Dozens of popular courses in psychology, statistics, biology and other fields are offered also primarily online.
which Dr. Joos defined as oea determination made through the application of socially agreed upon biological criteria for classifying persons as females and males.
The nature-nurture debate is a oegiant step closer to being resolved after scientists studying bees documented how environmental inputs can modify our genetic hardware.
The research was led by Professor Ryszard Maleszka of The Australian National Universitys College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, working with colleagues from the German Cancer Institute in Heidelberg,
open access journal PLOS Biology. Their work reveals for the first time the intricacies of the environmentally-influenced chemical marking of DNA called DNA methylation
which has the capacity to alter gene expression without affecting the genetic code a process referred to as epigenetic,
or above the genome. oethis marking determines which genes are to be fine-tuned in the brains of workers
and queens to produce their extraordinarily different behaviors. This finding is not only crucial, but far reaching,
more than 550 genes are marked differentially between the brain of the queen and the brain of the worker,
and how environmental inputs can transiently modify our genetic hardware, he said. oesimilar studies are impossible to do on human brains,
and a rising demand for the raw materials of biofuels. mroevia sciencedaily. com Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorati t
#Eating Almonds Can Help the Body Fight off Viruses Eating almonds boosts immune system response to viruses.
Researchers found almond skins improved the ability of the white blood cells to detect viruses while also increasing the bodys ability to prevent viruses from replicating
and so spreading inside the body. They discovered that even after the almonds had been digested in the gut
there was still an increase in the immune systems defence against viruses. The scientists, who are based at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich and the Policlinico Universitario in Messina,
Italy, said their findings suggest that the nuts can increase the immune systems ability to fight off a wide range of viruses,
it was likely that eating almonds regularly could help protect people from becoming infected with viruses in the first place,
whose work is published in the scientific journal Immunology Letters and was funded by the Almond Board of California,
They tested the immune response to infection by the Herpes simplex virus 2, which can cause cold sores and is a notoriously difficult virus to treat due to its ability to evade the immune system by dampening down the bodys inflammatory response.
They found that almond skin extracts were effective against even this virus . But they found that almond skins that had been removed through blanching in boiling water,
which is common process to remove skins from almonds, had little effect on the immune system.
which are involved in fighting off viruses. They said it was likely that other nuts may also have this sort of activity.
if almond skins have this antiviral activity. oethe herpes simplex virus is a very good model of viral infection
so because the almonds had an impact on this virus, it is fair to assume that it will have an impact on other viruses.
Via Telegraph Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorati T
#Verizon iphone: Eat this AT&T! Projected Release Date: Summer of 2011 Why not throw another Verizon iphone rumor into the quickly-growing pile?
the Willaman Professor of Biology and director of life sciences at Penn State university. oegraham and colleagues show beautifully the tradeoffs in the immune system as a balance that maximizes reproductive output.
an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton who also is on the faculty of the University of Edinburgh,
the researchers also found. oethis genetic basis means that natural selection has the chance to shape the trait,
this means oeselection seems actually to be maintaining this genetic variation in immunity. Such a balance could help explain why vaccines seem to protect some people better than others
The technique used to study immunology in the wild was vital to the importance of the study, according to Lynn Martin, an assistant professor in the department of integrative biology at the University of South Florida. oefor so long,
the field of immunology has been based on studies of domesticated animals in clean lab environments where animals are given all the food they want,
according to Andrew Read, a professor of biology and entomology, also at Penn State, because it shows that immunity can both increase
said Read, an expert in the evolutionary genetics of infectious disease. In addition to Graham, authors on the paper include Adam Hayward, Kathryn Watt, Jill Pilkington, Josephine Pemberton and Daniel Nussey, all of the University of Edinburgh.
and the U k. Biotechnology and Biological sciences Research Council. retreived at Sciencedaily. com Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorati S
sparkling flavored waters made with no additives; and plain water spruced up with cucumber, orange, lemon or lime slices.
#Mystery of the Honeybees Solved Members of a joint United states army-University of Montana research team that located a virus that is possibly collapsing honeybee colonies.
