The study supported by The british Heart Foundation used mice to investigate the process by which these nitro fatty acids lower blood pressure looking at
Mice genetically engineered to be resistant to this inhibitory process were found to maintain their high blood pressure
However nitro fatty acids were found to lower the blood pressure of normal mice following the same diets.
#Panda restoration efforts look at digestive systemsmississippi State university researchers were part of the team that learned that giant
and red pandas have different digestive microbes a finding with important implications for conservation efforts and captive animal rearing.
Gastrointestinal diseases are the major cause of mortality in wild and captive pandas but little is known about their digestive process.
The giant panda is endangered an species while the red panda is considered a vulnerable species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Both eat mostly fibrous bamboo. Candace Williams an MSU doctoral student in biochemistry conducted the research in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison the Memphis Zoo
and the National Zoo in Washington D c. Williams presented her findings at the American Society for Microbiology in Boston in May.
Her study was funded through the university's Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the Memphis Zoological Society.
Although they are different species the giant panda and red panda share several characteristics Williams said. Under the direction of biochemist Ashli Brown Johnson MSU scientists set out to determine
if there were similarities in the microbes that digest this plant-based diet. To investigate the microbes Williams collected fecal samples from two giant pandas and one red panda at the Memphis Zoo.
The team also obtained samples from a red panda at the National Zoo. Williams used advanced genetic sequencing techniques to determine what gastrointestinal bacteria were present.
The procedure revealed all microbes in the fecal matter including some that were known not Johnson said.
Our results revealed significant differences between the microbes found in the two panda species Johnson said.
While they have some similar microbes in their digestive tracts each panda species has a different dominant microbe present.
Understanding the gastrointestinal bacteria in pandas will help guide reforestation efforts throughout China's mountainous region.
The Chinese government has established 50 panda reserves within the animals'home range. Additionally China has banned logging to preserve the habitat of the declining species. With gastrointestinal disease causing the greatest natural mortality of red
and giant pandas a greater understanding of the digestive microbes will assist in maintaining captive panda populations housed at zoos Williams said.
and identify the wild panda population. Future research will examine the nutritional composition of bamboo to determine
whether the pandas are consuming different varieties of the fibrous plant. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Mississippi State university Office of Agricultural Communications.
#Transgenic mice produce both omega-3, omega-6 fatty acids on carbohydrate dietmassachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have developed a transgenic mouse that synthesizes both the omega-3 and omega-6 essential
Called essential because they are necessary to maintain important bodily functions omega fatty acids cannot naturally be synthesized by mammals
Introducing into mammals the capacity to convert nonessential nutrients into essential fats could lead to new sustainable
Our study also provides a mouse model for addressing research questions about the true health impacts of these essential fatty acids.
One type of animal that naturally produces all fatty acids is the c. elegans roundworm and in 2004 Kang's group reported that mice transgenic for a c. elegans gene called fat-1 converted omega-6s into omega-3s in their tissues.
The current study describes how crossbreeding the fat-1 mouse with another strain transgenic for the c. elegans gene fat-2
which converts monosaturated fats into omega-6s can produce mice expressing both c. elegans genes.
Called the Omega mouse this strain produces both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in its tissue.
The crossbreeding protocol produces four different strains within the same litter--Omega mice that express both fat-1 and fat-2 strains that express only one of the c. elegans genes
Since our 2004 report on the fat-1 mouse our lab and many others have been working towards the generation of larger omega-3-producing animals--including pigs sheep
and supplements and the new Omega mouse model will help us better understand the true importance of the omega-6/omega-3 ratio for human health.
Concerned hunters and foresters sent the carcasses to the University of Veterinary medicine Vienna for analysis. Extensive investigations have revealed now that the animals died of bacterial pneumonia caused by two strains of bacteria that are highly unusual in chamois.
Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) share their habitat with a number of other wild animals as well as with farm animals.
Because of the risk of disease transmission between species when dead or sick animals are discovered by hunters
The analysis revealed that the animals had died of a massive pneumonia. The causes of the pneumonia turned out to be bacteria with the evocative names Mannheimia glucosida (in honour of the German biologist Walter Mannheim nothing to do with the German town) and Bibersteinia trehalosi.
It is against the law to administer medical treatment to wild animals so we don't really have many possibilities to prevent an epidemic explains Annika Posautz from the pathology team of the Research Institute.
All we can do is try to minimize contact between animals for example by avoiding the use of salt licks.
and the animals were suffering from parasite infestation. The combination of these two factors weakened their immune systems and probably led to the deaths.
