The approval of oral immunotherapy tablets is advancement in the right direction said allergist Michael Foggs MD president of the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI.
The above story is provided based on materials by American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI.
's School of Biological and Chemical sciences. The researchers analysed the methane concentration in over 30 rivers in Southern England including the River Lambourn in Berkshire.
and high biological production and support diverse biological communities as well as human populations with one of the highest per capita rates of fish consumption said Castello.
Amazonian grasses sometimes called macrophytes convert atmospheric carbon to plant biomass which is processed then by aquatic microorganisms upon decomposition.
because they are vulnerable to biodiversity loss and which ecosystems are more resilient to widespread tree removal.
The results were published in the journal Global Change Biology. We were astonished that biodiversity changes were affected so strongly by soil texture
and that it was such an overriding factor said Thomas Crowther a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Forestry
The researchers also examined how the effects of deforestation on microbial biodiversity change over time. Contrary to their expectations they found no correlation even over the course of 200 years.
This has the potential to inform land management practices concerned with the conservation of biodiversity and the sequestration of carbon in the soil.
#Genes identified that could lead to tough, disease-resistant varieties of riceas Earth's human population marches toward 9 billion the need for hardy new varieties of grain crops has never been greater.
Now researchers at Michigan Technological University have identified a set of genes that could be key to the development of the next generation of super rice.
A meta-data analysis by biologist Ramakrishna Wusirika and Phd student Rafi Shaik has uncovered more than 1000 genes in rice that appear to play key roles in managing its response to two different kinds
Traditionally scientists have believed that different sets of genes regulated plants'responses to biotic and abiotic stress.
However Wusirika and Shaik discovered that 1377 of the approximately 3800 genes involved in rice's stress response played a role in both types stress.
These are the genes we think are involved in the cross talk between biotic and abiotic stesses said Wusirika.
About 70 percent of those master genes are co-expressive--they turn on under both kinds of stress.
The scientists looked at the genes'response to five abiotic stresses--drought heavy metal contamination salt cold and nutrient deprivation--and five biotic stresses--bacteria fungus insect predation weed
A total of 196 genes showed a wide range of expressions to these stresses. The top genes are likely candidates for developing a rice variety with broad stress-range tolerance Wusirika said.
Next they would like to test their findings. We want to do experimental analysis to see if five or 10 of the genes work as predicted he said.
Their study is described in the paper Machine learning Approaches Distinguish Multiple Stress Conditions using Stress-Resposive Genes
and Identify Candidate Genes for Broad Resistance in Rice published in the January edition of Plant Physiology.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Michigan Technological University. The original article was written by Marcia Goodrich.
Despite an established forest conservation theory holding that tree harvesting should be minimized strictly to prevent the loss of biodiversity
But conversion to agriculture is a permanent loss of all forest biodiversity. The manufacture of steel concrete and brick accounts for about 16 percent of global fossil fuel consumption.
and densities in non-reserved forests--in addition to keeping some global forests in reserves--would help preserve biodiversity in ecosystems worldwide Oliver said.
and drilling medical therapy and diagnosis biopharmaceuticals air conditioning fuel cells power transmission systems solar cells micro-and nanoelectronic mechanical systems and cooling systems for everything from engines to nuclear reactors.
Now a team of University of Missouri researchers has completed the genetic history of 134 cattle breeds from around the world.
Lead researcher Jared Decker an assistant professor of animal science in the MU College of Agriculture Food and Natural resources says the genetics of these African cattle breeds are similar to those of cattle first domesticated
and changed their genetic makeup enough to confuse geneticists. In their study published in PLOS Genetics Decker
and a team of international researchers compared the similarities and differences among the genetics of many different cattle breeds to determine how the breeds are related.
Their research found mixing of native cattle in Indonesia with imports from India European and African cattle in Italy and Spain and European and Asian cattle in Korea and Japan.
Decker says these discoveries help advance genetics and uncover important information about human history. In many ways the history of cattle genetics mirrors human history Decker said.
In the case of African cattle anthropologists and geneticists used to suspect that domesticated African cattle were native to the continent
when in fact they were brought by migrating peoples thousands of years ago. By better understanding the history of the animals we domesticate we can better understand ourselves.
He says that understanding the genetic history of cattle breeds is important when looking for solutions to agricultural issues.