A fungus tag-teaming with a virus have interacted apparently to cause the problem, according to a paper by Army scientists in Maryland and bee experts in Montana in the online science journal PLOS One.
both the virus and the fungus proliferate in cool, damp weather, and both do their dirty work in the bee gut,
Dr. Bromenshenks team at the University of Montana and Montana State university in Bozeman, working with the Armys Edgewood Chemical Biological Center northeast of Baltimore, said in their jointly written paper that the virus-fungus
Dr. Bromenshenk said of the virus-fungus combo nor is it clear, he added, whether one malady weakens the bees enough to be finished off by the second,
And several RNA-based viruses had been detected as well. But the Army/Montana team using a new software system developed by the military for analyzing proteins,
uncovered a new DNA-based virus, and established a linkage to the fungus, called N. ceranae. oeour mission is to have detection capability to protect the people in the field from anything biological,
said Charles H. Wick, a microbiologist at Edgewood. Bees, Dr. Wick said, proved to be a perfect opportunity to see what the Armys analytic software tool could do brought. oewe it to bear on this bee question,
which is how we field-tested it, he said. The Army software system an advance itself in the growing field of protein research
or proteomics is designed to test and identify biological agents in circumstances where commanders might have no idea
what sort of threat they face. The system searches out the unique proteins in a sample, then identifies a virus
or other microscopic life form based on the proteins it is known to contain. The power of that idea in military or bee defense is immense,
like the virus and fungus involved in bee deaths, are quite common, and that one answer in protecting bee colonies might be to focus on the fungus controllable with antifungal agents especially
when the virus is detected. Still unsolved is what makes the bees fly off into the wild yonder at the point of death.
and viruses but still taste and look like regular eggs. They are sold in most grocery stores and come with a red oep stamped on the carton or on the eggs themselves.
In coming to that conclusion, the scientists analyzed 31 chemical and biological soil properties soil DNA,
DNA analysis showed the organically managed soils to have more total and unique genes, as well as greater genetic diversity.
Organic soils also were superior in carbon sequestration, microbial biomass, enzyme activity, and micronutrients. Via Treehugger Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorati r
#New Bee Species Discovered in Canada Sweat bee Researchers Jason Gibbs who was working on a study of sweat bees discovered a new species while commuting from downtown Toronto to York University.
#Scientists Crack the Genetic Code of Wheat Wheat is the worlds oldest and most important crops.
British scientists have decoded the genetic sequence of wheat one of the worlds oldest and most important crops a development they hope could help breed better strains of the global food staple.
and researchers said Friday theyre posting its genetic code on the Internet in the hope that farmers can use it as a tool to improve their harvests.
The discovery could also prove handy to genetic engineers. University of Liverpool scientist Neil Hall said that the code would serve as oethe reference the starting point that new technology
the information could help farmers better identify genetic variations responsible for disease resistance, drought tolerance and yield.
Although the genetic sequence being published Friday remains a rough draft, and additional strains of wheat need to be analyzed for the work to be truly useful,
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the date the human genome was laid bare. Other crops have had their genetic codes unscrambled within the past few years rice in 2005, corn in 2009,
and soybeans earlier this year. The reason for the delay in analyzing wheats genetic code,
Hall said, was that the code is so massive far larger than corn or rice and five times the length of the one carried by humans.
One reason for the size is that strains such as the Chinese spring wheat analyzed by Halls team carry six copies of the same gene (most creatures carry two.
Although the code may yet see use by genetic engineers hoping to craft pesticide-resistant strains of wheat,
Once they know which genetic markers to look for Hall said, new forms of wheat could be rolled out far faster.
Evans warned against putting too much faith in genetics, saying that reforming the politics and economics of food distribution was easily as important. oewe have to be very careful about saying that science will feed the world,
In fact, the Roundup-resistant gene is present in 95-percent of U s.-grown sugar beet plants
Plants with this genetic mutation are immune to glyphosate-based herbicides such as Roundup. The Sierra Club, The Center for Food safety,
and the Organic Seed Alliance have been trying to stop the biotech beets since 2008. Andrew Kimbrell, the Center for Food safetys executive director, hailed Fridays decision as a major victory,
Declining Rural Biodiversity Unfortunately, though, the success of bees in the city also serves to further highlight their struggles in the countryside,
where declining rural biodiversity has made it hard out there for a pollen eater. oewe did an analysis of the honey we made here in Paris
#Massive Escape of Genetically Modified Crop Into the American Wild Canola A genetically modified (GM) crop has been found thriving in the wild for the first time in the United states. Transgenic canola is growing freely in parts of North dakota,
and control of GM CROPS in the United states. US farmers have increased dramatically their use of GM CROPS
Last year, nearly half the worlds transgenic crops were grown in US soil Brazil the worlds second heaviest user, grew just 16%.