Threat to domestic animalsin The alps chamois are frequently in close contact with domestic animals such as cattle and sheep that graze in the pastures.
It is then possible to put emergency measures in place including increased monitoring of the animals
Adult bees create the nests. The nests have several cells with an egg in each one that metamorphosizes--like butterflies do--through the summer.
By fall they are adults in their cocoons where they overwinter. The initial phase of the program that Bunker and Devan have initiated with the help of other NJIT colleagues
and students involves waking the bees from winter dormancy earlier than usual during the spring by gently warming the boxes.
while they are still dormant in their cocoons. A video camera placed at each nest will allow building a database of the bees'response to manipulated changes in their natural schedule
and how their well-being might be affected by corresponding disruptions caused by climate change. The tags on the bees a special variant of the widely used Quick Response QR code will make it possible to monitor individual bees using computer-assisted image recognition
Physical examination of pollen in the nests also is expected to yield information about the food sources the bees visit
because they are out of synch with the flowering of their food sources could keep them away from their nests for longer periods.
It may give flies wasps and other predators greater opportunities to attack undefended eggs and larvae.
and managing these vital pollinators. The data that Bunker and Devan anticipate collecting over the next few years could confirm a disturbing possibility--that the critical relationship between temperature-sensitive bees
Yet they may find that pollinators such as the bees at Morristown can adapt in ways that do not seriously undermine their role in pollination and by implication in agricultural production.
#International standards significantly reducing insect stowaways in wood packaging materiala new international standard for wood packaging material used in international trade is significantly slowing the inadvertent export of stowaway invasive bark-and wood
-boring insects according to a study by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS.
of insect stowaways. The study Effectiveness of the International Phytosanitary Standard ISPM No 15 on Reducing Wood Borer Infestation Rates in Wood Packaging Material Entering the United states was published today in the journal PLOS ONE.
The International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15) is a set of standards developed by the International Plant Protection Convention stipulating how wood packaging material used for international trade such as pallets
Wood packaging material has carried numerous nonnative forest pest invaders to countries throughout the world. Several hundred nonnative forest insect species have become established in the U s
. and recent arrivals such as the Asian longhorned beetle and the emerald ash borer have killed millions of trees and altered urban landscapes in the Northeast and Midwest.
The United states implemented the new standard in three phases between 2005 and 2006; as of October 2013 more than 78 countries had implemented ISPM 15.
and his colleagues used data from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to compare wood packaging infestation rates from 2 years prior to U s. implementation
Destructive invasive insects have changed forest landscapes in the United states and throughout the world said Michael T. Rains Director of the Northern Research Station
#Over 100 new species discovered by team in drive to document biodiversitya 5-million-year-old saber-toothed cat the world's oldest grape
and 103 new species of plants and animals in 2013 with some research divisions anticipating higher numbers for 2014.
But the extra emphasis on biodiversity due to degradation of natural habitats and accelerating extinction rate of plants and animals worldwide has placed a higher emphasis on researchers documenting
UF researchers discovered species from more than 25 countries on four continents including 35 fossil crustaceans 24 Lepidoptera 17 plants (11 fossils) eight mollusks two
fossil mammals and one fossil bird among others. Thirty-one additional species were identified in the museum's collections by visiting researchers.
Don Davis curator of Lepidoptera at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History said the Florida Museum has pursued actively the goals of all natural history museums including discovering new organisms to better understand the current distributions
For example during an international effort to document all animals and plants living on and in the waters surrounding the island of Moorea in French polynesia Florida Museum invertebrate zoology curator Gustav Paulay dredged from the deep sea a new hermit crab that exemplifies a rarely documented process in which hermit crabs move out of their shells
and harden their bodies to resemble true crabs. Patagurus rex has armored a broad body with pointy spines
and long legs connected to large claws--making it one of the most distinctive hermit crabs discovered in decades Paulay said.
Florida Museum assistant curator of Lepidoptera Akito Kawahara said new species of insects sometimes lead to powerful discoveries that affect other fields including agriculture and medicine.
Future research will include the investigation of a potential new species of moth in Hawaii that appears to delay plant aging by altering the process of plant senescence (aging) in leaves he said.
This moth could have potential for improving agriculture and extending the shelf life of some foods.
Museum scientists described 56 new species of fossil plants and animals. Among these the world's oldest-known grape species Indovitis chitaleyae discovered in 2005 and described in 2013 pushed the record of the Vitaceae (grape) family into the Late Cretaceous about 66 million years ago.
Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology collections manager Richard Hulbert described the 5-million-year-old fossils of Rhizosmilidon a carnivorous saber-toothed cat from the same lineage as the famous
because knowledge of the kinds of plants and animals that lived here in the past provide us with a framework for understanding today's ecosystems.
In the course of their lives the males compile a species-specific bouquet that they store in the pockets on their hind legs.
The small insects do actually fly over distances of 50 kilometres. Tamara Pokorny has a theory regarding how they get the energy necessary for those long distances without being forced to stop
By moving their proboscises in a certain manner the bees appear to concentrate the sugar solution that they are drinking.
This in turn affected the plant's wounding response and made it more susceptible to pest injury.
#Biological control for brazilian peppertree closer than evera South american insect could help control the invasive Brazilian peppertree in places where it supplants critical habitat for many organisms according to University of Florida and U s. Department of agriculture scientists.
Animals such as white-tailed deer the Florida panther and migratory birds that depend on native vegetation such as mangrove for food
For the experiments UF and USDA researchers brought two types of thrips--tiny insects that often feed on plants--from Brazil to Florida laboratories.
Both thrips feed on the Brazilian peppertree but scientists found Ouro Preto was more cold-tolerant than a thrips from farther north in Brazil.
Scientists predict the insect will thrive in Florida where temperatures sometimes dip below freezing which is only slightly colder than the insect is used to. â#oethe idea of biological control is to reunite these highly specialized natural enemies with their host plant in this case Brazilian peppertree to help reduce plant densities in the invaded areaâ#said Veronica Manrique a UF
senior biological scientist and lead author of the study. â#oewe are also working with two other natural enemies a psyllid
and a defoliating weevil which should further reduce Brazilian peppertree growth and reproduction in Florida. â#Scientists will now seek permission to release the thrips into areas Brazilian peppertree is growing.
The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will review the joint UF/IFAS and USDA petition for the thripsâ##release Overholt said.
That agency typically takes 1â to two years to decide whether the thrips is a safe control agent. â#oeif we get this far we will release the thrips at several locations in South
and Central Florida initially mostly on public lands because thatâ##s where the problem is said biggestâ#Overholt. â#oeif we have success here Iâ##m sure folks in Hawaii
and Texas will want to introduce the insect. Eventually there may also be interest in other areas of the world such as Australia. â#Starting in the 1800s two types of Brazilian peppertree were brought to Florida Overholt said.
A southern Brazil variety was brought to an area along the Gulf Coast probably near Punta Gorda;
the other from northern Brazil was introduced in the late 1800s near Miami. The UF and USDA study is published in the May issue of the journal Biocontrol Science and Technology.
According to their research published online this week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences these fossil beetles indicate that during a period of global warming in the geological past there were mild frost-free winters extended even in the uplands
Using plants as factories to generate bioactive medicines would be far cheaper than the current methods that rely on cell cultures from mammals he said.
because it is an economically important and well understood crop that relies on insect pollination.
honey bees bumble bees southeastern blueberry bees carpenter bees and a functionally similar collection of species that they termed small native bees.
The role of root infection by insect-carried bacterial pathogens has been underestimated greatly said Evan Johnson a research assistant scientist with UF's Institute of food and agricultural sciences.
Citrus greening first enters the tree via a tiny insect the Asian citrus psyllid which sucks on leaf sap
To battle greening UF/IFAS researchers have attempted everything from trying to eradicate the psyllid to breeding trees that show better greening resistance.
This finding suggests that growers should focus more effort on maintaining the health of the root system in relation to other soilborne pests
while psyllid control is essential growers should make careful decisions on how many resources to devote to any management strategy for greening-infected trees based on their economic means until field trials have been completed.
#Colonization of Brazil by the cattle egretin recent years the cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) has colonized American continent.
A new study of the colonization patterns of the cattle egret in Brazil published in the open access journal Neobiota offers a new take on the study of alien species. The cattle egret primarily inhabits grassland habitats and forages in close
association with grazing animals such as cattle and other livestock. This bird is native to tropical and subtropical Africa southern Europe and western Asia.
The populations of cattle egret in Brazil are alien to the region but unlike a number of bird species that have been introduced to nonnative areas through human intervention the cattle egret is known to have established
and expanded to The americas without such intervention. The first sightings in the New world were reported for Suriname between 1877 and 1882 in the North of South america followed by sightings in British guiana and Colombia and subsequent expansion throughout The americas.
