Flour Beetle Genome SequencedAn international team of researchers has sequenced the genome from the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, making it the first beetle and the first insect pest, whose genome has been sequenced.
A large international research consortium consisting of 64 research groups from 14 countries with the participation of a research team around Professor Cornelis Grimmelikhuijzen has now sequenced the genome from Tribolium. This genome consists of........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 4/6/2008 7:40:06 AM)
DNA analysis of California wolverinePreliminary results from DNA analysis of wolverine scat samples collected on the Tahoe National Forest do not match those of historic California wolverine populations, as per U.S. Forest Service scientists.
Geneticists with the agencys Rocky Mountain Research Station recently began analyzing samples, when wildlife biologists with the Tahoe National Forest and California Department of Fish and Game began sending hair and scat samples they........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/3/2008 8:42:51 PM)
Hatchery fish outnumber wild chinook salmonA recent study indicates that wild salmon may account for just 10 percent of California's fall-run chinook salmon population, while the vast majority of the fish come from hatcheries. The findings are particularly troubling in light of the disastrous decline in the population this year, which will probably force the closure of the 2008 season for commercial and recreational salmon fishing.
The role of hatcheries in the management of salmon........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/3/2008 8:36:43 PM)
Are animals stuck in time?Dog owners, who have noticed that their four-legged friend seem equally delighted to see them after five minutes away as five hours, may wonder if animals can tell when time passes. Newly published research from The University of Western Ontario may bring us closer to answering that very question.
The results of the research, entitled "Episodic-Like Memory in Rats: Is it Based on When or How Long Ago," appear in the current issue of the........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/3/2008 7:37:22 PM)
Will Avocados be Next?Researchers with the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS), Iowa State University, and the Florida Division of Forestry have provided the first description of a fungus responsible for the wilt of redbay trees along the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
In the recent issue of Plant Disease, SRS plant pathologist Stephen Fraedrich and fellow scientists provide results from their assessment of the fungus, the beetle........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 4/2/2008 10:19:17 PM)
New fish has a face even Dale Chihuly could love A fish that would rather crawl into crevices than swim, and that may be able to see in the same way that humans do, could represent an entirely unknown family of fishes, says a University of Washington fish expert.
The fish, sighted in Indonesian waters off Ambon Island, has tan- and peach-colored zebra-striping, and rippling folds of skin that obscure its fins, making it look like a glass sculpture that Dale Chihuly might have dreamed up.........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/2/2008 10:01:49 PM)
Study questions 'cost of complexity' in evolutionNew Haven, Conn. Higher organisms do not have a cost of complexity or slowdown in the evolution of complex traits as per a report by scientists at Yale and Washington University in Nature.
Biologists have long puzzled over the relationship between evolution of complex traits and the randomness of mutations in genes. Some have proposed that a cost of complexity makes it more difficult to evolve a complicated trait by random mutations,........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 3/31/2008 8:09:57 PM)
Cnidoscolus stimulosus
Who could suspect this dainty member of the Euphorbiaceae of being such a menace? A flower has never looked so appetizing, bearing such close resemblance to a piece of floral confectionary from some wedding cake. However, with such suggestive common names as finger rot and tread softly, it''s no surprise that this plant isn''t found on cakes or in bouquets. As can be seen from today''s image, Cnidoscolus stimulosus is covered in trichomes. In the case of Cnidoscolus stimulosus, these small hairs will irritate the skin upon contact.
Small desert beetle found to engineer ecosystemsThe mesquite girdler Oncideres rhodosticta may only be 13mm long, but it has a big role in shaping the landscape. Research carried out by Benjamin Duval and Walter Whitford at New Mexico State University has revealed that the beetle is speeding up the degradation of grasslands in the Chihuahua desert, the landscape so stunningly depicted in this years Oscar-winning film No Country for Old Men.
The mesquite girdler does this by regulating the........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/27/2008 9:28:12 PM)
Pepper Spray For Deterring BearsHikers and campers venturing into bear country this spring may be safer armed with 8-ounce cans of bear pepper spray than with guns, as per a new study led by a Brigham Young University bear biologist.
