http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/biology-blog.html Biology blog from biology-blog.com, the place for information. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT en-us http://www.biology-blog.com/images/blogs/biology-blog.jpg http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/biology-blog.html 114 99 http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/transcending-boundaries.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/transcending-boundaries.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT From understanding climate change to predicting infectious disease outbreaks to engineering solutions to address disability, scientific research is increasingly crossing the boundaries between disciplines. Fostering interdisciplinary research, education and training as a means of developing the next generation of researchers is a key goal of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeship (IGERT) program. Through IGERT, graduate students work as part of interdisciplinary teams, learning the language of other disciplines as they collaborate to confront some of the major challenges of the day........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/measuring-the-stress-of-forested-areas.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/measuring-the-stress-of-forested-areas.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Plants undergo stress because of lack of water, due to the heat or the cold or to excess of light. A research team from the University of the Basque Country have analysed the substances that are triggered in plants to protect themselves, with the goal of choosing the species that is best suited to the environment during reforestation under adverse environmental conditions........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/milkweeds-evolutionary-approach-to-caterpillars.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/milkweeds-evolutionary-approach-to-caterpillars.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT The adage that your enemies know your weaknesses best is particularly true in the case of plants and predators that have co-evolved: As the predators evolve new strategies for attack, plants counter with their own unique defenses. Milkweed is the latest example of this response, as per Cornell research suggesting that plant may be shifting away from elaborate defenses against specialized caterpillars toward a more energy-efficient approach. Genetic analysis reveals an evolutionary trend for milkweed plants away from resisting predators to putting more effort into repairing themselves faster than caterpillars -- especially the monarch butterfly caterpillar -- can eat them........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/greater-bamboo-lemur-found-in-madagascar.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/greater-bamboo-lemur-found-in-madagascar.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Scientists in Madagascar have confirmed the existence of a population of greater bamboo lemurs more than 400 kilometers (240 miles) from the only other place where the Critically Endangered species is known to live, raising hopes for its survival. The discovery of the distinctive lemurs with jaws powerful enough to crack giant bamboo, their favorite food, occurred in 2007 in the Torotorofotsy wetlands of east central Madagascar, which is designated a Ramsar site of international importance under the 1971 Convention on Wetlands........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/environmental-factors-linked-to-sex-ratio-of-plants.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/environmental-factors-linked-to-sex-ratio-of-plants.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Environmental factors can transform the ratio of females to males in plant populations as per new research out of the University of Toronto. The study conducted by Ivana Stehlik, a lecturer, Jannice Friedman, a PhD candidate, and Spencer Barrett, a professor, involved a novel approach using genetic markers (known DNA sequences) to identify the sex of seeds. The team investigated six natural populations of the wind-pollinated herb Rumex nivalis in the Swiss Alps and mapped the distance between females and neighbouring males. They then measured the amount of pollen captured by female flowers and collected seeds from the plants when they were mature........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/the-genetics-of-the-white-horse.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/the-genetics-of-the-white-horse.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT The white horse is an icon for dignity which has had a huge impact on human culture across the world. An international team led by scientists at Uppsala University has now identified the mutation causing this spectacular trait and show that white horses carry an identical mutation that can be traced back to a common ancestor that lived thousands of years ago. The study is interesting for medical research since this mutation also enhance the risk for melanoma. The paper is published on July 20 on the website of Nature Genetics....... ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/pregnant-mice-block-out-unwelcome-admirers.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/pregnant-mice-block-out-unwelcome-admirers.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Mouse mothers-to-be have a remarkable way to protect their unborn pups. Because the smell of a strange male's urine can cause miscarriage and reactivate the ovulatory cycle, pregnant mice prevent the action of such olfactory stimuli by blocking their smell. Scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, have now revealed the nature of this ability. A surge of the chemical signal dopamine in the main olfactory bulb - one of the key brain areas for olfactory perception creates a barrier for male odours, they report in the current issue of Nature Neuroscience....... ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/nemo-arent-the-only-fish-that-talk.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/nemo-arent-the-only-fish-that-talk.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Talking fish are no strangers to Americans. From the comedic portrayal of "Mr. Limpet" by Don Knotts, to the children's Disney favorite, "Nemo," fish can talk, laugh and tell jokes--at least on television and the silver screen. But can real fish verbally communicate? Scientists say, "Yes," in a paper reported in the July 18 issue of the journal Science. Further, the findings put human speech--and social communications of all vertebrates--in evolutionary context........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/good-breeding-increases-shelf-life.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/good-breeding-increases-shelf-life.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT The lettuce cut and packaged for food service and salad mixes is an increasingly important component of the produce industry. Lettuce is highly perishable, and the cutting mandatory in processing further shortens its shelf life. Packaging cut lettuce and other fresh produce in semipermeable plastic films extends shelf life via a technique called "modified-atmosphere packaging". The success of modified-atmosphere (MA) packaging for lettuce and certain salad greens has led to innovative products, marketing strategies, and enhanced sales to consumers........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/lionfish-decimating-tropical-fish-populations.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/lionfish-decimating-tropical-fish-populations.