%GM CROPS have broken free from cultivated land in several countries, including Canada, the United kingdom and Japan, but they have not previously been found in uncultivated land in the United states. oethe extent of the escape is unprecedented,
Sagers and her team found two varieties of transgenic canola in the wild one modified to be resistant to Monsantos Roundup herbicide (glyphosate),
Sagers says the previous discoveries in other countries of transgenic canola populations growing outside of cultivation were often in
or near fields used for commercial transgenic canola production. By contrast, her research team found feral populations of herbicide-resistant canola growing along roads, near petrol stations and grocery stores, often at large distances from areas of agricultural production.
Of these, 80%had at least one herbicide-resistant transgene (41%were resistant to Roundup and 40%resistant to Liberty.
They also found two plants that contained both transgenes. Feral generations Sagers says the discovery of plants that are resistant to both herbicides shows that oethese feral populations of canola have been part of the landscape for several generations.
and proliferation of feral transgenic crops are ineffective. Current tracking and monitoring of GM organisms are insufficient
Sagers blames the delay in discovering escaped populations of transgenic plants in the United states largely on the lack of funding for research in this area.
Alison Snow, an ecologist at Ohio State university in Columbus, says it is not surprising that escaped transgenic plants have now been found in the United states,
But if transgenic crops escape and breed with related weed species, then that advantage could be eroded,
But a new report in the August 10th issue of Current Biology, shows that plant-dwelling pea aphids have designed a strategy to help them avoid that dismal fate:
But by implanting genetic material from an eellike species called ocean pout that grows all year round,
At the moment only GM CROPS like corn or soy are available for human consumption. Also the Daily telegraph revealed recently that most animal products available in supermarkets
policy director at the Soil Association, said the new technology is not worth the risk. oeonce you have bombarded an animal with other genes,
It will be a huge victory for the biotechnology industry if a GM animal becomes available for human consumption.
and Agricultural waste Super-yeast is a significant step toward developing second generation biofuels. A new type of bakers yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has been developed
Researchers writing in Biomed Centrals open access journal Biotechnology for Biofuels describe the creation of the new S. cerevisiae strain, TMB3130,
and final biomass concentration on sugar media composed of two pentoses, xylose and arabinose. Marie Gorwa-Grauslund, from Lund University
By inserting the required genes from other fungi and bacteria it is possible to make a relatively inefficient transgenic strain that can ferment pentose sugars.
Gorwa-Grauslund and her colleagues took one of these recombinant strains, TMB3061, and grew it on a mixture of xylose
oethere is considerable interest in developing second-generation biofuels to refine and upgrade non-food material, especially dedicated energy crops and agricultural residues such as straw, bagasse, stover and corn hulls.
learning subjects like French, mathematics, biology and physics. Jean-Marc Guillou, 64, the white man who came to Bamako to recruit young football talents,
#Study of Biofuel Use Shows Large Climate Benefit Ethanol and biogas use in Sweden shows a large climate benefit,
The study from Lund University s Faculty of engineering punctures the controversial argument against biofuels made from food crops, such as ethanol from grain,
or biodiesel from rapeseed. oeit is pretty irrelevant to rank various sustainable biofuels, there is room for all fuels,
The challenge today is to increase the amount of sustainable biofuels in themselves PÃ¥L BÃ rjesson, researcher in environmental and energy systems at the engineering faculty, in a statement.
The Lund study for the first time looks at the scope of Swedish biofuel use and has analyzed its environmental impact, both in relation to each other and as alternatives to fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel.
Arguments such as that the biofuels use up more resources during food production, and force land reclamation for food in other countries instead,
there is nothing to suggest that biofuels produced from Swedish-grown crops under present circumstances would lead to indirect soil effects,
several national economists insist that it may take 50 years for biofuels to repay their carbon footprint strictly due to the indirect soil impact.
Biogas extracted from manure was considered the best alternative in tests which covered biogas ethanol and biodiesel in different variants.
Biogas performed 140 percent better than gasoline and diesel and had a net carbon benefit.
However, even the weakest-performing alternative still attained twice the EU standard that biofuels reduce greenhouse gases by at least 35 percent compared with fossil fuels.