Thomas S. Smith, associate professor of wildlife science, has conducted field work among bears for 16 years and has never used bear spray, eventhough he carries it faithfully. "I wish I had more scary stories to share, but I've behaved........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/25/2008 7:56:56 PM)
Corn's roots dig deeper into South AmericaCorn has long been known as the primary food crop in prehistoric North and Central America. Now it appears it may have been an important part of the South American diet for much longer than previously thought, as per new research by University of Calgary archaeologists who are cobbling together the ancient history of plant domestication in the New World.
In a paper reported in the March 24 advanced online edition of the Proceedings of the........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 3/24/2008 8:25:26 PM)
Model offers new understanding of cell signalingLooking for answers in the bright light of day, rather than the confined beam of a street light at night. Thats how University of Michigan researcher Sofia Merajver, M.D., Ph.D., describes the power of a new mathematical model that could have far-reaching impact on how researchers study cellular signaling pathways.
This has the potential to be a true paradigm shift, says Merajver, a professor in the U-M Department of Internal Medicine and........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 3/24/2008 7:34:59 PM)
Conditions for Spanish brown bearsBrown bears from the Iberian Peninsula are not as genetically different from other brown bears in Europe as was previously thought. An international study being published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS, shows that, on the contrary, the Spanish bear was only recently isolated from other European strains. These findings shed new light on the discussion of how to save the population of Spanish bears.
The........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/18/2008 9:08:58 PM)
Hissing Cockroaches Are PopularTheir gentle nature, large size, odd sounds and low-maintenance care have made Madagascar hissing cockroaches popular educational tools and pets for years. But the giant insects also have one unfortunate characteristic: Their hard bodies and feces are home to a number of mold species that could be triggering allergies in the kids and adults who handle the bugs, as per a new study.
Scientists have identified 14 different types of mold on and........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/17/2008 10:22:43 PM)
Asia's odd-ball antelope faces migration crisisTake a deers body, attach a camels head and add a Jimmy Durante nose, and you have a saiga the odd-ball antelope with the enormous schnoz that lives on the isolated steppes of Central Asia. Unfortunately, they are as endangered as they are strange-looking due to over-hunting. Now, as per a recent Wildlife Conservation Society study, their migration routes are in jeopardy as well.
The study, which appears in the latest issue of........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/17/2008 10:19:43 PM)
Nutrient regulation of biological clock in plantsUsing a systems biological analysis of genome-scale data from the model plant Arabidopsis, an international team of scientists identified that the master gene controlling the biological clock is sensitive to nutrient status. The study will appear in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This hypothesis derived from multi-network analysis of Arabidopsis genomic data, and validated experimentally, has shed light........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 3/16/2008 9:48:33 PM)
Turtle nesting threatened by logging practicesEndangered sea turtles are victims of sloppy logging practices in the west central African country Gabon, as per a research studyled by William Laurance, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The study will be published online in the journal Oryx later this month.
Sea turtle nesting attempts are impeded by lost or abandoned logs that accumulate along the countrys coastal beaches. Logs are floated downriver from........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/16/2008 9:47:01 PM)
Why flamingos are in the pink of healthA University of Leicester ecologist is setting out to discover why flamingos are so in the pink of health - in the poo!
Dr David Harper, of the Department of Biology at the University of Leicester, has been studying lesser flamingos for nine years.
His research has been carried out in the lakes of East Africa but new investigations he has carried out for the first time in India have- by his own admission given him rather a shock.
He........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/11/2008 10:42:28 PM)
Harlequin frog in remote region of ColombiaBogot, Colombia, March 11, 2008After 14 years without having been seen, several young researchers supported by the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP), have rediscovered the Carrikeri Harlequin Frog (Atelopus carrikeri) in a remote mountainous region in Colombia.
The critically endangered Carrikeri Harelquin frog was recently rediscovered by the Project Atelopus team in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountains in Colombias Magdalena........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/11/2008 10:04:19 PM)
Female katydids' matesKatydid (or didnt she?) respond to the mating call of her suitors. As per researchers at the University of Missouri, one species of katydid may owe its ecological success and expanded habitat range to the ability of male katydids to adjust their mating calls to attract females.