In Brazil the cattle egret was recorded first in the northern region of the country in 1964 feeding along with buffalos on Marajo Island in the state of Para.
Novel colonizers can cause problems outside of their native range. While the cattle egret is not currently a threat to native fauna in Brazil throughout most of its geographic distribution it has the potential to produce adverse effects as evidenced by its occupation of island environments.
For example in the Fernando de Noronha archipelago the cattle egret drives adult native seabirds away from their nests in breeding colonies
and predates the Noronha skink which is endemic to the archipelago. Understanding how the cattle egret colonized Brazil is crucial for the better understanding of dispersal patterns of bird populations
and their interaction with the local species. Explaining the colonization of The americas by the cattle egret is a challenging task due to the lack of sufficient information and reports on entrance time locality and number of events.
Comparisons between native and nonnative populations can provide a'natural'experimental approach to clarify the biological and environmental factors that may contribute to range expansion
and adaptation to climate change and to reveal mechanisms by which organisms respond to novel ecological and environmental pressures.
and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in which bees abandon their hives over the winter and eventually die.
Further although other studies have suggested that CCD-related mortality in honey bee colonies may come from bees'reduced resistance to mites
or parasites as a result of exposure to pesticides the new study found that bees in the hives exhibiting CCD had almost identical levels of pathogen infestation as a group of control hives most
We demonstrated again in this study that neonicotinoids are highly likely to be responsible for triggering CCD in honey bee hives that were healthy prior to the arrival of winter said lead author Chensheng (Alex) Lu associate professor of environmental exposure
since bees are prime pollinators of roughly one-third of all crops worldwide. Experts have considered a number of possible causes including pathogen infestation beekeeping practices and pesticide exposure.
There was a steady decline in the size of all the bee colonies through the beginning of winter--typical among hives during the colder months in New england.
but populations in the neonicotinoid-treated hives continued to decline. By April 2013 6 out of 12 of the neonicotinoid-treated colonies were lost with abandoned hives that are typical of CCD.
Only one of the control colonies was lost--thousands of dead bees were found inside the hive--with what appeared to be symptoms of a common intestinal parasite called Nosema ceranae.
While the 12 pesticide-treated hives in the current study experienced a 50%CCD mortality rate the authors noted that in their 2012 study bees in pesticide-treated hives had a much higher CCD mortality rate--94%.
%That earlier bee die off occurred during the particularly cold and prolonged winter of 2010-2011 in central Massachusetts leading the authors to speculate that colder temperatures in combination with neonicotinoids may play a role in the severity of CCD.
#Threats seen to 3 billion birds in vast Canadian forestindustrial encroachment in North america's 1. 5 billion-acre boreal forest could endanger billions of birds
and other species. A new report calls for saving half of boreal forest acreage to protect the habitat for more than 300 migratory bird species. The northern landscape is beset with oil gas mining
Stretching from Alaska to Newfoundland the boreal forest--the circumpolar woods that circle the upper Northern hemisphere--provides habitat for up to 3 billion nesting and migratory birds according to the report Boreal Birds Need Half:
Maintaining North america's Bird Nursery and Why it Matters released this week by the Boreal Songbird Initiative Ducks Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited Canada.
More species have become threatened and endangered due to industrial encroachments into the birds'habitats. For example Canada warblers and evening grosbeaks have experienced both recently close to 80 percent declines in numbers says the report.
The document outlines the economic and ecological importance of these species. For example birding-related business generates some $100 billion per year in the U s
. and Canada alone said Jeff Wells associate scientist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the report's lead author.
because tree-of-heaven is very hard to kill said Davis. The researchers noticed a number of Ambrosia beetles near the infected stands leading them to theorize that the fungus often carried through the forests by beetles was involved in the tree deaths.
The Ambrosia beetles may explain some of the long-range spread of the disease said Davis. One theory is that the beetles feed on an infected tree
When it comes to urging young children to eat healthy foods most parents know the drill:
#Homemade stink bug traps squash store-bought models, researchers finda Virginia Tech team of researchers has proven that homemade inexpensive stink bug traps crafted from simple
household items outshine pricier models designed to kill the invasive annoying bugs. This discovery comes
and homeowners will be looking for a way to get rid of the pest. Researchers in the College of Agriculture and Life sciences found that the best way to get rid of the little buggers is to fill a foil roasting pan with water
and put a light over the pan to attract the bugs in a dark room.
