#Large twin study suggests that language delay due more to nature than nurturea study of 473 sets of twins followed
Nine emerging trends in pet foodfour out of five pet owners now consider their pet a member of the family
when it comes to purchasing food for their pets accordingly (Mintel Pet food 2013). In the July issue of Food technology Magazine published by the Institute of Food Technologists Contributing Editor A. Elizabeth Sloan writes about recent trends in gourmet pet food. 1. The premium sector accounted for 40 percent
Facts 2014). 3. 79 percent of pet owners said the quality of their pets'food is as important as their own (Mintel 2013). 4. Top drivers of sales in pet foods included adding excitement
to the pets'diets via flavors gravies look-alike human recipes and meal specific foods such as appetizers and breakfast (IRI 2014). 5. Half of new pet foods touted have added vitamins antioxidants
protein DHA for puppies/kittens and no fillers artificial ingredients or byproducts (Packaged Facts 2014). 6. In 2013 more households had dogs than children with 39 percent of households having a dog
and 32 percent of households having children (Packaged Facts 2014). 7. The Paleo Diet has created a new sector of ancestral foods reflective of earlier diets of canines
and felines that are focused on the high quality of proteins and grains in pet food. 8. 53 percent of dogs and 58 percent of cats are overweight causing the need for functional and therapeutic pet food (APOP 2013). 9. 51 percent
of dog owners and 44 percent of cat owners believe that made in the U s. is a very important package claim as fear of contamination
and product safety is a large concern among pet owners (Packaged Facts 2014. Read the article in Food technology:
http://www. ift. org/food technology/past-issues/2014/july/features/specialtymarkets. aspxstory Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Institute of Food Technologists (IFT.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
#A 10-year endeavor: NASAS Aura and climate changenitrogen and oxygen make up nearly 99 percent of Earth's atmosphere.
Trace gases called greenhouse gases warm the surface making it habitable for humans plants and animals.
People plants and animals live in the lowest layer of the atmosphere called the troposphere. In this layer the temperature decreases with altitude as mountain climbers experience.
and distribution of plants and animals around the globe big data has yet to make a mark on conservation efforts to preserve the planet's biodiversity.
A new model developed by University of California Berkeley biologist Brent Mishler and his colleagues in Australia leverages this growing mass of data--much of it from newly digitized museum collections--to help pinpoint the best areas to set aside as preserves
The crop calories we currently feed to animals are sufficient to meet the calorie needs of 4 billion people.
when weather or pests create shortages. In addition some 30 to 50 percent of food is wasted worldwide.
This resource is invaluable for identifying those genes that control complex traits such as yield grain quality disease pest resistance and abiotic stress tolerance.
or high-fructose corn syrup when times are lean inside the hive. This practice has come under scrutiny
which functions like the liver and fat tissues in humans and other vertebrates. We figured that the fat body might be a particularly revealing tissue to examine
and Institute for Genomic Biology director Gene Robinson who performed the new analysis together with entomology graduate student Marsha Wheeler.
and less energy reserves (in the form of lipids stored in the fat body) than their hive-bound nest mates--making the foragers much more dependent on a carbohydrate-rich diet Robinson said.
These differences remained even in an experimental hive that the researchers discovered was infected with deformed wing virus one of the many maladies that afflict honey bees around the world.
#Transplanting gene into injured hearts creates biological pacemakerscardiologists at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute have developed a minimally invasive gene transplant procedure that changes unspecialized heart cells into biological pacemaker cells
pacemakers. In the United states an estimated 300000 patients receive pacemakers every year. We have been able for the first time to create a biological pacemaker using minimally invasive methods
and to show that the biological pacemaker supports the demands of daily life said Eduardo Marbã¡
n MD Phd director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute who led the research team.
We also are the first to reprogram a heart cell in a living animal in order to effectively cure a disease.
These laboratory findings could lead to clinical trials for humans who have heart rhythm disorders
but who suffer side effects such as infection of the leads that connect the device to the heart from implanted mechanical pacemakers.
n on biological pacemaker research team said that in the future pacemaker cells also could help infants born with congenital heart block.
Babies still in the womb cannot have a pacemaker but we hope to work with fetal medicine specialists to create a lifesaving catheter-based treatment for infants diagnosed with congenital heart block Cingolani said.
On the second day after the gene was delivered to the animals'hearts pigs who received the gene had significantly faster heartbeats than pigs who did not receive the gene.