Each type of biofuel has different restrictions in production volumes, he added. In order to avoid adverse effects,
it is important to know what those limits are. oein the future, we could have adverse indirect effects on the land
if we sharply increase biofuel production from food crops very quickly, said BÃ rjesson. oethere is a limit,
Biogas from sugar beets, grass, maize, including residue in the form of household waste, industrial waste and manure, biodiesel from rapeseed, ethanol from wheat and sugar beets,
A co-production of biogas and ethanol from wheat was analyzed also. In addition to greenhouse gas emissions, environmental impacts such as eutrophication, acidification,
as well as emissions from the use of biofuels in light and heavy vehicles. Direct and indirect soil effects were studied.
biofuels made from Swedish raw materials and sugar-cane ethanol imports account for about five percent of total fuel use in Sweden.
was snapped by wildlife biologist Jonathan Mays in Maine, U s. He was photographing the striking caterpillars
#Scientists Incorporate Spiders Silk-Spinning Genes Into Goats Goats that produce spider silk protein in their milk could enable researchers to collect large quantities of the silk.
Researchers from the University of Wyoming have developed a way to incorporate spiders silk-spinning genes into goats,
To solve this problem, Randy Lewis, a professor of molecular biology at the University of Wyoming,
and other researchers decided to put the spiders dragline silk gene into goats in such a way that the goats would only make the protein in their milk.
Like any other genetic factor, only a certain percentage of the goats end up with the gene.
three have tested positive for having the silk protein gene. When these transgenic goats have kids
and start lactating, the researchers will collect the milk and purify the spider silk protein into oemuch, much higher quantities,
or behavior compared to goats without the gene, the researchers said. In the future, the scientists plan to incorporate the silk genes into alfalfa plants,
which they say could produce even larger quantities of silk. They explain that not only is alfalfa widely distributed
climate change and the advent of genetically modified crops for what is now known as colony collapse disorder.
Honeybee behaviour and biology has been affected by electrosmog since these insects have magnetite in their bodies
Scientists are still working to determine the exact cause of CCD theories range from parasites to viruses
The superweeds could temper American agricultures enthusiasm for some genetically modified crops. Soybeans corn and cotton that are engineered to survive spraying with Roundup have become standard in American fields.
belies the claims made by the biotechnology industry that its crops would be better for the environment. oethe biotech industry is taking us into a more pesticide-dependent agriculture when theyve always promised,
#Monsanto Takes Fight To Control Your Food To Supreme court The battle over the non-regulated status of genetically modified crops has reached the US Supreme court. Monsanto has appealed,
Background and implications of the case, after the jump In 2004 Monsanto and their partner Forage Genetics petitioned the USDA for the go-ahead to commercially release Roundup Ready alfalfa.
and resolved in particular concerning biological contamination and weed resistance development. Agriculture Law reports that the district court agreed with the plaintiffs that the environmental assessment undertaken by the USDA was inadequate
mostly in swamps and mountains, says wildlife biologist Scott Vance of the National Wild Turkey Federation.
a government agency that protects and conserves the countrys biodiversity, and struggled to find enough resources to cope with last years fires. oewhat is most frustrating is that
Biotech on the Rampage! Robert Kremer, a U s. government microbiologist who studies Midwestern farm soil,
has spent two decades analyzing the rich dirt that yields billions of bushels of food each year
who expressed alarm that regulators were not paying enough attention to the potential risks from biotechnology on the farm,
Concerns range from worries about how nontraditional genetic traits in crops could affect human and animal health to the spread of herbicide-resistant weeds.
Biotech crop supporters say there is a wealth of evidence that the crops on the market are safe,
many experts say the U s. government does more to promote global acceptance of biotech crops than to protect the public from possible harmful consequences. oewe dont have a robust enough regulatory system to be able to give us a definitive answer about
a scientist who served on a FDA biotech advisory subcommittee from 2002 to 2005. oethe U s. response (to questions about biotech crop safety) has been an extremely patronizing one.
and oxygen levels in the air to genetic manipulation according to approved safety guidelines. The regulatory system for insuring ultra-safe food supplies will be monitored constantly through automated data feeds at each step of the supply chain.
such as solar thermal power, modern biomass production and the Seawater Greenhouse. The resulting synergies enable restorative growth in the worlds most arid regions.
