk evolving later".

The scientists placed tarantulas on a vertical glass surface. Though ground dwelling, these spiders can normally hang on to vertical surfaces by using thousands of spatulate hairs and small claws. However, the researchers noticed that when the spider started to slip down the surface, it produced silk from all four pairs of legs, allowing it to adhere to the glass for more than 20 minutes. The silk secretions were clearly visible on the glass. Using scanning electron microscopy, the researchers also were able to see the openings on the legs that resemble the silk-producing spigots on spider abdominal spinnerets.........

Posted by: Kelly      Permalink         Source

September 27, 2006, 8:44 PM CT

More Efficiency In Harvest And Handling

Kevin Shinners wants farmers to put less energy into harvesting and handling biofuel crops - less fuel, less time and less labor.

As a field machinery specialist, Shinners has worked to improve the efficiency of harvesting forage for animals. Harvesting biomass crops poses similar challenges, he says.

"The biggest problem is there are way too many operations in the field," says Shinners, a professor of biological systems engineering and mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Every time we handle this material, it costs real money".

Much of Shinners' research to date has focused on corn stover, the stalks and leaves left behind when grain is harvested. He has also embarked on a similar line of research on cost-effective harvesting of forage grasses, such as switchgrass, for both feed and fuel production.

Corn stover is usually left in the field or used as animal fodder, but it has tremendous potential as a cellulosic source of ethanol - if the shredding, drying, raking, bailing and transporting can be made less costly and less labor-intensive.

The U.S. Department of Energy predicts that this type of biomass will sell for $30-$40 per ton. Although this price is low compared to high-quality alfalfa, which can sell for $100-$120 per ton, the high-value corn grain provides stover with a valuable co-product, he notes.........

Posted by: Erica      Permalink         Source

September 25, 2006, 10:06 PM CT

Sewage Management Through Metagenomics

Few stop to consider the consequences of their daily ablutions, the washing of clothes, the watering of lawns, and the flush of a toilet. However, wastewater therapy--one of the cornerstones of modern civilization--is the largest microbially-mediated biotechnology process on the planet. When it works, it is a microbial symphony in tune with humanity. When it fails, the consequences can be dire. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and collaborators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Advanced Wastewater Management Centre, University of Queensland, Australia, have published the first metagenomic study of an activated sludge wastewater therapy process. The research appeared online in the September 24 edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology (http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nbt1247.html).

The metagenomic strategy entails generating DNA sequence information directly from samples of sewage sludge to provide a blueprint of the genes and hence the metabolic possibilities of the wastewater environment, with a view to understanding how the system works and predicting and averting failures or crashes.

"This is a first step in a much broader strategy employing a systems biology approach to the study of microbial communities with the goal of designing predictive models to understand how these communities function," said Hector Garcia Martin, lead author of the study and post-doctoral fellow in the DOE JGI's Microbial Ecology Program. "With this information now available, there are opportunities to bioengineer the process to make it more reliable".........

Posted by: Janet      Permalink         Source