#Cosmic grains of dust formed in supernova explosionthere are billions of stars and planets in the universe.
If we look at diseases of soybean we find that soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is at the top
One intriguing direction Radwan described that shows promise is that there may be interactions between M. phaseolina and other soil pathogens such as soybean cyst nematode (SCN) and sudden death syndrome (SDS.
Only five plants have been collected from two sites in Mexico's western Chihuahua state. Its status is data deficient
The first species is weed a widespread from northern Chihuahua and west Texas to central Arizona and New mexico.
and flavoring material can reverse the biomechanical cellular and anatomical changes that occur in the brains of mice with Parkinsonâ##s disease (PD).
and improves motor functions in mice with PD. This research was supported by grants from National institutes of health. â#oenow we need to translate this finding to the clinic and test ground cinnamon in patients with PD.
#Ancient hedgehog and tapir once inhabited British Columbiathe Earth has experienced many dramatic changes in climate
This is illustrated by a study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology that describes an ancient hedgehog
and tapir that lived in what is now Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park British columbia some 52 million years ago.
Within Canada the only other fossil localities yielding mammals of similar age are from the Arctic so these fossils from British columbia help fill a significant geographic gap said Dr. Natalia Rybczynski of the Canadian Museum of Nature
The ancient hedgehog is a species hitherto unknown to science. It is named Silvacola acares which means tiny forest dweller
since this minute hedgehog likely had a body length of only 2 to 2. 5 inches.
Modern hedgehogs and their relatives are restricted to Europe Asia and Africa. The other mammal discovered at the site Heptodon is an ancient relative of modern tapirs
which resemble small rhinos with no horns and a short mobile trunk or proboscis. Heptodon was about half the size of today's tapirs
and it lacked the short trunk that occurs on later species and their living cousins.
Based upon its teeth it was probably a leaf-eater which fits nicely with the rainforest environment indicated by the fossil plants at Driftwood Canyon said Dr. Jaelyn Eberle of the University of Colorado lead author of the study.
and are well-known for their exceptionally well-preserved leaves insects and fishes. But no fossils of mammals had ever before been identified at the site.
The fieldwork that resulted in these discovered was supported by Natural sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
The discovery in northern British columbia of an early cousin to tapirs is intriguing because today's tapirs live in the tropics.
Its occurrence alongside a diversity of fossil plants that indicates a rainforest supports an idea put forward by others that tapirs
and their extinct kin are good indicators of dense forests and high precipitation said Eberle.
and the insects included a mixture of Canadian and Australian species. Discovering mammals allows us to paint a more complete picture of this lost world said Dr. David Greenwood of Brandon University a co-author of the study.
The early Eocene is a time in the geological past that helps us understand how present day Canada came to have the temperate plants
and animals it has today. However it can also help us understand how the world may change as the global climate continues to warm.
#Shining light on the 100-year mystery of birds sensing spring for offspringprofessor Takashi Yoshimura
and colleagues of the Institute of Transformative Biomolecules (WPI-ITBM) of Nagoya University have finally found the missing piece in how birds sense light by identifying a deep brain photoreceptor in Japanese quails in
Although it has been known for over 100 years that vertebrates apart from mammals detect light deep inside their brains the true nature of the key photoreceptor has remained to be a mystery up until now.
and thus regulates breeding activities in birds. The study published online on July 7 2014 in Current Biology is expected to contribute to the improvement of production of animals along with the deepening of our understanding on the evolution of eyes and photoreceptors.
Many organisms apart from those living in the tropics use the changes in the length of day (photoperiod) as their calendars to adapt to seasonal changes in the environment.
In order to adapt animals change their physiology and behavior such as growth metabolism immune function and reproductive activity.
which is regulated by photoperiod says Professor Yoshimura who led the study small mammals and birds tend to breed during the spring
and summer when the climate is warm and when there is sufficient food to feed their young offspring he continues.
In order to breed during this particular season the animals are actually sensing the changes in the seasons based on changes in day length.
In most mammals including humans eyes are the exclusive photoreceptor organs. Rhodopsin and rhodopsin family proteins in our eyes detect light
On the other hand vertebrates apart from mammals receive light directly inside their brains and sense the changes in day length.