Now that we have this more complete genetic history of cattle worldwide we can better understand the diversity of the species Decker said.
but we do not have a good biological reason for this lack of association Miedema said adding that the study had less power to evaluate men (62.7 percent were female vs. 37.3 percent male).
An international research group led by Arizona State university professor Qiang Shawn Chen has developed a new generation of potentially safer and more cost-effective therapeutics against West Nile virus and other pathogens.
and protect mice against a lethal dose challenge of West Nile virus--even as late as 4 days after the initial infection.
The overarching goal of our research is to create an innovative yet sustainable and accessible low cost solution to combat the global threat of West Nile virus said Chen a researcher at Arizona State university's Biodesign Institute and professor in the Department
West Nile virus is spread by infected mosquitoes and targets the central nervous system. It can be a serious life-altering
or drug treatment against West Nile virus which has been widely spread across the U s. Canada Latin america and the Caribbean.
Secondly we've wanted to improve the delivery of the therapeutic into the brain to combat West Nile virus at the place where it does the greatest harm.
MABS target proteins found on the surface of West Nile virus . However this antibody was not to be able to accumulate at high levels in the brain.
Chen wanted to use this strategy to produce a more effective way to combat West Nile virus. In the new study they improved upon their phu-E16 design making half a dozen new variants that could for the first time lead to the development of MABS that effectively target the brain
and neutralize West Nile virus. Mice were infected with a lethal dose of West Nile virus and increasing amounts of a MAB therapeutic were delivered as a single dose the same day of infection.
In this case the therapeutic was administered 4 days after West Nile virus infection when the virus has already spread to the brain.
In each case they protected up to 90 percent of the mice from lethal infection. This is the first instance of such an effect
and makes possible neutralizing West Nile virus even after infection by a tetravalent MAB. The tetravalent MABS design will offer the researchers greater flexibility toward selection of disease tissue and antigen targets.
Now a $60 billion market for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors growth of the market has been hampered by high development costs of producing these in animal cell systems
#Students on field course bag new spider speciesas a spin-off (pun intended) of their Tropical Biodiversity course in Malaysian Borneo a team of biology students discover a new spider species
when she signed up for her field course in Tropical Biodiversity says Elisa Panjang a Malaysian master's student from Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
She is one of twenty students following the course organised by Naturalis Biodiversity Center in The netherlands and held in the Danau Girang Field Centre in Sabah Malaysian Borneo.
which via the station's satellite link was submitted to the Biodiversity Data Journal a leading online journal for quick dissemination of new biodiversity data.
which in turn provides valuable input for responsible management of the world's biosphere. One of the most important achievements of this paper is that all data associated with this species have been harvested from the article
and industry shelter habitats for biodiversity and in very poor areas sources of livelihoods. Over the years however many watersheds throughout the world have suffered from intensive resource extraction and mismanagement.
Saze is analyzing genomes of these rice strains. He is also using plant incubators in his unit to shorten the vegetation period of the new rice.
Co-author Dr Alan Mcelligott from Queen Mary's School of Biological and Chemical sciences commented: Our results challenge the common misconception that goats aren't intelligent animals--they have the ability to learn complex tasks
which was published this month in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. Cancer cells were implanted under the skin of mice with an aggressive type of breast cancer cells the MDA-MB-435 and
what we saw was an inhibition of a marker gene in the lungs after a few weeks indicating an inhibition of metastasis
and modulating the gene expression of metalloproteinases. In general peach fruit has chemical compounds that are responsible for killing cancer cells
#Instrument built to study effects of genes, environment on plant traitslet's say plant scientists want to develop new lines of corn that will better tolerate long stretches of hot dry weather.
We are building resources to benefit plant biology researchers and hopefully the new instrumentation will create a paradigm shift in the plant phenomics area by placing powerful data analysis capability in the hands of researchers.
The images record traits such as leaf color root development and shoot size giving researchers clues to the relationship between a plant's genotype the growing conditions and the observable traits of its phenotype.
One day he hopes to have a commercial instrument that can be used by biological researchers around the world.
#Bioenergy from sustainable forestry does not meet EU emission reduction criteriathe levels of forest residue bioenergy considered to be sustainable from a forestry perspective may provide considerable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in European countries.