Originally we thought that biological pacemaker cells could be a temporary bridge therapy for patients who had an infection in the implanted pacemaker area Marbã¡
#Transplanting gene into injured hearts creates biological pacemakerscardiologists at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute have developed a minimally invasive gene transplant procedure that changes unspecialized heart cells into biological pacemaker cells
pacemakers. In the United states an estimated 300000 patients receive pacemakers every year. We have been able for the first time to create a biological pacemaker using minimally invasive methods
and to show that the biological pacemaker supports the demands of daily life said Eduardo Marbã¡
n MD Phd director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute who led the research team.
We also are the first to reprogram a heart cell in a living animal in order to effectively cure a disease.
These laboratory findings could lead to clinical trials for humans who have heart rhythm disorders
but who suffer side effects such as infection of the leads that connect the device to the heart from implanted mechanical pacemakers.
n on biological pacemaker research team said that in the future pacemaker cells also could help infants born with congenital heart block.
Babies still in the womb cannot have a pacemaker but we hope to work with fetal medicine specialists to create a lifesaving catheter-based treatment for infants diagnosed with congenital heart block Cingolani said.
On the second day after the gene was delivered to the animals'hearts pigs who received the gene had significantly faster heartbeats than pigs who did not receive the gene.
Originally we thought that biological pacemaker cells could be a temporary bridge therapy for patients who had an infection in the implanted pacemaker area Marbã¡
Although just a nuisance to homeowners the insects feed on and damage fruits and vegetables causing significant economic losses for farmers.
Now scientists report in ACS'Journal of Natural Products that they've discovered certain stink bug pheromone components
Ashot Khrimian and colleagues explain that the brown marmorated stink bug also known as Halyomorpha halys is an invasive pest from Asia that now is found in most of the U s as well as parts of Canada and Europe.
These flat shield-shaped insects flap around noisily in homes especially in the fall as they seek places to hibernate during the winter.
Scientists could potentially use the substances to lure brown marmorated stink bugs to a specific spot
and determine better ways to manage their expanding numbers as they do for other insects.
When used out in field tests the two components attracted adult and juvenile brown marmorated stink bugs.
Because these compounds didn't have to be pure the researchers could use relatively inexpensive mixtures to trap this stink bug.
but the voracious numerous and mysterious Asian crazy worm has emerged for the first time in the state on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The UW Arboretum long a refuge for Wisconsin's native plants and animals is confirmed the first site for Amynthas agrestis an invasive worm believed to have arrived in the United states from its native range in Japan
Williams and members of the arboretum staff confirmed the earthworms'presence in the fall of 2013 checking regularly in the spring to see
if the worm's egg cocoons survived a particularly harsh Wisconsin winter. That appears to be the case according to Brad Herrick arboretum ecologist
--and doing our best to stay clear of the areas where we have found the worms.
In most of Wisconsin Amynthas is not alone among invasive earthworms. The last glacier which covered all but the southwestern corner of the state as recently as 20000 years ago wiped out all native earthworms.
The earthworms familiar to most Wisconsinites are introduced European species by the first settlers. While they too can damage natural landscapes European species rarely reach numbers like their Asian counterparts.
Amynthas'lifecycle is completely different from European species of earthworms Williams says. It breeds en masse
and is constantly dropping cocoons. Where the cocoons hatch at the soil surface you'll see what looks like small filament hairs moving on the soil surface in large numbers.
The grayish Amynthas is darker in color than pale pinker European earthworms grows to eight inches long
and has earned common names like crazy worm snake worm and Alabama jumper by flopping and wriggling vigorously when handled.
Unlike the raised ridged band (called a clitellum) that is found near the middle of European earthworms the Amynthas clitellum is smooth flat to the worm's body and a milky white to gray in contrast to the rest of the worm.
The crazy worms mature in just 60 days or so allowing populations to double during Wisconsin's warm months
and can reproduce without mating. When numbers spike to the point of infestation Amynthas can eat all the organic matter at the soil surface--exposing the forest floor to erosion and making it more vulnerable to invasives.
That's our concern in the arboretum and anywhere they turn up Herrick says. Our native plant communities developed without the presence of all these hungry worms.
The Amynthas eat so much that they take away the spongy surface organic layer that those plants need for nutrients.
and Eastern seaboard--for decades there is little research quantifying the damage the new wave of worms cause
Monica Turner a UW-Madison zoology professor and a graduate student in her lab have begun studies on the crazy worms'assault on soil.