Therefore birds for example are able to detect light even when their eyes are blindfolded. Although this fact has been known for many years the photoreceptor that undertakes this role had not yet been clarified.
which triggers spring breeding in birds. We have been able to show that the CSF-contacting neurons directly respond to light
and are the key photoreceptors that control breeding activity in animals which is what many biologists have been looking for over 100 years elaborates Professor Yoshimura.
Our studies have revealed that these neurons are actually the photoreceptors working deep inside the bird's brain.
and we believe that this research will contribute to learning how animals regulate their biological clocks
Professor Yoshimura's quest to clarify how animals measure the length of time continues. Story Source:
and also revealed the possibility that this fungus could produce harmful metabolites that were previously unknown in this species. The researchers then tested the strain on mice where the fungus showed an ability to cause lethal infections
#Bonellis Eagle diet reconstruction by means of isotope analysis to improve population conservationcarbon nitrogen and sulphur stable isotopes analysis is an effective technique to reconstruct nestling Bonelli's Eagle diet according to a paper published in the journal The Ibis. The article is signed by experts Jaime Resano Mayor Antoni Hernã¡
ndez Matã as Joan Real and Francesc Parã s from the Conservation Biology Group affiliated with the Department of Animal Biology of the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Biodiversity Research Institute of UB (IRBIO.
Diet analyses are central to the study of avian trophic ecology and can be an important conservation tool.
Despite the high number of studies on Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata) diet developed in Western europe eagle's relationship between prey consumption
A new methodology to study Bonelli's Eagle dietjoan Real head of the Conservation Biology Group of UB--a research group that has carried out studies on European Bonelli's Eagle populations for more than thirty years--explains that most Bonelli
's Eagle diet studies are based on the analysis of pellets undigested food that some raptor species regurgitate.
Besides this conventional technique the stable isotope analysis (SIA) has been used successfully in recent years to study animals'diet
even if its applicability to raptor species diet studies remains unknown. Therefore carbon nitrogen and sulphur--common elements in the biosphere--act as biogeochemical markers in animal tissues
which can indicate diet compositionin order to reconstruct eagles'diet by analysing the isotopic composition of their feathers first authors had to characterise the isotopic composition of Bonelli's Eagle main preys in Catalonia.
and stable isotope analysis. The study showed that the isotopic analysis of feathers allows inferring individual species'diet during the breeding period something that is not possible by using pellet.
However similarity varied among preys in rabbits pigeons and gulls it was moderate; in squirrels and passerines it was lower
and in partridges it was low. Authors highlight that carbon and nitrogen analysis are essential in all cases
but sulphur is particularly useful to estimate the consumption of Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus michahellis).
Study of Bonelli's Eagle feeding strategies in Western Europethe analysis of isotopic composition is also an indicator that enables to infer diet composition
and diversity (trophic niche) of Bonelli's Eagle during breeding at a population level according to another publication by the former UB research group which was published in the journal PLOS ONE
and is signed also by Marcos Moleã n (University Miguel Hernã¡ndez. The study assesses the trophic niche width of Bonelli's Eagle populations in Catalonia Andalusia and France by means of the stable isotope analysis;
in addition it analyses whether or not trophic niche width influences productivity (number of chicks per pair) at population and territory levels.
The trophic niche of Bonelli's Eagle populations in Andalusia is narrower than in French
partridge and pigeons. On the contrary pairs with high trophic diversity show less productivity. Authors point out that these results suggest that individual diet variation within populations is likely to have important ecological and evolutionary implications.
in order to improve the conservation of a threatened speciesto know diet effects on vital parameters in threatened species like the Bonelli's Eagle is crucial to plan
are detected for eagles conservation actions must be addressed towards the improvement of trophic resources (rabbits partridges pigeons etc.
not only can provide information about eagles'trophic resources abundance and availability but it also provides new interesting data to studies centred on changes in the habitats and ecosystems where the Bonelli's Eagle one of the most representative--and threatened--raptor species of the Mediterranean region lives.
Both scientific articles were supported by Miquel Torres Foundation in Vilafranca del Penedã s the Barcelona Provincial Council the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Department of education of the Government of Navarra.