Can you imagine producing a sustainable biofuel that doesnt impact on world food supplies? Charlie Paton, Michael Pawlyn and Bill Watts can
which can be turned into biofuel for transportation and other needs. Commercial Synergies The Sahara Forest Project team tell us that the innovative interaction between the two technologies helps each to function more efficiently:
Pyrolysis takes plants, animal manure or any other kind of organic biomass, traps it in an oxygen-free environment and heats it to around 550°C. At the end, youre left with biochar,
and enough combustible gas to fire up the next batch of biomass. Advocates have hoped long that biocharpread over farm fieldsould improve soil quality and crop yields,
or even carbon negative, biofuel production. Of course, thats in a test tube. oetheres a whole suite of caveats that come along with those estimates
head of the Biological Technology Laboratory at Inner Mongolia University. oewe did not announce the birth of the cows until now
because it has taken time to check the cows effective genetic traces, Li said He said it takes 14-15 months for a cow to become sexually mature,
added Yale biologist Jeremy Beaulieu. oebut we actually find that they might be Triassic in origin,
the researchers used genetic comparisons of living plants and clues from fossils to reconstruct the relationships among more than 150 terrestrial plant species
while 10 percent of the frogs exposed to atrazine were feminized completely their genes said they should be male,
In both frogs and humans, sex is genetic. In people, females have two X (sex chromosomes,
while males have one X and one Y. For frogs, the sex chromosomes are labeled as Z
or W and females have dissimilar chromosomes (ZW), while males have matching ones (ZZ). Frogs exposed to atrazine also had reduced testosterone levels, decreased fertility,
and showed less mating behavior. LINK Photo credit: Tyrone B. Hayes, the University of California, Berkeley Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorati T
says Russell Poldrack, professor of psychology and neurobiology at the University of Texas, Austin, and an authority on multitasking.
#Aphids Genome Reflects Its Reproductive, Symbiotic Lifestyle Colony of young aphids. Aphids could be considered the oemosquitoes of the plant world,
Aphids with the same genotype can be winged wingless or. In different seasons, they develop as asexual females who produce offspring with identical genes through parthenogenesis.
When temperatures drop, they can give birth to males who then fertilize the eggs laid by females.
The genome of the pea aphid sequenced by the International Aphid Genomics Consortium, reflects these unusual characteristics
and more, said Dr. Stephen Richards, assistant professor in the Baylor College of Medicine Human genome Sequencing Center
and leader of the sequencing effort. The consortium released the 464 megabyte draft genome of the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) in the current issue of PLOS Biology. oebecause this is a different kind of insect not a fruit fly, not a beetle,
not a hymenoptera (butterfly and moth) we are seeing things that people have not seen in other projects,
Dr. David Stern, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton university said that even though he pushed hard to get the aphid genome sequenced,
oeit turned out to be far more interesting than I was expecting. He agreed with Richards that the aphid presents a special case. oelook at this little insect,
All its genes have evolved to allow it to exploit its feeding relationship, said Stern. oewe found a lot of genes 35,000 compared to 15,000 to 20,
000 in other insects and 25,000 in humans, said Richards, a corresponding author of the paper. oethus it seems that pea aphids (one among the 4,
500 other aphid species on the planet) have duplicated some of their genes, said Dr. Denis Tagu,
It means that the pea aphid probably did a kind of backup of its genetic material.
and that the second set can allow modifications by mutations. oemost of the mutations are probably neutral or negative for the genes, with no effect on the biology of the organism.
But some rare mutations might produce new functions for some of the genes that might help, in this case,
the pea aphid adapt to its environment. oeanother possibility is that maybe aphids require extra copies of genes
This genome has generated far more exciting questions than we could have anticipated. There is more mystery in this genome than anyone would have expected
he said. more via science news Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorati b
#Two months after Paypal opened its platform, 15,000 developers had used it to create new payment services The banks
The researchers found that the burning of household biofuels primarily wood and animal dung for home heating
And biomass burning which occurs mainly as a result of tropical forest fires, deforestation, savannah and shrub fires emits large amounts of organic carbon particles that block solar radiation.
transportation, household biofuels and animal husbandry will have the greatest warming impact on the climate, while the shipping, biomass burning,
and industrial sectors will have a cooling impact. By 2100 (right), the model finds that the power and industrial sector will become strongly warming as carbon dioxide accumulates.
biomass burning, and industrial sectors of the economy promote aerosol-cloud interactions that exert a powerful cooling effect,
while on-road transportation and household biofuels exacerbate cloud-related warming. More research on the effects of aerosols is needed still,
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