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT The invasion of predatory lionfish in the Caribbean region poses yet another major threat there to coral reef ecosystems a new study has observed that within a short period after the entry of lionfish into an area, the survival of other reef fishes is slashed by about 80 percent. Aside from the rapid and immediate mortality of marine life, the loss of herbivorous fish also sets the stage for seaweeds to potentially overwhelm the coral reefs and disrupt the delicate ecological balance in which they exist, as per researchers from Oregon State University........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/creatures-great-and-small.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/creatures-great-and-small.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT In studying how animals change size as they evolve, biologists have unearthed several interesting patterns. For instance, most species are small, but the largest members of a taxonomic group -- such as the great white shark, the Komodo dragon, or the African elephant are often thousands or millions of times bigger than the typical species. Now for the first time two SFI scientists explain these patterns within an elegant statistical framework........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/do-birds-have-a-good-sense-of-smell.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/do-birds-have-a-good-sense-of-smell.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT The sense of smell might indeed be as important to birds as it is to fish or even mammals. This is the main conclusion of a study by Silke Steiger (Max Planck Institute for Ornithology) and her colleagues. The sense of smell in birds was, until quite recently, believed to be poorly developed. Recent behavioural studies have shown that some bird species use their sense of smell to navigate, forage or even to distinguish individuals. Silke Steiger and her colleagues chose a genetic approach for their study. Their research focused on the olfactory receptor (OR) genes, which are expressed in sensory neurons within the olfactory epithelium, and constitute the molecular basis of the sense of smell. The total number of OR genes in a genome may reflect how a number of different scents an animal can detect or distinguish. In birds such genetic studies were previously restricted to the chicken, hitherto the only bird for which the full genomic sequence is known........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/vaccine-offers-hope-for-endangered-ferrets.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/vaccine-offers-hope-for-endangered-ferrets.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Endangered black-footed ferrets, like children, aren't exactly lining up to be stuck with a vaccine, but in an effort to help control an extensive outbreak of plague in South Dakota, some of the ferrets are getting dosed with a vaccine given by biologists. This is the first time the vaccine has been used during a major plague epizootic-an animal version of a human epidemic. Sylvatic plague is an infectious bacterial disease commonly transmitted from animal to animal by fleas. This exotic disease is commonly deadly for black-footed ferrets and their primary prey, prairie dogs. Black-footed ferrets are one of the rarest mammals in North America........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/spotted-hyenas-can-increase-survival.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/spotted-hyenas-can-increase-survival.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Recent research by Michigan State University doctoral student Jennifer Smith has shed new light on the way spotted hyenas live together and - more importantly - hunt for their food alone. In a paper recently reported in the journal Animal Behaviour, Smith, a student in MSU's Department of Zoology, shows that while spotted hyenas know the value of living together in large, cooperative societies, they also realize that venturing on their own now and then to hunt for food is often the key to their survival........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/pollination-habits-of-endangered-texas-rice.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/pollination-habits-of-endangered-texas-rice.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT A type of wild rice that only grows in a small stretch of the San Marcos River is likely so rare because it plays the sexual reproduction game poorly, a study led by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin has revealed. The first study of breeding habits of this endangered, aquatic grass (Zizania texana) observed that the pollen of Texas wild-rice can only travel about 30 inches away from a parent plant. If pollen doesn't land on a receptive female flower within that distance, no seeds will be produced. No seeds means no new plants to replenish a population that faces other survival threats........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/genetic-basis-for-the-black-sheep-of-the-family.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/genetic-basis-for-the-black-sheep-of-the-family.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Coat color of wild and domestic animals is a critical trait that has significant biological and economic impact. As per a research findings published online in Genome Research (www.genome.org), scientists have identified the genetic basis for black coat color, and white, in a breed of domestic sheep........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/environmental-programs-in-china-successful.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/environmental-programs-in-china-successful.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Two of the world's largest environmental programs in China are generally successful, eventhough key reforms could transform them into a model for the rest of the world, as per research results published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Jianguo "Jack" Liu, a scientist at Michigan State University, is the lead researcher on the project. Liu and other researchers evaluated China's Natural Forest Conservation and Grain to Green programs that together represent a government investment of more than 500 billion yuan (more than $72 billion)........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/wasps-and-bumble-bees-heat-up.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/wasps-and-bumble-bees-heat-up.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Good pollen makes bees hot, biologists at UC San Diego have found. Wasps warm up too when they find protein-rich meat, a separate experiment has shown. In both cases warmer flight muscles likely speed the insects' trips home, allowing them to quickly exploit a valuable resource before competitors arrive, the scientists report in separate studies, published this month in two scientific journals........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/who-dares-sings-and-who-sings-wins.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/who-dares-sings-and-who-sings-wins.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Humans often choose partners based on behavioural keys that are displayed during social interactions. The way we behave in different social contexts can reflect personality traits or temperament that may inspire long-term love. Behavioural norms that we perceive as sexually attractive are not culturally or evolutionarily arbitrary........ ]]> http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/ground-cover-to-reduce-impact-of-biomass-harvest.html http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/ground-cover-to-reduce-impact-of-biomass-harvest.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:27:29 GMT Ground cover may be one workable method to reduce the effects of erosion that future biomass harvests are predicted to bring. Iowa State University scientists are looking at ways to use ground cover, a living grass planted between the rows of corn, in production farming. The seemingly limitless national appetite for ethanol has industry and government looking beyond the kernel to the entire corn plant for more fuel........ ]]>