which are used for biofuels livestock feed and the basic ingredients in processed food. At the same time farm policies offer few incentives for farmers to grow fruits
In 1956 Warwick Kerr a honeybee geneticist with the University of SãO Paulo Brazil imported African bees (Apis mellifera scutellata) to study.
Rainfall over 55 inches distributed evenly throughout the year is almost a complete barrier to Africanized honey bee spread entomologist Josã D. Villa of the Honey Bee Breeding Genetics
#Kiwifruits'Freakish DNA History Exposed Fuzzy green-fleshed kiwifruit shares many genes with shiny red tomatoes.
Plus the kiwifruit is a genetic freak with duplicated DNA. A recent analysis of the funny fruit exposed its genetic secrets.
Approximately 27 million years ago and then again at 80 million years ago the kiwifruits entire DNA sequence duplicated.
Each time this happened the fruit ended up with two identical copies of the same genes.
Amazing Stories of Summer Fruits oethe duplication contributed to adding additional members of gene families that are involved in regulating important kiwifruit characteristics such as fruit Vitamin c flavonoid
Fei and his fellow geneticists analyzed the kiwi s entire DNA sequence or genome. They published their results in Nature Communications.
Among the 39040 genes found in the kiwifruit many were similar to distantly related species including potatoes and tomatoes from the order Solanes a biological classification one step up from oefamily.
The fact that they contain similar genes after millions of years of separate evolution suggests that those shared genetic sequences may be important to the basic functioning of the plants.
and the potential environmental risks of biotechnology holding a doctorate in molecular biology and a law degree.
and biotechnology all of which we must embrace all together now to feed the world. What gets under my skin is that the phrase is used so often by advocates of high-input American corn
Surprising Origins of Columbus'Cattle Found The first cows brought to The americas by explorer Christopher Columbus originated from two extinct wild beasts from India and Europe a new genetic analysis shows.
Because the breeds analyzed including the longhorn have been connected closely to humans the results could shed light on human migration over the past 10000 years said study co-author Emily Jane Mctavish an evolutionary biology doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Austin
and her colleagues analyzed the genetic lineage of three cattle descended from the New world cows:
what the female's ability is said Bob Montgomerie biologist at Queen's university in Kingston Ontario who was involved not in the research.
While the family's actions might look playful biologists said such contact could be deadly for a manatee calf.
Separating the two could have severe consequences for the calf FWC manatee biologist Thomas Reinert said in a statement.
University of Bristol biogeochemist Richard Evershed and his colleagues were curious about how these cuts were prepared.
However genetics research suggests placental lineages were actually far older hinting their diversification was linked to the breakup of the continents before the end of the Cretaceous period.
10 Coolest Genome sequences The molecular team gathered DNA sequences of living animals while the morphology team analyzed the anatomy of both living and extinct mammals.
because researchers currently cannot extract genetic material from fossils more than 30000 years old so morphological data was key
This is about 36 million years later than the prediction based on purely genetic data said researcher Marcelo Weksler at Brazil's National Museum at the Federal University of Rio de janeiro.
The discrepancy between these findings and past research that looked only at genes is the result of the way genetic studies assign a rate of change to genes through time O'Leary explained.
A weakness of that approach is that it involves many assumptions about rates of gene change through time.
Although it's not clear why the behemoths were getting bigger over evolutionary time their big size may have made them more vulnerable to extinction said study co-author Catalina Pimiento a biology doctoral candidate at the University of Florida and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
whether the shark's body size affected its evolutionary success. Body size affects nearly every aspect of an organism's biology
#MERS Virus Found in Camels Camels are carriers of the new Middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus according to a new study.
The researchers used genetic sequencing methods to identify a strain of the MERS virus in camels on a Qatar farm where two people caught the disease.
The virus found in the camels was very similar but not identical to the MERS virus seen in people.
The study provides definitive proof that camels can be infected with MERS-Cov the researchers said using the official name of the virus
. However the study cannot prove that people caught the virus from camels. It's possible that humans gave the virus to the camels
or that both humans and camels were infected by an unidentified third source the researchers said.
