Biology-blog.com Archive page

Dead clams tell many tales

Inventories of living and dead organisms could serve as a relatively fast, simple and inexpensive preliminary means of assessing human impact on ecosystems. The University of Chicago's Susan Kidwell explains how measuring the degree of live-dead mismatch could be used as an ecological tool in the Oct. 26 early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "We affect ecosystems in a number of different ways, but the........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/29/2007 7:47:17 PM)

Nitrogen Fertilizers Deplete Soil Organic Carbon

The common practice of adding nitrogen fertilizer is believed to benefit the soil by building organic carbon, but four University of Illinois soil researchers dispute this view based on analyses of soil samples from the Morrow Plots that date back to before the current practice began. The research, also drawing upon data from other long-term trials throughout the world, was conducted by U of I soil researchers Saeed Khan, Richard Mulvaney,........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/29/2007 7:14:29 PM)

Burrowing mammals: how do they do that?

Next time you see a mole digging in tree-root-filled soil in search of supper, take a moment to ponder the mammal's humerus bones. When seen in the lab, they are nothing like the long upper arm bones of any other mammal, says Samantha Hopkins, a paleontologist at the University of Oregon. Hopkins, a professor of geology in the UO's Robert D. Clark Honors College, studies the evolutionary history of burrowers, in search of why and how they........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/28/2007 1:49:32 PM)

Primates in peril

Mankinds closest living relatives the worlds apes, monkeys, lemurs and other primates are under unprecedented threat from destruction of tropical forests, illegal wildlife trade and commercial bushmeat hunting, with 29 percent of all species in danger of going extinct, as per a new report by the Primate Specialist Group of IUCNs Species Survival Commission (SSC) and the International Primatological Society (IPS), in collaboration with........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/26/2007 5:13:06 AM)

Why Do Autumn Leaves Bother to Turn Red?

Soils may dictate the array of fall colors as much as the trees rooted in them, as per a forest survey out of North Carolina. By taking careful stock and laboratory analyses of the autumn foliage of sweetgum and red maple trees along transects from floodplains to ridge-tops in a nature preserve in Charlotte, N.C., former University of North Carolina at Charlotte graduate student Emily M. Habinck observed that in places where the soil was........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/25/2007 10:15:34 PM)

Cage Diving With Great White Sharks

Spectacular video of cage diving with Great White Sharks in Guadalupe. Original footage shot by Rob Breskal, video compiled and edited by Alex Finn.........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/24/2007 9:45:33 PM)

Humans and monkeys share Machiavellian intelligence

When it comes to their social behavior, people sometimes act like monkeys, or more specifically, like rhesus macaques, a type of monkey that shares with humans strong tendencies for nepotism and political maneuvering, as per research by Dario Maestripieri, an expert on primate behavior and an Associate Professor in Comparative Human Development and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago. After humans, rhesus macaques are one of........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/24/2007 7:59:37 PM)

Mercury Emissions from U.S. Forest Fires

Forest fires and other blazes in the United States release about 30 percent as much mercury as the nation's industrial sources, as per a new study by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)in Boulder, Colo. Fires in Alaska, California, Oregon, Louisiana and Florida emit especially large quantities of the toxic metal, and the Southeast emits more than any other region, as per the study. The researchers estimate........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/23/2007 9:39:16 PM)

New population of Iberian lynx raises hope

Spanish authorities have announced they have discovered a previously unknown population of Iberian lynx, triggering hope for one of the worlds most endangered cat species, said World Wildlife Fund today. We are excited and amazed by this discovery, said Luis Suarez, head of WWFs Species Program in Spain. However, we are a long way from saving the Iberian lynx from imminent extinction. It appears that the new population was discovered in........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/23/2007 9:02:34 PM)

Researchers studying how singing bats communicate

Bats are the most vocal mammals other than humans, and understanding how they communicate during their nocturnal outings could lead to better therapys for human speech disorders, say scientists at Texas A&M University. Thousands of bats native to Central Texas fly overhead each night singing songs of complex syllables but at frequencies too high for humans to hear. Texas A&M researcher Michael Smotherman is trying to understand how........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/19/2007 5:09:54 AM)