The EU is planning to extend its specific sustainability criteria based on greenhouse gas emissions for biofuels to renewable energy produced from solid biomass.
A new study estimated emission reductions achievable in European countries by producing bioenergy from forest harvest residues in amounts that have been considered to be sustainable from a forestry perspective earlier.
According to the study forest residue bioenergy must be used for 60 to 80 years before the emission savings reach the required 60%level in most European countries.
and reduce the interest in developing genuine low-emission climate-friendly practices of bioenergy production from forest residues.
improving food safetya new biological treatment could help dairy cattle stave off uterine diseases and eventually may help improve food safety for humans a University of Florida study shows.
Experts from the University of Veterinary medicine Vienna analysed the genomes of the outbreak strains and were able to show that the strains displayed distinct properties
Genetics reveal the pathwayin their current study the scientists sequenced and analysed the genomes of both strains
and assessed their virulence the ability to infect cells. The samples were taken from listeriosis patients from the outbreak.
It contained additional four virulence genes making it extremely invasive and ultimately caused 14 cases resulting in 5 deaths.
Austria-wide the Institute for Milk Hygiene Milk Technology and Food Science at the University of Veterinary medicine Vienna offers effective Listeria monitoring and a range of molecular and microbiological examination methods for the food industry.
Not only do they store carbon they support biodiversity regulate water flows and reduce soil erosion. Nearly 1. 6 billion people worldwide depend on forests as a source of food medicines timber and fuel.
Biology QUT researchers found UV exposure significantly depleted folate levels. Professor Michael Kimlin and Dr David Borradale from QUT's Aussun Research Lab said the study of 45 young healthy women in Brisbane aged 18 to 47 showed high rates
The paper CYP6 P450 enzymes and ACE-1 duplication produce extreme and multiple insecticide resistance in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae published in PLOS Genetics today highlights the combination of stringently-replicated whole genome transcription
profiling in vivo transgenic gene expression and in vitro metabolism assays to identify and validate genes from the P450 detoxification enzyme superfamily
which are expressed highly in the adult females from the area. The problem was discovered in 2011 when the Anopheles gambiae larvae sampled from the rice paddies of Tiassalã were raised to adults
The new work reveals that two members of the P450 gene superfamily in particular are expressed highly in resistant Tiassalã mosquitoes:
When these genes were transplanted into Drosophila resistance to pyrethroids and carbamates was generated in otherwise susceptible fly strains..
These genes are familiar candidates to LSTM researchers who have documented previously their links with pyrethroid and DDT resistance.
This new research shows how specific P450 genes can engender resistance across insecticides with entirely different modes of action:
whereas carbamates and organophosphates target the neurotransmitter Acetylcholinesterase encoded by the gene ACE-1. This is where Tiassalã mosquitoes yielded another surprise contributing to their exceptionally high carbamate resistance.
A well-known single nucleotide resistance mutation at the ACE-1 gene is near ubiquitous in the population
but because almost every female is a heterozygote (possesses a resistant and susceptible allele) it did not seem this could cause any variation in resistance.
However from application of a newly-developed qpcr diagnostic it was found that the ACE-1 gene was duplicated in some individuals with those resistant to carbamate much more likely to have duplicated additional copies of the resistant ACE-1 allele.
what's for breakfast--at least for the red widow spider of Florida's scrub habitat according to a study by University of Missouri biologist James Carrel.
and Southeastern Florida is one of the oldest in North america said Carrel Curators Professor Emeritus in the MU Division of Biological sciences.
Since 1987 Carrel has been monitoring populations of this spider at the Archbold Biological Station which protects a 5193-acre Florida scrub preserve near Lake Placid Only twice in those 23 years--in March 1989
which often are larger and stronger than the spiders themselves fly just above the tops of scrub vegetation said Mark Deyrup senior research biologist for the Archbold Biological Station who co-authored the study.
Amy Groesbeck an SFU alumna SFU professors Anne Salomon an ecologist and Dana Lepofsky an archaeologist and Kirsten Rowell a University of Washington biologist are the authors.
Our findings imply that management of overabundant grazing animals would be beneficial for conservation of plant biodiversity says Horvitz who is also a founding member of UM's Institute of Theoretical and Mathematical Ecology.