Previously the researchers found that camels had developed antibodies against the MERS virus. So far health officials have reported 163 human cases of MERS including 71 people who died.
All of these cases could be traced back to the Middle east region n
#Mesa verde: Cliff Dwellings of the Anasazi The Mesa verde archaeological region located in the American Southwest was the home of a pueblo people who during the 13th century A d. constructed entire villages in the sides of cliffs.
We don't know anything about their lives which is why we're trying to use biochemical analysis to study them said study leader Kristina Killgrove an anthropologist at the University of West Florida.
The dinosaurs in this genus are known best for their impressive tube-shaped head crests which may have been used for display
<a href=http://www. livescience. com/40671-hiv-baby-cure-virus-free. html target=blank>Baby'Cured'of HIV Still Infection-Free After 3 Years</a p
because it accounts for all the characteristics of fairy circles including the presence of tall grass species Florida State university biologist Walter Tschinkel who was involved not in the study told Livescience.
Earlier this year University of Hamburg biologist Norbert Juergens claimed to have found evidence for a termite theory of fairy circles.
Michael Cramer a biologist at the University of Cape town in South africa and lead researcher of the current study which was published recently in the journal PLOS ONE also thinks the termite theory falls short.
An international team of molecular biologists studied the historical spread of Phytophthora infestans a funguslike organism that devastated potato crops and led to the famine in Ireland.
n Burbano a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Germany said in a statement.
but by sequencing the genomes of preserved samples of the plant pathogen the researchers discovered that a different strain one that is new to science was the real culprit.
In fact the DNA quality was so good the researchers were able to sequence the entire genome of Phytophthora infestans and its host the potato within just a few weeks.
The decoded genomes of these historical samples were compared then with modern Phytophthora strains from Europe Africa and The americas.
When Europeans and Americans first came to Mexico in the 16th century the pathogen experienced increased genetic diversity
which suggests that breeding techniques may affect the genetic makeup of plant pathogens. Perhaps this strain became extinct
The new study marks the first time scientists have decoded the genome of a plant pathogen and its host from dried herbarium samples.
and then they created synthetic leaf traps or biomimetic plastic surfaces. Traditionally in Bulgaria Serbia and other southeast European countries households with infestations of bed bugs have thwarted the evasive little bloodsuckers by strewing kidney bean leaves on the floor at night.
Unfortunately these biomimetic surfaces don't do the trick quite yet--they snag the bugs but don't trap them.
The report published online Wednesday (April 24) in the New england Journal of Medicine describes an investigation of the 82 people who were infected with the virus from the beginning of the outbreak (in February and March) through April 17.
More investigation is needed not only to identify patients who may be sick with the virus but also to determine risk factors for becoming ill (some people may not get sick) the researchers said.
A ban on the sale of poultry in market stalls disinfection of markets or market closures may need to be considered to prevent the spread of the virus from animals to people the researchers said.
Aninvestigation of 82 people infected with the new bird flu virus shows most who fell ill had contact with birds or pigs.
The satellite called BIOMASS will use long range radar to pierce through clouds and collect data from forested regions inaccessible from the ground such as the boreal forests of Russia and the Amazon rain forest.
BIOMASS will be a hugely important instrument for global environmental science research in the coming years and its observations will be the basis of significant environmental policy in the areas of carbon cycling
and global warming Hank Shugart an environmental scientist at the University of Virginia and member of the BIOMASS advisory committee to the ESA said in a statement.
The BIOMASS satellite will cost roughly $525 million and is the seventh in ESA's fleet of Earth Explorer satellites
Both fossil and genetic evidence suggests that Solanaceae plants originated and diversified in South america. But until now only fossil seeds attributed to Solanaceae plants have been discovered in South america most of the family's early fossil history comes from Europe.
Scientists sequenced the tomato genome in May 2012. The tomato family molecular clock based on the genetic data and fossil evidence suggests the tomato genome expanded abruptly about 60 million years ago.
A molecular clock estimates when species diverged in the past. Now thanks to the tomatillo find the Solanaceae molecular clock is too young Wilf said.