Call for increased focus on production

The worlds major rice-producing nations including China and India are calling for closer collaboration in efforts to feed Asias billions of rice consumers in the face of unprecedented new challenges. Rice production, which helps feed almost half the world, has been under increasingly intense pressure lately, causing rising consumer prices in a number of Asian nations. Climate change, biofuels, water scarcity, and farmers diversifying into........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/17/2007 9:02:52 PM)

City Is An Old Growth Forest For Big Owls

It may be news to its bankers, but Charlotte, the biggest city in North Carolina and a major center of the American financial industry, is actually an old growth forest. At least thats the way the barred owls see it. Charlotte is famous for having two kinds of green. It is home to two of the nations largest banks and its downtown residential neighborhoods and near-suburbs are also known for their lush yards and green streets, lined with........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/17/2007 4:44:46 AM)

The dawn of animal vision

The findings appear in this weeks issue of the scientific journal PLoS ONE. The researchers studied the aquatic animal Hydra, a member of Cnidaria, which are animals that have existed for hundreds of millions of years. The authors are the first researchers to look at light-receptive genes in cnidarians, an ancient class of animals that includes corals, jellyfish, and sea anemones. Not only are we the first to analyze these vision genes........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/16/2007 7:24:35 PM)

Organic Armor For Dogs

Organic Armor are handmade costume pieces, jewelry and props that look like ancient metal, bone and leather. But unlike the real thing the pieces are lightweight and comfortable. You can wear them to clubs, rituals, festivals, on stage, or in the backyard.And now, there's even organic armor for dogs.........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/16/2007 6:34:41 PM)

Stem cell nuclei are soft 'hard drives,'

Scientists pulled cell nuclei into microscopic glass tubes under controlled pressures and visualized the shear of the DNA and associated proteins by fluorescence microscopy. The study showed that nuclei in human embryonic stem cells were the most deformable, followed by hematopoietic stem cells, HSCs, that generate a wide range of blood and tissue cells. Both types of stem cells lack lamins A and C, two filamentous proteins that interact to........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 10/11/2007 10:55:56 PM)

Surprise in the organic orchard

The discovery was reported by a team of insect virologists and geneticists from the Agricultural Service Centre of Rhineland-Palatinate (DLR Rheinpfalz), the German Federal Biological Research Centre (BBA Darmstadt), the University of Hohenheim, and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (MPICE Jena). Starting in 2005, codling moths collected from 13 organic orchards in southwest Gera number of were tested in the laboratory to confirm........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/11/2007 4:04:21 AM)

Key Component In The Disease-fighting Process

Researchers have finally identified a key component in the disease-fighting process in plants that activates plant-wide defenses after a pathogen attack. It has long been known that plants often develop a state of heightened resistance, called systemic acquired resistance, following pathogen infection; this phenomenon requires the movement of a signal from the infected leaf to uninfected parts of the plant. Until now, however, no one knew........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/10/2007 7:23:02 PM)

Humans unknowing midwives for pregnant moose

When its time for moose to give birth in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, they head to where it is safest from predators namely closer to people, as per a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society. Reported in the Royal Societys journal Biology Letters, the study says that moose avoid predation of their calves by grizzly bears by moving closer to roads and other infrastructure previous to giving birth. Wildlife Conservation Society........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/10/2007 4:59:10 AM)

Wild plant identification

A couple of weeks ago I took a short class on wild plant and flower identification using Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. This is a book that I have always wanted to buy and learn how to use, but every time I looked at it in the store, I was always intimidated by how to use the key In other guide, flowers might be arranged according to color of blossom. Newcomb’s is different because it groups plants by family and you use a key to........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/8/2007 9:28:27 PM)

Studying component parts of living cells

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have shown great potential for use as cellular probes. As nanopipes they can be used to transport liquids to or from cells and inject solutions or drugs directly into individual cells and individual organelles within the cells. In addition, because of the small diameters of the carbon nanotubes induce little damage to cells upon penetration. By making these probes able to sense within the cells, information about........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 10/8/2007 11:16:28 AM)