The persistence of garlic mustard greatly reduces forest biodiversity. To study the effect of rampant deer on trillium
This demonstrates that the high population growth rate of the invader is caused by the high abundance of deer says Susan Kalisz professor of evolutionary ecology in the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Biological sciences and principal investigator of the study.
For the regeneration of these degraded areas seed dispersal of forest trees plays a crucial role
A study published today in the Journal of Ecology by a team from the LOEWE Biodiversity
Ants promote the regeneration of these forests by dispersing seeds to safe sites for tree establishment.
--which confirms the importance of this ecosystem function for forest regeneration. The study has been carried out in two 3000 ha islands of natural mountain rain forest
and a doctoral student at the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (Bik-F) and the University of Halle-Wittenberg. 48 hours and again one month after establishing the depots the team searched for the seeds within a 2. 5
and enhance the regeneration of deforested areas says Silvia Gallegos. Due to the ecosystem service provided by ants in the degraded areas a faster and sustainable establishment of tree seedlings like Clusia may be expected.
and plant species and accelerate the regeneration of the mountain rain forest ecosystem. Schleuning concludes: Drought frequencies in the Andes are likely to increase in the future.
#Loblolly pine genome is sequenced largest ever: Seven times bigger than the human genomethe massive genome of the loblolly pine--around seven times bigger than the human genome--is the largest genome sequenced to date and the most complete conifer genome sequence ever published.
This achievement marks the first big test of a new analysis method that can speed up genome assembly by compressing the raw sequence data 100-fold.
The draft genome is described in the March 2014 issue of the journal Genetics and the journal Genome Biology.
Loblolly pine is the most commercially important tree species in the United states and the source of most American paper products.
The tree is also being developed as a feedstock for biofuel. The genome sequence will help scientists breed improved varieties
and understand the evolution and diversity of plants. But the enormous size of the pine's genome had been an obstacle to sequencing efforts until recently.
It's a huge genome. But the challenge isn't just collecting all the sequence data.
The problem is assembling that sequence into order said David Neale a professor of plant sciences at the University of California Davis who led the loblolly pine genome project
and is an author on the GENETICS and Genome Biology articles. Modern genome sequencing methods make it relatively easy to read the individual letters in DNA but only in short fragments.
In the case of the loblolly 16 billion separate fragments had to be fit back together--a computational puzzle called genome assembly.
We were able to assemble the human genome but it was close to the limit of our ability;
seven times bigger was said just too much Steven Salzberg professor of medicine and biostatistics at Johns hopkins university one of the directors of the loblolly genome assembly team who was also an author on the papers.
The scale of the problem can be compared to shredding thousands of copies of the same book
and then trying to read the story. You have this big pile of tiny pieces
This approach allowed the team to assemble a much more complete genome sequence than the draft assemblies of two other conifer species reported last year.
This will enable the loblolly to serve as a high-quality reference genome that considerably speeds along future conifer genome projects.
The loblolly genome data have also been freely available throughout the project with public releases starting back in June 2012.
The new sequence confirmed that the loblolly genome is so large because it is crammed full of invasive DNA elements that copied themselves around the genome.
Approximately 82%of the genome is made up of these and other repetitive fragments of sequence.
The genome also revealed the location of genes that may be involved in fighting off pathogens which will help scientists understand more about disease resistance in pines.
The megagenomes of conifers are a challenge to sequence. Thanks to the important innovations described in these articles the draft genome of the loblolly pine is not only the largest ever assembled its quality is impressive.
It paves the way for assembly of even larger genomes said Mark Johnston Editor-In-chief of the journal GENETICS.
Loblolly pine plays an important role in American forestry. Now that we've unlocked its genetic secrets loblolly pine will take on even greater importance as we look for new sources of biomass to drive our nation's bioeconomy
and ways to increase carbon sequestration and mitigate climate change said Sonny Ramaswamy director of USDA's National Institute of Food
The loblolly genome project was led by a team at the University of California Davis and the assembly stages were led by Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland.
The above story is provided based on materials by Genetics Society of America. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
and Texas. The Waterfootprint is part of the Agroclimate system developed by Clyde Fraisse a UF associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.