The females were primarily looking at the lower portion of the males'display said study author Jessica Yorzinski an evolutionary biologist at Purdue University in Lafayette Ind.
The detailed findings of the new study were published online today (July 24) in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
whether genes environment or a combination of these factors are behind the disorder. OCPD or obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Indeed Jobs refused all contact with his biological father who tried in vain to reconnect with his famous son.
As Wisdom rewrites the record books she provides new insights into the remarkable biology of seabirds said Bruce Peterjohn head of the bird banding program at the U s. Geological Survey in the statement.
and even as we speak to identify all of these additives with a level of sophistication we don't think has ever been seen before Koh said.
(when placed in the right spots at the right time) have shown both biodiversity and abundance rebounds for over-fished regions
or as my marine biologist friend says fish breed like rabbits. The Mozambique no-take zones are managed by the community fisheries associations
and the long-term biological and social outcomes will be an ongoing story. But for now the science-driven work with farming
and fishing communities in one of the poorest regions in the world is showing positive biological and social impacts.
#One Source of Bird flu Virus Found Poultry markets in Shanghai are one likely place where people are contracting the new bird flu virus a new study from China suggests.
Twenty samples tested positive for the H7n9 virus all from poultry markets in Shanghai. Ten of the positive samples were from chickens three from pigeons and seven from the surrounding environment.
The H7n9 viruses in the samples were very genetically similar to the viruses that have sickened people in China suggesting that poultry markets are a source of infections the researchers said.
However the new study does not suggest that the new H7n9 bird flu virus originated in Shanghai poultry markets
New flu viruses can arise when gene segments from different flu strains mix and match.
The new study and others suggest that H7n9 had three genetic parents that combined to make the new virus Pavia said.
All three of the parent viruses are thought to have infected birds he said. Poultry markets may provide a sort of breeding ground for such reassortment to happen.
It provides a rather unnatural environment where a lot of these different bird species that may have different flu viruses get together
and perhaps share viruses Webby said. Yanzhong Huang director of the Center for Global Health Studies at Seton Hall University in South Orange N. J. said that it's still not certain that the new virus originated in poultry.
For instance pigeons have also been found to be infected with the virus Huang said. To control the outbreak Chinese health officials need a way to eliminate the infected bird population
and limit human exposure to the virus Pavia said. Currently the virus does not appear to make birds ill.
A diagnostic test for H7n9 would allow health officials to know where people are getting sick with the virus Pavia said.
Health officials will continue to remain vigilant and track the spread of the virus he said.
In new study is published in the April issue of the journal Chinese Science Bulletin. Pass it on:
A poultry market Shanghai may be one source of H7n9 bird flu infections. This story was provided by Myhealthnewsdaily a sister site to Livescience.
Follow Rachael Rettner@Rachaelrettner. Follow Myhealthnewsdaily@Myhealth mhnd Facebook & Google+l
#One World trade center: A Look at the World's Tallest Things In a hotly anticipated decision a blue-ribbon panel of experts Tuesday (Nov 12) declared That one World trade center in New york city is the tallest building in the United states. The Height Committee of the Council on Tall Buildings
Experts say there's still not enough evidence to recommend that people eat organic foods solely for their nutritional content said Gene Lester a plant physiologist for the Agricultural research service of the U s. Department of agriculture in Maryland who was involved not in the new study.
Future frontiers of agricultural expansion will most likely be in the tropics as people clear high-biodiversity tropical forests to raise cattle grow soy
Genetic conditions that affect the breakdown of dietary nutrients can also cause blue urine. Even blue food dyes sometimes passes into pee.
A genetic condition called porphyria may also trigger deep purple pee. Email Becky Oskin or follow her@beckyoskin. Follow us@livescience Facebookâ & Google+.
First Case Detailed in New Report The case of a father and daughter in China who both became infected with H7n9 bird flu provides the strongest evidence yet that the virus can transmit from person to person experts say.
See 6 Things You Should Know About the New Bird flu Genetic testing revealed that the patients were infected with nearly identical strains of H7n9.
and then he passed the virus directly to his daughter according to the researchers at thejiangsu Province Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
Limited human transmission of bird flu viruses has been seen in the past and is not surprising Rudge and Coke said.