Many animals are thought to deter eavesdroppers by making their signals revealing the location or quality of resources less conspicuous to outsiders.
To Nieh whose research has focused on the evolution of communication strategies among bees eavesdropping is part of the information web the signals and cues that surround animals and play a key role in shaping ecosystems.
In the case of bees and other pollinators he says a network of signals and cues shapes pollination informing animals about where
and when food is available. Researchers have thought in general about eavesdropping as a force that makes signals less conspicuous leading to the evolution of'whispers'to counter spying.
Assembling such a group in the nest after having found a food source through eavesdropping uses time
Previous eavesdropping research has focused mainly on individuals seeking mates predators looking for prey or prey trying to avoid being eaten.
This is particularly important for animals such as the bees I studied because their movements determine plant pollination.
and Research Project Office Morgan Simpson of NASA Ground Processing Directorate and Ray Wheeler Ph d. of the Surface Systems office in NASA's Engineering and Technology Directorate also provided guidance
If you cut a Dugesia Planarian worm would it grow back in microgravity? Sixth graders at North Attleborough Middle school in Massachusetts want to know the answer which could eventually be put to use healing wounds in space and On earth.
Crystal formation may cause jellyfish born in microgravity to lose their sense of direction and could potentially affect humans in the same way.
but have lost their ability to produce certain defense chemicals making them vulnerable to attack by insects and pathogens.
The chemical attracts'friendly'nematode worms from the surrounding soil which in turn kill the corn rootworm larvae within a few days.
As a result these plants attracted more nematodes and suffered less damage from an infestation of Western Corn Rootworms.
or indirect using volatile substances that attract the natural enemies of the herbivores says lead scientist Dr Ted Turlings (University of Neuchã¢tel Switzerland).
These protect maize against a range of insects bacteria and fungi pests yet some species have developed resistance against these toxins
and may even exploit them to identify the most nutritious plant tissues. These results show how knowledge of natural plant defenses can be applied practically in agricultural systems.
#Researchers study flight pattern of red palm weevil in order to set more efficient control measureswhat is the average distance that the red palm weevil covers?
Does the insect's sex age and body size have an influence on its flight potential?
Researchers of the Universitat Politã cnica de Valã ncia have released a study that answers these and other questions.
The results allow them to learn more about the flight pattern of this insect which is threatening palm trees all over the world in order to set new preventive and curative measures against the pest.
The work team analysed the insect behaviour with a camera fitted with a flight mill connected to a computer.
Among their conclusions the study states that most of analysed insects-54%-covered a short distance less than 100 metres;
when an insect is detected all the palm trees within 500 metres run the risk of being infested weevil says Antonia Soto researcher at the Mediterranean Agroforestal Institute of the UPV.
With regard to the sex they determined that it does not affect the flight potential of the insect.
While in the case of age they noticed that the average of flying individuals is larger in insects between 8 and 23 days-old than in the newly hatched insects.
and they give significant clues about insect mobility. This information helps to improve the management of this pest
and to find more efficient control measures. For example in a newly detected source of palm trees with red palm weevil now we know up to what distance we must apply control measures
in order to avoid or at least reduce the dispersion of the pest. Or we know the safety perimeter that must be applied in an area with red palm weevil presence adds Juan Antonio à valos researcher at the Mediterranean Agroforestal Institute of the UPV.
Field testsduring the field tests the researchers of the UPV have proved that most of the Rhynchophorus ferrugineus adults dispersed flew a short distance less than 500 metres
which coincides with the results obtained in the laboratory. On the other hand the maximum distance at which the adults were recaptured was 7 kilometres from the point where they were released.
and makes the animal vulnerable to pneumonia and other respiratory diseases. Identifying persistent infectionswhen a pregnant cow becomes infected the developing calf is at risk.
The animal will shed the virus for its entire life. Approximately 0. 5 percent of all cattle in the United states are infected persistently according to Chase.
and creating a persistently infected animal that is a threat to the entire herd. Story Source:
#Grass-in-the-ear technique sets new trend in chimp etiquette: Chimpanzees spontaneously copy arbitrary behaviorchimpanzees are copycats
and in the process they form new traditions that are often particular to only one specific group of these primates.