Human-generated ozone will damage crops

A novel MIT study concludes that increasing levels of ozone due to the growing use of fossil fuels will damage global vegetation, resulting in serious costs to the world's economy. The analysis, published in the recent issue of Energy Policy, focused on how three environmental changes (increases in temperature, carbon dioxide and ozone) linked to human activity will affect crops, pastures and forests. The research shows that increases in........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/29/2007 7:39:43 PM)

Social standing influences elephant movement

When resources are scarce, who you know and where you're positioned on the social totem pole affects how far you'll go to search for food. At least that's the case with African elephants, as per a research studyled by ecologists at the University of California, Berkeley, who collaborated with scientists at Save the Elephants, a non-profit research organization based in Kenya, and at the University of Oxford in England. An analysis of social........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/29/2007 7:37:07 PM)

World's hottest chile pepper

Scientists at New Mexico State University recently discovered the worlds hottest chile pepper. Bhut Jolokia, a variety of chile pepper originating in Assam, India, has earned Guiness World Records recognition as the worlds hottest chile pepper by blasting past the prior champion Red Savina. In replicated tests of Scoville heat units (SHUs), Bhut Jolokia reached one million SHUs, almost double the SHUs of Red Savina, which measured a mere........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/28/2007 3:47:34 PM)

Frog study takes leaf out of nature's book

A brightly coloured tropical frog under threat of extinction is the focus of a new research project hoping to better understand how environment and diet influence its development and behaviour. Biologists from The University of Manchester have teamed up with experts at Chester Zoo in the hope that their findings will not only help save the splendid leaf frog Cruziohyla calcarifer from extinction in the wild but provide clues as to how it can........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/25/2007 10:30:07 PM)

Secrets Behind Butterfly Wing Patterns

The genes that make a fruit fly's eyes red also produce red wing patterns in the Heliconius butterfly found in South and Central America, finds a new study by a UC Irvine entomologist. Bob Reed, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, discovered that genes involved in making insect eye pigments evolved over time to also make wing pigments in butterflies. This finding sheds light on the genetic causes of wing patterns and........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/25/2007 10:07:00 PM)

Parasites a key to the decline of red colobus monkeys

Forest fragmentation threatens biodiversity, often causing declines or local extinctions in a majority of species while enhancing the prospects of a few. A new study from the University of Illinois shows that parasites can play a pivotal role in the decline of species in fragmented forests. This is the first study to look at how forest fragmentation increases the burden of infectious parasites on animals already stressed by disturbances to........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/24/2007 8:27:17 PM)

Right of Passage for Moose

A new study shows that pregnant moose move closer to town when it's time to give birth. It's not the pickles and ice cream they're after, however, but security from road-shy grizzly bears. The study, by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) biologist Dr. Joel Berger, focused on moose in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. By moving closer to people, the animals can better shield their calves from becoming bear dinner. The study was reported in the........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/23/2007 10:09:21 PM)

Taking Wolves Into Classrooms

To celebrate National Wolf Awareness Week, the California Wolf Center, located in rural San Diego County, approximately four miles from Julian, is bringing its wolves to classrooms throughout the world. The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds HPWREN, an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional University of California, San Diego, research and education program in order to assess the feasibility of wireless data networking technologies.........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/23/2007 9:42:10 PM)

Duckling Mole Rats Might Hold Key To Longevity

Who would have thought that the secrets to long life might exist in the naked, wrinkled body of one of the world's ugliest animals? Probably not a number of, but current research may be leading seekers of the Fountain of Youth to a strange little beast - the naked mole rat. The naked mole rat is certainly not one of nature's cuddliest species. These small rodents are hairless, wrinkled, blind and buck-toothed. Stan Braude, Ph.D., lecturer in........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/23/2007 9:36:27 PM)

Designer Pet - A Hairless Guinea Pig

A bizarre breed of guinea pig that was created for laboratory testing more than 30 years ago has become the latest designer pet. The skinny-pig has no hair on its body except for tufts on its face and feet.They eat three times the amount of a normal hairy pig and their dry skin requires moisturising. But animal lovers are willing to pay up to $300 for a Hairless Guinea Pig.........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/18/2007 7:58:20 PM)