But so far the virus does not appear to spread efficiently there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission with H7n9 Rudge
The virus does not cause symptoms in birds so it can spread undetected within poultry populations Rudge
That's when biologists headed out with flashlights to spot the frog's eyes and scooped up the silver-dollar-size suitors.
We don't really understand the biology of these compounds and how they interact with the amphibians Smalling said.
In a 2013 study in the journal Food Microbiology researchers speculated on the ability to harvest bacteria from<a href=http://www. livescience. com/4141-moms-prefer-smell-baby-poop. html>infant poop
The findings appear today (Jan 17) in the journal Current Biology. The amazing thing is this change in strategy for the different eggs Lovell said.
In 2006 genetic analyses revealed it to be an entirely new primate genus the first new African monkey species since 1984.
The researchers found a gene in hornworm caterpillars that allows them to puff nicotine out through their spiracles (tiny holes in their sides) from the tobacco they consume as a warning to their would-be predators.
But said Baldwin it's also an example of the importance of studying animals in a natural habitat rather than just in the lab. We never would have discovered the function of this gene
By feeding hornworm caterpillars tobacco plants with and without nicotine researchers identified the gene that was activated
The scientists then placed so-called interference RNA matching that gene in tobacco plants grown in the lab. The interference RNA targeted that gene preventing the caterpillars from using their defense.
When caterpillars consumed the gene-altered tobacco they lost their ability to produce the tobacco halitosis
 This RNA-interference technique might someday be used in genetically modified crops produced with specific nutritional goals in mind as interference RNA targets a specific gene.
what are some of the physiological mechanisms that allow the old trees to stay alive Richard Thomas a biology researcher at the University of West virginia told Livescience.
Biologists briefly brought the extinct Pyrenean ibex back to life in 2003 by creating a clone from a frozen tissue sample harvested before the goat's entire population vanished in 2000.
But DNA from extinct species doesn't need to be preserved in Arctic conditions to be useful to scientists researchers have been able to start putting together the genomes of extinct species from museum specimens that have been sitting on shelves for a century.
For instance a team that includes Harvard genetics expert George Church is trying to bring back the passenger pigeon a bird that once filled eastern North america's skies.
They have been able to piece together roughly 1 billion letters (Each of four nucleotides that make up DNA has a letter designation) in the bird's genome based on DNA from a 100-year-old taxidermied museum specimen.
They hope to incorporate those genes responsible for certain traits into the genome of a common rock pigeon to bring back the passenger pigeon
Its genetic material was inserted into mouse embryos which proved functional in live mice. Photos: The Creatures of Cryptozoology Should we?
Other species disappeared before scientists had a chance to study their remarkable biological abilities like the gastric brooding frog which vanished from Australia in the mid-1980s likely due to timber harvesting and the chytrid fungus.
For researchers in the lab of Edward Theriot at The University of Texas at Austin diatoms (and their snot) are rich objects of biological research.
Their genome is notoriously difficult to analyze. Morphological studies based on the shape of a species'shell or other features often contradicted the results of molecular testing.
and powerful supercomputers are helping researchers better understand the biology evolution and dispersion of the diatom.
and chloroplast genes of more than 200 diatoms and Bolidomonas (a closely related genus). They wanted to test the prevailing understanding of where certain diatoms fall on the evolutionary tree
After generating massive amounts of data using next-generation gene sequencers they used the Ranger supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center to align organize
For some of the lab's more focused studies like the evolution of the rock snot's mucus-producing capability the researchers sequenced the transcriptomes (all of the MESSENGER RNA molecules expressed from an organism's genes) of half a dozen species to identify the key genes
They believe that closely related diatoms should share similar transcriptomes except for the mucilage-related genes.
There are hundreds of genes involved in the assembly packaging and secretion of these products Ashworth said.
If he can find 10 genes that are involved definitively in this process then he is 10 genes closer to understanding how this function occurs.
or the existence of certain sequences at all tells us a lot about the biology of these organisms.
When people think of DNA they usually visualize the elegant oetwisted ladder shape seen in everything from advertising logos to Biology textbooks.