Such are the findings of an international group of scientists who waded through over 700 hours of video footage to understand how it came about that one chimpanzee stuck a piece of grass in her ear
and started a new trend and others soon followed suit. The findings of the study led by Edwin van Leeuwen of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in The netherlands are published in Springer's journal Animal Cognition.
In 2010 van Leeuwen first noticed how a female chimp named Julie repeatedly put a stiff strawlike blade of grass for no apparent reason in one or both of her ears.
She left it there even when she was grooming playing or resting in Zambia's Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust sanctuary.
On subsequent visits van Leeuwen saw that other chimpanzees in her group had started to do the same.
The research team including Zambians who monitor the chimpanzees daily collected and analyzed 740 hours of footage that had been shot during the course of a year of 94 chimpanzees living in four different social groups in the sanctuary.
Only two of these groups could see one another. The research team found that only one of the four groups regularly performed this so-called grass-in-the-ear behavior.
In one other group one chimpanzee once did the same. Eight of the twelve chimpanzees in Julie's group repeatedly did so.
The first to copy her was her son Jack followed by Kathy Miracle and Val with
Generally at least two of the chimps put grass in their ear at the same time. Interestingly the chimpanzees Kathy and Val kept up the custom even after Julie the original inventor of this behavior died.
The observations show that there's nothing random about individual chimpanzees sticking grass into their ears.
They spontaneously copied the arbitrary behavior from a group member. Chimpanzees have a tendency to learn from one another--clearly a case of monkey see monkey do in fact.
Van Leeuwen suggests that those animals that find a specific behavior somehow rewarding will continue to do
so on their own even if the chimpanzee they have learned it from is no longer around. This reflects chimpanzees'proclivity to actively investigate
and learn from group members'behaviors in order to obtain biologically relevant information says van Leeuwen. The fact that these behaviors can be arbitrary
and outlast the originator speaks to the cultural potential of chimpanzees. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Springer Science+Business Media.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#First national model for bovine TB calls for more focus on cattlein a study published in Nature this week a team of researchers based at the University of Warwick has produced the first national model to investigate the bovine TB spread.
whilst badgers form part of the environmental reservoir they only play a relatively minor role in the transmission of infection.
Lagoons are known to be ecologically important to a variety of mobile species including manta rays sharks turtles and dolphins.
Very heavily used by mobile animals as breeding grounds and as places to feed lagoons are highly sensitive to human disturbance.
They matched the chemical signature of the mantas to that of zooplankton collected in the lagoons verifying that this habitat serves as an important feeding ground.
Using mathematical modeling we determined that many of the manta rays we encountered took around 80 percent of their energy from lagoon plankton Mccauley said.
an acoustic camera which logged patterns of the animals entrances and departures from the lagoons;
#Dramatic decline of Caribbean corals can be reversed: Stop killing parrotfish to bring back Caribbean coral reefswith only about one-sixth of the original coral cover left most Caribbean coral reefs may disappear in the next 20 years primarily due to the loss
since 1970 including studies of corals seaweeds grazing sea urchins and fish. The results show that the Caribbean corals have declined by more than 50%since the 1970s.
But according to the authors restoring parrotfish populations and improving other management strategies such as protection from overfishing and excessive coastal pollution could help the reefs recover
The rate at which the Caribbean corals have been declining is truly alarming says Carl Gustaf Lundin Director of IUCN's Global Marine and Polar Programme.
the fate of Caribbean corals is not beyond our control and there are some very concrete steps that we can take to help them recover.
and sea urchin--the area's two main grazers--has in fact been the key driver of coral decline in the region.
An unidentified disease led to a mass mortality of the sea urchin in 1983 and extreme fishing throughout the 20th century has brought the parrotfish population to the brink of extinction in some regions.
which have restricted or banned fishing practices that harm parrotfish such as fish traps and spearfishing. Other countries are following suit.
and grazing sea urchins and set aside one-third of its coastal waters as marine reserves says Ayana Johnson of the Waitt Institute's Blue Halo Initiative which is collaborating with Barbuda in the development of its new management plan.