Fighting invasive species--like buckthorn and gypsy moths and garlic mustard--is a big part of our work here Herrick says
and we're hopeful we can find a way to protect the arboretum from these worms
which folds under the body when the bee flies. Perched at the mouth of a flower the bee unfolds the beaky maxilla
Long-tongued bees are often specialists favoring a few deep-throated flower species. In the bumblebee-sparse southern tip of Argentina for example Bombus dahlbomii the native long-tongued giant of Patagonia has lost ground
to a new bumblebee from Europe the short-tongued generalist Bombus terrestris imported to help pollinate tomatoes.
Although disease has played likely a role in the retreat of the long-tongued giant B. terrestris also appears to be out-competing an earlier European immigrant the long-tongued Bombus ruderatus.
and predators in order to survive. However once domestication by humans began plants grown as crops had to cope with a new set of artificial selection pressures such as delivering a high yield and greater stress tolerance.'
Unfortunately bees all over the world are under pressure from pesticides mites viruses bacteria fungi and environmental changes among other things.
Many beekeepers believe that it is best to buy queens from outside instead of using the queens they have in their own beehives.
and pests says senior scientist Per Kryger from the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University.
Local or exotic queen? Productivity in beehives is measured typically by how much honey the bees produce.
The desire to maximize earnings by importing bees changes the natural genetic diversity. The question is
The beehives were set up in 11 countries in Europe. There was one local strain and two foreign strains of honey bees at each of the locations.
The factors that had the greatest influence on the survival of the bees were infection with varroa mites problems with the queen and infection with the disease nosema.
Colonies with queens from the local environment managed on average 83 days more than colonies with queens from foreign areas.
Our results indicate that the way forward is to strengthen the breeding programmes with local honey bees instead of imported queens.
You either have information about livestock coming through here or flocks of animals themselves. Each farmer or herder would have a bag with tokens to represent their flock said Macginnis.
Two CT-scanned Siberian mammoth calves yield trove of insightsct scans of two newborn woolly mammoths recovered from the Siberian Arctic are revealing previously inaccessible details about the early development of prehistoric pachyderms.
Lyuba's full-body CT scan which used an industrial scanner at a Ford testing facility in Michigan was the first of its kind for any mammoth.
This is the first time anyone's been able to do a comparative study of the skeletal development of two baby mammoths of known age said University of Michigan paleontologist Daniel Fisher.
Lyuba was found by reindeer herders in May 2007 on the banks of the Yuribei River on the Yamal Peninsula in northwest Siberia.
Ravens and possibly arctic foxes scavenged exposed portions of her carcass including parts of the trunk and skull and the fat hump that likely covered the back of her neck.
But because of Lyuba's size (about 110 pounds and slightly smaller than a baby elephant) the researchers could not acquire 3-D data from her entire body.
Micro-CT scans of teeth from both mammoth calves were conducted at the University of Michigan School of dentistry.
The dental studies also indicate that both mammoths were born in the spring. Scans of Khroma's skull showed she had a brain slightly smaller than that of a newborn elephant
which hints at the possibility of a shorter gestation period for mammoths. Lyuba's skull is conspicuously narrower than Khroma's
and her upper jawbones are more slender while Khroma's shoulder blades and foot bones are developed more.
These two exquisitely preserved baby mammoths are like two snapshots in time. We can use them to understand how factors like location
and age influenced the way mammoths grew into the huge adults that captivate us today said co-author Zachary T. Calamari of the American Museum of Natural history who began investigating mammoths as a U-M undergraduate working with Fisher.
Since both animals appear to have been healthy at the time of death a traumatic demise involving the inhalation of mud
and it initiates physiological changes that enable animals to stay underwater for extended periods of time.
and the two mammoths mother and daughter plunged into the river. A fall would account for the fractured spinal column revealed by Khroma's CT scan as well as the mud she inhaled.
Bernard Buigues of the International Mammoth Committee in France; Frederic Lacombat of the Musee de Paleontologie de Chilhac in France;
Rountrey is the collections manager for vertebrates at the U-M Museum of Paleontology. The research was supported by the U s. National Science Foundation and by the National geographic Society.
Positron emission tomography or PET is the current diagnostic standard. The retina unlike other structures of the eye is part of the central nervous system sharing many characteristics of the brain.