Sea cucumbers fast track organ regrowth

Sea cucumbers are the champions of organ regrowth because they direct their wound healing abilities towards restoring their organs, as per research reported in the online open access journal, BMC Developmental Biology. The discovery that Holothuria glaberrima uses similar cellular mechanisms during wound healing and organ regeneration gives us the opportunity to discover how to repair our own wounds and, perhaps eventually, how to regenerate........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/17/2007 9:35:39 PM)

Human sensitivity to biological motion

Humans may not be any more sensitive in detecting biological motion compared with nonbiological motion, concludes a study recently published in Journal of Vision, an online, free-access publication of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Dr Eric Hiris of St. Mary's College of Maryland, (St Mary's City, MD, US) contends that eventhough a number of papers on the subject begin with statements to the effect that........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 10/17/2007 8:26:23 PM)

How basil gets its zing

The blend of aromatic essential oils that gives fresh basil leaves their characteristic warm and sweet aroma is well characterized but not much is known about the enzymatic machinery manufacturing the odiferous mix. Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of Michigan followed their noses and solved part of the molecular puzzle. Their study, reported in the Oct. 4 issue of the journal PLoS ONE, provides a........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/17/2007 4:34:01 AM)

Mystery flower

Really, the only mystery about this flower is based on my inadequate identification skills. I’m sure it has a name and a history and a place in the Ozark ecosystem. I tried finding a match for it in my usual identification guides, but without a picture of the leaves, I’ve come up empty It’s adorable to my eye nonetheless. The flower is more yellow than this photo depicts, but it is a pale yellow, a buttercup yellow. I found........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/16/2007 6:46:15 PM)

A tiny pinch from a 'z-ring' helps bacteria cells divide

In process that is shrouded in mystery, rod-shaped bacteria reproduce by splitting themselves in two. By applying advanced mathematics to laboratory data, a team led by Johns Hopkins scientists has solved a small but important part of this reproductive puzzle. The findings apply to highly common rod-shaped bacteria such as E. coli, found in the human digestive tract. When these single-celled microbes set out to multiply, a signal from an........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 10/12/2007 5:08:00 AM)

'Chlamy' genome holds clues

University of Minnesota scientists contributed to a national effort to sequence the genome of an ancient, one-celled organism that will help advance research in a broad range of areas, from biofuels to restoring the environment to understanding a variety of human diseases. The organism, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, known affectionately as Chlamy, has long fascinated researchers because it is an ancestor of plants and animals that retains........Go to the Biology-blog (Added on 10/11/2007 10:33:44 PM)

Genetically Engineered Corn May Harm Stream Ecosystems

A new study indicates that a popular type of genetically engineered corn--called Bt corn--may damage the ecology of streams draining Bt corn fields in ways that have not been previously considered by regulators. The study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation, appears in the Oct. 8 edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This study provides the first evidence that toxins from Bt corn may travel long........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/10/2007 7:19:40 PM)

Bat and mouse game

This image by MIT researchers, based on a computer model of a bat in flight, won first place in the Informational Graphics category of the 2007 International Science and Technology Visualization Challenge. "When viewed in slow motion, bat flight is beautiful and complex. The goal of this illustration is to capture that beauty while also adding scientific merit," David J. Willis, a research scientist in the Department of Aeronautics and........Go to the Animal-science-blog (Added on 10/10/2007 6:54:01 PM)

Journey

The birch leaf had gone flying, flying, and had lost its way. It got caught in the needles of a juniper tree beside the house and couldn’t get free. Up under the gable, an unilluminated spotlight kept watch over the garden from the end of its rusty eyestalk. It was the day in early October when the ant drones swarm up out of the ground, climb to the top of the nearest blade of grass or shrunken head of a weed, and take to the air on........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/8/2007 9:28:22 PM)

Looking Up

In my never-ending quest to put my new camera to good use, and to bring you interesting views of Roundrock, I pointed and shot up the trunk of this White Oak tree You’ve actually seen part of this tree before. I’m pretty sure the branches of this tree held a hunter. It’s even easy to convince myself that the smoothness on the top of the boughs is from frequent use by a climber Some day I should climb this tree and see if........Go to the Plant-science-blog (Added on 10/8/2007 9:28:19 PM)