The decline in corals started long before climate change began to affect reefs says Terry Hughes author of the 1994 study that predicted the current problems due to parrotfish removal.
They are docked usually tail without analgesia as a preventative measure to reduce the chances of flies laying eggs on dirty tails
The research team found that female sheep that had docked their tails or experienced a mild simulated infection shortly after they were born showed more pain-related behaviour
The study's findings highlight the impact that events during the period after birth can have on an animal in later life
Dr Fiona Clissold who led the study explains why temperature has such a large influence on insect diets.
Whilst an insect's metabolic rate increases exponentially with temperature the rate at which locusts absorb protein
The first Kangaroo grass gives a high protein diet at high temperatures and a high carbohydrate diet at low temperatures.
Consequently locusts raised on Kangaroo grass reach a larger size at low temperatures but locusts that are fed wheat are larger at high temperatures.
Following a meal of Kangaroo grass the locusts seek shady places such as behind grass stalks
Dr Clissold adds Being small insects can take advantage of the multitude of microclimates available. As mammals are warm-blooded animals that maintain a constant body temperature it is unlikely that temperature overtly affects the nutrient quality of their diets.
However there is some evidence that rodents may increase their body temperature to reduce the toxicity of compounds found in some plant leaves.
It is hoped that the results from this study could be used to develop methods to control agricultural insect pests
and predict when outbreaks may occur. Meanwhile the researchers are currently investigating why plant quality varies with temperature
and how climate change may affect dietary preferences of herbivorous insects. This research was presented at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Meeting 2014 held at Manchester University UK from the 1st--4th of July.
#Dairy farmers keep flies guessing by alternating pesticidesold-fashioned fly swatters may be the most foolproof housefly killer
Flies spread disease and a host of pathogens that cost farms hundreds of millions of dollars in annual losses.
Unfortunately with the repeated use of the same insecticides flies develop resistance through genetic mutations that make these products less effective.
Cornell entomologist Jeff Scott and colleagues analyzed levels of resistance to six insecticides in flies and they have identified the mutations that led to resistance in houseflies and from cattle farms in nine states around the country.
or each month and using biological control agents such as tiny parasitoid wasps. Genetic mutations are random
and one mutation lets a fly survive then that mutation is carried forward in the population.
and Physiology and are working to understand three main mutations that confer pesticide resistance in houseflies.
We think it is due to fitness costs where a mutation allows the fly to survive insecticides
and evolution of the coma and tail provides information on how the comet evolves as it approaches
#Foodborne bacteria can cause disease in some breeds of chickens after allcontrary to popular belief the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is not a harmless commensal in chickens
This rather changes our view of the biology of this nasty little bug says Paul Wigley of Institute for Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool an author on the study.
and the bacteria were thought to be part of the normal microbiota of the birds. In the study Wigley and his colleagues experimentally infected birds from four commercial breeds of broiler chickens.
They found that while levels of the bacteria in the intestines did not differ by breed immune response
but has a big effect on the health of the birds. The most important finding says Wigley is that Campylobacter infection directly impacts broiler chicken health and welfare.
Nearly half of the world's threatened endemic tropical mammal bird and plant species are found in 27 developing counties that the World bank now classifies as having reached upper middle income (UMI) status. UMI countries
As early as 1968 the Malaysian federal government recommended establishing a wildlife reserve in Belum-Temengor to protect its populations of Asian elephants Malaysian tigers Sumatran rhinoceroses and other large mammals against poaching and logging.
and pests as well as their outstanding performance in landscapes Earth-Kindâ roses can thrive in most environments even with limited care.
As more freshwater flows into the Arctic ocean due to global warming I think we are going to see it become more brackish said Eberle also curator of fossil vertebrates at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural history.
Other co-authors include David Bell from the University of Wyoming Dewayne Fox from Delaware State university
Oxygen isotopes in ancient bones and teeth reflect the water animals are living in or drinking said Kim a former postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wyoming.
Previous studies by Eberle and colleagues showed the fauna there included ancestors of tapirs hippo-like creatures crocodiles and giant tortoises.
We now know a fair amount about the terrestrial animals and plants that were living in the Eocene Arctic greenhouse period said Eberle.
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