The retinal beta-amyloid plaque findings and optical imaging technology began at Cedars-Sinai with studies in live rodents
and polyphenols to defend against pest attacks and related injuries. In people phenols and polyphenols can help prevent diseases triggered
and when used in combination with horticultural gauze and insect nets. Using this cover domestic products can be produced for consumers using less or even no pesticides.
or soap might not be ape friendly and the situation appears likely to get even worse according to an analysis in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on July 10.
The growing demand for vegetable oil has led already to the conversion of Southeast Asian forest into oil palm plantations bringing trouble for orangutans in particular.
If guidelines are not put in place very soon researchers say the spread of those large-scale industrial plantations from Asia into Africa will be bad news for great apes there as well.
Oil palm concessions that have already been given to companies for production in Africa show almost 60%overlap with the distribution of great ape species the new analysis finds.
Of the area suitable for growing oil palm in Africa there is a 42%overlap with great ape habitat.
Now that companies are looking to Africa we wanted to determine how large the potential threat to African ape species is.
The new analysis shows that the oil palm industry presents a significant threat to apes all across Africa.
which is the only home to the peaceful chimpanzee relatives known as bonobos. In each of those nations approximately 80%of the area suitable for oil palm growth overlaps with ape habitat.
There is an urgent need to develop guidelines for the expansion of oil palm in Africa to minimize the negative effects on apes
and other wildlife Wich and colleagues write. There is also a need for research to support land use decisions to reconcile economic development great ape conservation and the avoidance of carbon emissions.
For people looking to do something about the palm oil problem themselves now is the time to start the researchers say.
#Invasion of yellow crazy ant in a Seychelles UNESCO palm forest: Threats and solutionsthe yellow crazy ant Anoplolepis gracilipes is ranked amongst the top 100 worst global invasive species
and dangers of the introduction of the yellow crazy ant to the uniqueendemic ecosystem of the mature palm forest of the Vallã e de Mai a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Seychelles.
Impacts of invasive ants can include direct effects such as displaced local species and indirect effects on key ecological functions such as frugivory pollination and seed dispersal.
Although the impacts and ecology of A. gracilipes have been documented well in degraded habitats in the Seychelles little is known about this ant's invasion potential in endemic palm forest ecosystems.
Abundance and species richness of the endemic arboreal fauna were lower in the A. gracilipes invaded area
The current restricted distribution of A. gracilipes in this ecosystem combined with lower abundance of endemic fauna in the invaded area highlight the need for further research.
Chemical control poses a considerable risk to non-target species such as endemic ants. The study therefore advises promoting
which host high numbers of introduced hemipterans and targeted control of ant nests in the most disturbed habitats.
Future research should experimentally assess and quantify parameters that ensure the resistance of the unique Vallã e de Mai palm forest
These microchips were able to check on the return to the hive of individuals thanks to a series of electronic sensors.
The bees were released then 1 km from their hive into landscapes with different structures (a bocage landscape (with enclosures)
Bocage which becomes a mazeto return to the hive bees navigate according to the position of the sun
#Hunting gives deer-damaged forests in state parks a shot at recoveryregulated deer hunts in Indiana state parks have helped restore the health of forests suffering from decades of damage caused by overabundant populations of white-tailed deer
and wildflowers rendered scarce by browsing deer. Jenkins said that while hunting may be unpopular with some it is an effective means of promoting the growth and richness of Indiana's natural areas.
But by the 1990s white-tailed deer populations in parks had swelled to such size that many species of native wildflowers such as trillium
and exotic species such as garlic mustard and Japanese stiltgrass plants not favored by deer. Oak and ash tree seedlings gave way to highly deer-resistant or unpalatable trees such as pawpaw.
The health of deer in state parks also dwindled as their food sources shrank. To check the overabundant deer populations the DNR introduced controlled hunts in state parks in 1993 with most parks adopting the strategy by 1996.
Hunting in natural areas is said controversial Jenkins. But when deer are overabundant they start to have undeniable negative impacts on the ecosystem.
Working with Christopher Webster a Michigan Tech University professor and Purdue alumnus Jenkins and then-master's student Lindsay Jenkins (no relation) tested the effectiveness of the hunting program by comparing the amount of plant
cover in 108 plots in state parks and historically hunted areas with 1996-97 levels.
With heavy populations of deer tree seedlings often don't have a chance to survive he said.