Males of the katydid species Neoconocephalus triops, which can be found from Peru to Missouri, produce calls to attract females for mating that change with the........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/11/2008 9:53:07 PM)
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The voyage to AmericaProfessor Eske Willerslev was surprised by the results of the DNA tests conducted by himself and his colleagues on samples of what turned out to be fossilised human faeces found in deep caves in the Oregon desert. The oldest of the droppings have been carbon-dated to be approximately 14,340 years old. Willerslevs faeces samples clearly contain two main genetic types of Asian origin that are unique to present-day North American Indians. Not only........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 4/3/2008 8:44:39 PM)
Asian waterbirds stage remarkable comeback NEW YORK (April 3, 2008) As per a report released recently by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), several species of rare waterbirds from Cambodias famed Tonle Sap region have staged remarkable comebacks, thanks to a project involving a single team of park rangers to provide 24-hour protection to breeding colonies. The project pioneered a novel approach: employing former hunters and egg collectors to protect and monitor the colonies,........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/3/2008 8:38:52 PM)
Genes key to hormone production in plants Scientists at North Carolina State University have pinpointed a small group of genes responsible for telling plants when, where and how to produce a hormone that is key to their development. Their findings shed light on the ways in which hormone production in plants affects both a plants growth and its ability to adapt to changing environments.
Dr. Jose Alonso, assistant professor of genetics, and a team of geneticists and plant biologists........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 4/3/2008 8:32:38 PM)
Role of bats in plant protectionScientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute report that bats significantly reduce insect abundance and damage on plants. In a lowland tropical rainforest in Panama, bats can consume roughly twice as a number of plant-eating insects as do birds. This landmark study in the journal Science is the first to compare the ability of bats and birds to protect plants via insect predation in a natural forest ecosystem.
A prior study by........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/3/2008 8:04:00 PM)
Gypsy Moth Management Made More EfficientA computer model that provides land managers with a more efficient and cost-effective approach for controlling gypsy moths and other invasive pests has been created by biologists at Penn State University and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Gypsy moths, which were introduced to North America in the late 1860s, are responsible for the defoliation of over a million acres of forest land each year and the loss of tens of millions........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 4/2/2008 10:05:00 PM)
Pathway plants use to fight back against pathogensPlants are not only smart, but they also wage a good fight, as per a University of Missouri biochemist. Prior studies have shown that plants can sense attacks by pathogens and activate their defenses. However, it has not been known what happens between the pathogen attacks and the defense activation, until now. A new MU study revealed a very complex process that explains how plants counter attack pathogens. This discovery could potentially lead........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 3/31/2008 9:13:36 PM)
Itch Cat Scratch PadEverytime you look at the tattered corners of your sofa, your shredded curtains or claw marks on the lovely kitchen cabinets, don''t you wish that your kitty didn''t have claws? Why not make your feline happy by providing a stylish alternative for her scratching instinct
The people who designed the Itch Cat Scratch Pad had just that in mind. And while they were at it, they made it completely environment friendly too. Made from 100%........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/30/2008 6:30:24 PM)
Killer Fish Terrifies BritainA savage fish more terrifying than a piranha has been caught in Britain for the first time - sparking fears of a deadly invasion. The vicious giant snakehead eats everything it comes across and has even been reported to kill people.The monster - from south-east Asia - has a mouth crammed with fearsome teeth, can ''crawl'' on land and survive out of water for up to four days. It is feared the fish had been smuggled in for an aquarium and then........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/30/2008 4:56:00 PM)
Can you rescue a rainforest?Half a century after most of Costa Rica's rainforests were cut down, scientists from the Boyce Thompson Institute took on a project that a number of thought was impossible - restoring a tropical rainforest ecosystem.
When the scientists planted worn-out cattle fields in Costa Rica with a sampling of local trees, native species began to move in and flourish, raising the hope that destroyed rainforests can one day be replaced.