Waterfootprint developed primarily by Daniel Dourte a research associate in agricultural and biological engineering estimates water use in crop production across the U s. Waterfootprint looks at a farm in a specific year
and Oxana Uryasev a UF research associate in agricultural and biological engineering. The Waterfootprint tool can help not just growers
When there is more CO2 in the atmosphere the leaves of plants can capture more of it resulting in an overall increase in the biomass of the plant.
and other techniques a research team led by conservation biologists at the University of California Riverside has determined that bighorn sheep so named for their massive spiral horns became extinct on Tiburã n Island a large and mostly uninhabited island just
because conventional wisdom among wildlife biologists and the indigenous Seri people who long inhabited this coastal desert region was had that bighorn sheep not occupied Tiburã n Island before 1975
This determination was confirmed later by conservation geneticists at Oregon State university who used specialized techniques to extract
Is it a restoration or a biological invasion? The latter question also applies to most cases of rewilding and de-extinction efforts.
Julio Betancourt a USGS paleoecologist and co-author on the study thinks that in the future molecular caving the application of molecular genetics to cave sediments will become more than an afterthought to answer such questions in aridland paleoecology and conservation.
With extended biological baselines such as the knowledge that the Tiburã n bighorn sheep went extinct before it is possible to refine conservation targets he said.
and genetic data to understand bee distributions during past climate changes. In previous studies researchers have tracked male and female orchid bees
These past findings corroborated by genetic data in the current study reveal that males are more mobile than females.
The males are mediating genetic exchange among populations maintaining connectivity in spite of fragmentation of habitats said LÃ pez-Uribe.
and bee distributions LÃ pez-Uribe and colleagues assessed parameters of climate conditions that each of three bee species within the genus Eulaema could tolerate physiologically including temperature and precipitation variability.
Climate and ecological niche computer model simulations were matched closely by genetic data of the two less-tolerant orchid bee species. The genetic data included mitochondrial markers
Tim Mousseau a professor of biology and co-director of the Chernobyl and Fukushima Research Initiatives at the University of South carolina has done extensive research in the contaminated area surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear facility
They showed a smaller effect for small invertebrates such as termites that also contribute to decomposition of plant biomass.
and the plant biomass Mousseau says. That would end up moving radio-cesium and other contaminants via smoke into populated areas.
#True value of cover crops to farmers, environmentplanting cover crops in rotation between cash crops--widely agreed to be ecologically beneficial--is even more valuable than previously thought according to a team of agronomists entomologists agroecologists horticulturists and biogeochemists from Penn State's College
As society places increasing demands on agricultural land beyond food production to include ecosystem services we needed a new way to evaluate'success'in agriculture said Jason Kaye professor of biogeochemistry.
or even enhance biodiversity Dr Hanley said. In particular the presence of large densities and varieties of flowering plants supports a number of pollinating insects
Biochemical Pathways Hold Key to Resistancepale shriveled heads of grain spell trouble for wheat and barley farmers--they're the telltale signs of fusarium head blight.
At its peak the fungus destroyed the entire malting barley crop in the Red river and Ohio river Valleys according to molecular biologist Yang Yen an Agricultural Experiment Station researcher and professor at South dakota State university.
Using advanced genetic and molecular technologies Yen has begun tracing the biochemical pathways that make wheat susceptible or resistant to head blight.
Gene expression Yen has undertaken a molecular study of the disease investigating how the fungal infection impacts wheat gene expression.
By looking at how genes were expressed the molecular biologist narrowed the possibilities from thousands of genes to 608 then to 47 and eventually to three.
These genes are functional in both resistant and susceptible varieties. How they respond to regulations triggered by the fungal infection makes the difference he says.
That's why normal gene cloning didn't work. Resistance to the disease is controlled by the chemical pathways of two growth hormones jasmonate
Two of the three genes are involved directly in the chemical pathways Yen explains. How the third one is involved we still do not know
Through funding from USDA and the South dakota Wheat Commission he has identified biomarkers that will allow breeders to screen for this resistance.
In the resistant wheat the key resistance gene may delay this chain of reactions until the host tissue is too hard for the disease to develop Yen explains.
In the susceptible wheat the disease makes the plant drop this gene expression so the fungus can get established.
and how the fungus suppresses the gene expression. Only then can the researcher figure out how to prevent the disease from becoming an epidemic.
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