The deer management program is having a clear beneficial impact on Indiana parks and could serve as a good example for nature preserves with overabundant deer in other states.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Purdue University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#New recreational travel model to help states stop firewood assisted insect travelthe spread of damaging invasive forest pests is powered only partially by the insects'own wings.
and widen the insects'spread and resulting forest destruction. A new U s. Forest Service study gives state planners a tool for anticipating the most likely route of human-assisted spread they can use to enhance survey and public education efforts.
The study Using a Network Model to Assess Risk of Forest Pest Spread via Recreational Travel was published July 9 in the journal PLOS ONE
 The role of humans in the spread of invasive insects such as the emerald ash borer and Asian longhorned beetle is established well according to the study's lead author Frank Koch a research ecologist with the Forest Service
or dying trees that may be infested the dispersal of invasive insects via recreational travel has not been studied well.
Research has demonstrated that firewood harbors many bark-and wood-boring insects. In 2008 co-author Robert Haack of the Forest Service's Northern Research Station found that nearly 25 percent of firewood intercepted at the Mackinac bridge between Michigan's Upper
-and wood-boring insects and an additional 41 percent displayed evidence of prior borer infestation.
and destination locations for a camper-transported pest. Summary maps for the 48 contiguous U s. states and seven Canadian provinces showed the most likely origins of campers traveling from outside the target state or province.
Damaging nonnative forest insects are a serious issue for public and private land managers said SRS Director Rob Doudrick Forest Service research is providing tools
and slowing the spread of invasive insects. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by USDA Forest Service â#Southern Research Station.
Studya study co-authored by a University of Guelph scientist that involved fitting bumblebees with tiny radio frequency tags shows long-term exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide hampers bees'ability
which flowers worker bees chose to visit. Bees have to learn many things about their environment including how to collect pollen from flowers said Raine who holds the Rebanks Family Chair in Pollinator Conservation a Canadian first.
Exposure to this neonicotinoid pesticide seems to prevent bees from being able to learn these essential skills.
and pyrethroid (lambda cyhalothrin)--used alone or together on the behaviour of individual bumblebees from 40 colonies over four weeks.
The researchers suggest reform of pesticide regulations including adding bumblebees and solitary bees to risk assessments that currently cover only honeybees.
Bumblebees may be much more sensitive to pesticide impacts as their colonies contain a few hundred workers at most compared to tens of thousands in a honeybee colony Raine said.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Guelph. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Birdlike fossil challenges notion that birds evolved from ground-dwelling dinosaursthe re-examination of a sparrow-sized fossil from China challenges the commonly held belief that birds evolved from ground-dwelling theropod dinosaurs
and later birds evolved. The research duo used advanced 3d microscopy high resolution photography and low angle lighting to reveal structures not clearly visible before.
Many ambiguous aspects of the fossil's pelvis forelimbs hind limbs and tail were confirmed while it was discovered that it had elongated tendons along its tail vertebrae similar to Velociraptor.
They also believe that dinosaurs are not the primitive ancestors of birds. The Scansoriopteryx should rather be seen as an early bird whose ancestors are to be found among tree-climbing archosaurs that lived in a time well before dinosaurs.
Through their investigations the researchers found a combination of plesiomorphic or ancestral non-dinosaurian traits along with highly derived features.
It has numerous unambiguous birdlike features such as elongated forelimbs wing and hind limb feathers wing membranes in front of its elbow half-moon shaped wrist-like bones bird-like perching feet a tail with short anterior vertebrae
and claws that make tree climbing possible. The researchers specifically note the primitive elongated feathers on the forelimbs and hind limbs.
This suggests that Scansoriopteryx is a basal or ancestral form of early birds that had mastered the basic aerodynamic maneuvers of parachuting
or gliding from trees. Their findings validate predictions first made in the early 1900's that the ancestors of birds were small tree-dwelling archosaurs
which enhanced their incipient ability to fly with feathers that enabled them to at least glide. This trees down view is in contrast with the ground up view embraced by many palaeontologists in recent decades that birds derived from terrestrial theropod dinosaurs.
The identification of Scansoriopteryx as a non-dinosaurian bird enables a reevaluation in the understanding of the relationship between dinosaurs and birds.
Scientists finally have the key to unlock the doors that separate dinosaurs from birds explained Czerkas.
Feduccia added Instead of regarding birds as deriving from dinosaurs Scansoriopteryx reinstates the validity of regarding them as a separate class uniquely avian and non-dinosaurian.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Springer. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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