Carl Leopold........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 3/27/2008 9:21:10 PM)
'Wildcat Power Cord' repairs cruciate ligamentAn 8-year-old Jersey dairy cow is back at her Kansas farm thanks to a decade of research and an experimental surgery performed at Kansas State University's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
The cow, named Wilhelmina Jolene by the veterinary students assigned to her case, sustained a breeding injury in December 2007 when the cruciate ligament in her right knee ruptured. Dr. David Anderson, professor and head of agricultural practices at........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/27/2008 9:11:18 PM)
A fly's tiny brain may hold huge human benefitsCOLUMBIA, Mo. Before swatting at one of those pesky flies that come out as the days lengthen and the temperature rises, one should probably think twice. A University of Missouri researcher has found, through the study of Drosophila (a type of fruit fly), that by manipulating levels of certain compounds linked to the circuitry of the brain, key genes correlation to memory can be isolated and tested. The results of the study may benefit human........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/24/2008 8:37:52 PM)
Ants as fungus farmersIt turns out ants, like humans, are true farmers. The difference is that ants are farming fungus.
Entomologists Ted Schultz and Sen Brady at the Smithsonians National Museum of Natural History have published a paper in the March 24 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, providing new insight into the agricultural abilities of ants and how these abilities have evolved throughout time. Using DNA sequencing, the........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/24/2008 7:36:52 PM)
Deadly genetic disease prevented before birthBy injecting a customized "genetic patch" into early stage fish embryos, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were able to correct a genetic mutation so the embryos developed normally.
The research could lead to the prevention of up to one-fifth of birth defects in humans caused by genetic mutations, as per the authors.
Erik C. Madsen, first author and an M.D./Ph.D. student in the Medical Scientist Training........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/20/2008 7:15:35 PM)
Arabidopsis thalianaToday''s entry, organized by Connor Fitzpatrick, is the fourth in a BPotD series for UBC Research Week. The photographs and write up come courtesy of Dr. Fred Sack, Professor and Head, Department of Botany
Each leaf contains thousands of pores, stomata, which allow gas exchange between the atmosphere and the shoot. Stomata are cellular valves central to plant survival because they allow carbon dioxide to enter leaves where it is used to........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 3/18/2008 7:54:32 PM)
Like sweets?As per scientists at the Monell Center, fruit flies are more like humans in their responses to a number of sweet tastes than are almost any other species.
The diverse range of molecules that humans experience as sweet do not necessarily taste sweet to other species. For example, aspartame, a sweetener used by humans, does not taste sweet to rats and mice.
However, fruit flies respond positively to most sweeteners preferred by humans,........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/17/2008 10:15:38 PM)
Zebrafish enables cell regeneration studiesOne aquarium fish's uncanny ability to regenerate essentially any cell type has given researchers a way to mimic cell loss that occurs in diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes then watch how the fish make more of them.
"What we are pinning everything on is the idea that humans also have this capacity, but it's sort of locked up," says Dr. Jeff S. Mumm, biologist at the Medical College of Georgia.
Dr. Mumm, along with his partner in........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/17/2008 10:10:00 PM)
Cool Animal: Red PandaThis Red Panda has stolen my heart, and while not being strictly "cool," they're so darn cute that I must share. According to my research, their red and white markings are designed to blend in with their moss and lichen-filled environment. That soft, oddly red-orange fur covers the entirety of their body, including the pads of their feet, and they wrap those fluffy striped tails around their bodies to keep warm. In general, they........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/12/2008 9:13:04 PM)
Lotus japonicus and Lotus berthelotiiConnor''s been gathering entries for a new series on BPotD, and it starts today. Connor writes
Research Week has officially begun at UBC. This year''s Research Week is particularly special as it marks UBC''s 100th anniversary. Events are taking place from March 4-15 that celebrate the research conducted by all of UBC''s faculties, departments, schools and partner institutions
From March 4 to March 15, Botany Photo of the Day will........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 3/12/2008 8:58:20 PM)
New twist on life's power sourceA startling discovery by researchers at the Carnegie Institution puts a new twist on photosynthesis, arguably the most important biological process on Earth. Photosynthesis by plants, algae, and some bacteria supports nearly all living things by producing food from sunlight, and in the process these organisms release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. But two studies by Arthur Grossman and his colleagues*+ reported in Biochimica et Biophysica........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 3/11/2008 10:38:46 PM)
Arctic climate models in polar bear decisionThe pending federal decision about whether to protect the polar bear as a threatened species is as much about climate science as it is about climate change.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is currently considering a proposal to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, a proposal largely based on anticipated habitat loss in a warming Arctic.
Climate models - mathematical representations of the........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 3/11/2008 9:54:30 PM)
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