#Scientists Create Giant Tobacco Plants That Remain Young Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular biology
The researchers discovered a genetic switch which can prevent the plants from flowering. They modified the expression of the gene
and then inserted the gene back into the tobacco plant using a bacterium. The first tobacco plant this experiment was performed on has been growing for eight years.
Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter@llmysteries. We're also on Facebook & Google
Study researcher Stefan Moisyadi a bioscientist from the University of Hawaii at Manoa explained in a statement that the GFP in the piglets is marker to show that we can take a gene that was not originally present in the animal
Video footage of two of the piglets in the dark show that the gene is definitely present.
The researchers say the ultimate goal of their work is to figure out how to introduce foreign genes into larger animals that could result in more efficient treatments for disease.
Led by scientists at the South China Agricultural Universityâ the researchers have submitted their work to the journal Biology of Reproduction.
I study phenology the timing of biological events she says. I would love to be able to focus solely on the phenology of plants instead of also worrying about the phenology of politics.
Biological (and geological and hydrological! life continues to happen all around us except now scientists are physically
Karen James of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory pointed out that the element of stress in this equation is significant.
  The talk was received warmly by the audience a mixture of biologists criminologists conservationists and other curious students.
and cells and is involved in more than 350 biochemical reactions in the body. Did you guess calcium?
but from a practical standpoint it's unlikely to happen bioethicists and public health experts say.
and make it illegal said Arthur Caplan a bioethicist at New york University School of medicine's Division of Medical Ethics You can certainly tax it you can certainly stigmatize it
but also for spider-venom peptides that are being considered for therapeutic use study researcher Glenn King of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland Australiaâ said in a statement.
Interested in how regional climate affects bison size biologist Joseph Craine of Kansas State university collected body mass data for more than 250000 bison across the country.
In my mind this is revolutionary in terms of plant biology. When I learned about how plants moved water it was a passive process driven by evaporation from the leaves.
Other groups have investigated how different frequencies and intensities of sounds change gene expression. Their studies find that acoustic vibrations modify metabolic processes in plants.
But marine biologist Peter Girguis and his colleagues tried a morsel anyway. We just took off a little piece
A longstanding marine biology mantra holds that scholars should taste their species of study...or at least waste not want not.
Marine biologist Win Watson recalls annual Make a Dish from Your Animal dinners at the Woods Hole Oceanic Institution in Woods Hole Mass. during the 1970s and 1980s.
But tasting your research goes far beyond the field of marine biology. Scientists'natural curiosity has led them to put some strange things in their mouths.
Denise Dearing a biologist at the University of Utah studies how herbivores deal with toxins from plants such as creosote juniper and alpine avens a wildflower.
what sort of toxins or allergens might be present in poorly studied deep-living species said Brad Seibel a marine biologist at the University of Rhode island.
and this favors more fires said Ryan Kelly a plant biologist at the University of Illinois who examined the records.
Genetics make some people more sensitive to the bitter flavor found in vegetables such as asparagus broccoli and Brussels sprouts.
The tiny creatures pump out up to 50 percent of the planet's oxygen said Edward Theriot a diatom expert and evolutionary biologist at the University of Texas at Austin who was involved not in the study.
This meant she could track the 25000-year-old ash layers around the South Pacific with a unique biologic marker.
About the same time the eruption took place the number of modern humans apparently dropped cataclysmically as shown by genetic research.
As for what might explain the near-extinction humanity apparently once experienced perhaps another kind of catastrophe such as disease hit the species. It may also be possible that such a disaster never happened in the first place genetic research suggests modern humans descend from a single population of a few thousand survivors of a calamity
Metastasizing native tree growth also physically alters the temperature chemistry and biology of the landscape.
The study is detailed today (April 4) in the journal Current Biology. Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitterâ and Google+.
and in 2012 the Syrian government threatened to use chemical and biological weapons in case of an attack.
Syria is recognized widely as having a large stockpile of chemical and biological weapons. Effects of nerve agents Because the alleged poisonous gas attacks in Syria are unconfirmed it can't be determined
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