The trap eliminated 14 times more stink bugs than store-bought traps that cost up to $50 the study found.
Virginia Tech created a video showing how to build a trap: http://vimeo. com/92354801we knew that insects are attracted generally to light
so we were able to exploit that with these traps said John Aigner a doctoral student in the Department of Entomology.
To conduct the study Aigner and Tom Kuhar an entomology professor and Virginia Cooperative Extension specialist enlisted the help of citizen scientists--homeowners who were annoyed by the infestation of stink bugs in their houses--to evaluate different types of traps for ridding homes
of bugs. The study was conducted in 16 houses over two years. Currently there are no in-home insecticides labeled for use against brown marmorated stink bugs
so that presented us with a challenge Aigner said. The homemade trap is not only inexpensive it is also pesticide-free Unfortunately the traps are only practical in homes.
Farmers in the Mid-atlantic region have faced millions of dollars in damage to their crops since the brown marmorated stink bug invaded the Mid-atlantic region in the late 2000s.
The bug is now found in 41 states. Still the solution could give some reprieve to homeowners who find thousands of these cilantro-smelling bugs in their homes.
The real devastation comes in the form of damage to farmers said Kuhar. Stink bugs feed as nymphs and adults on the fruit and pods of plants which maximizes their chances to render a crop unmarketable.
These bugs have been documented to feed on many of our important agricultural crops including apples peaches grapes soybean peppers tomatoes corn and cotton.
Treatment of the insects in crops is costly because the insecticides required to control it are broad spectrum toxicants that are highly disruptive to integrated pest management programs.
The few native natural enemies they have can easily be killed with the same insecticide used to target the stink bugs themselves he said.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Virginia Tech. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
New insights into their effects on shrimps and snailsgroundbreaking research by an international team of scientists has resulted in greater understanding of the effects of pesticides on aquatic invertebrates such as shrimps and snails.
and modelling the sensitivity of aquatic invertebrates to various pesticides. Aquatic invertebrate species are abundant in European freshwaters
and play an important role in the decomposition of organic material as well as serving as a food source for other higher level species. However the almost 7000 species living in European waters are currently facing a major challenge
because we want to kill the pests but not all the other species in our environment. The research team looked at the effects of three pesticides--diazinon imidacloprid and propiconazole--on the aquatic invertebratesgammarus pulex (freshwater shrimp) Gammarus fossarum (freshwater shrimp) and Lymnaea stagnalis (pond snail.
Corresponding author Dr Anna-Maija Nyman now working at the University of Eastern Finland said:
and how to kill the pests without harming other organisms we have to start with mechanisms of toxic action.
which are designed to kill pest insects. Toxicity of these neurotoxicants does vary a lot among species--in our study the shrimps turned out to be much more sensitive than the pond snail.
I am fascinated about the possibility of using imaging methods developed for mice and rats to see what is going on inside a shrimp or a snail.
I am convinced that imaging the chemical distribution inside aquatic species in general holds great promise to better understand their sensitivity to pesticides and other chemicals.
www. cream-itn. eu). Ground breaking research by an international team of scientists has resulted in greater understanding of the effects of pesticides on aquatic invertebrates such as shrimps and snails.
and modelling the sensitivity of aquatic invertebrates to various pesticides. Aquatic invertebrate species are abundant in European freshwaters
and play an important role in the decomposition of organic material as well as serving as a food source for other higher level species. However the almost 7000 species living in European waters are currently facing a major challenge
because we want to kill the pests but not all the other species in our environment. The research team looked at the effects of three pesticides--diazinon imidacloprid and propiconazole--on the aquatic invertebratesgammarus pulex (freshwater shrimp) Gammarus fossarum (freshwater shrimp) and Lymnaea stagnalis (pond snail.
Corresponding author Dr Anna-Maija Nyman now working at the University of Eastern Finland said:
and how to kill the pests without harming other organisms we have to start with mechanisms of toxic action.
which are designed to kill pest insects. Toxicity of these neurotoxicants does vary a lot among species--in our study the shrimps turned out to be much more sensitive than the pond snail.
I am fascinated about the possibility of using imaging methods developed for mice and rats to see what is going on inside a shrimp or a snail.
I am convinced that imaging the chemical distribution inside aquatic species in general holds great promise to better understand their sensitivity to pesticides and other chemicals.
Overtext Web Module V3.0 Alpha
Copyright Semantic-Knowledge, 1994-2011