Discovery Shapes Understanding of how Seeds are Created
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have identified a protein that helps guide sperm to egg in flowering lily plants, a significant step forward in the field of plant reproduction.
Elizabeth Lord, professor of plant biology and a member of the Center for Plant Cell Biology at UC Riverside, authored the paper titled “Chemocyanin, a Small, Basic Protein from the Lily Stigma Induces Pollen Tube Chemotro
Draft sequence aligned with human genome
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced the first draft version of the genome sequence of the chimpanzee and its alignment with the human genome. All of the data have been deposited into free public databases and are now available for use by scientists around the world.
The sequence of the chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, was assembled by NHGRI-funded teams led
While Mars can claim some unique features – the largest volcano and the deepest canyon in the solar system – its rocky, dusty, cold landscape has yet to yield signs of the ultimate prize: life.
Three simple words – follow the water – have become the mantra of astrobiologists studying the Red Planet because the presence of water is believed to be a prerequisite for life, either past or present.
But as scientists look for evidence of water on Mars, they are faced with an underlying
For the first time, researchers using laboratory techniques alone and no animal hosts have isolated sex-cell precursors from mouse embryos, coaxed the cells into a sperm-like form, used them to fertilize mouse eggs, and ultimately formed earlystage embryos. The research may offer a breakthrough tool for studies of embryonic cells and gene delivery, potentially helping scientists develop treatments for infertility and providing insight into the growth of certain tumors. The researche
Put a caramel in your mouth and your taste buds detect the sugary substance, instantly sending a message to the brain, which interprets the signal – sweet!
Trying to figure out what happens in the split-second between eating something and recognizing its sweet or bitter flavor – between detecting a taste and a signal reaching the brain – led USC neuroscientist Emily Liman to take a closer look inside the cells in the taste buds.
Her findings reveal new details about how the sense
A historical examination of amphibian deformities – frogs with extra legs growing out of the abdomen, for example – suggests that these aberrations are not a new phenomenon, but part of an emerging disease that could jeopardize the survival of these organisms.
The research, described in the December issue of Conservation Biology, shows that while amphibian malformations and the parasitic worm that causes them have been found in lakes and ponds for more than 50 years, they have substantiall
First map of an entire global biome at useable level of detail
Researchers publish vegetation map of the Arctic Tundra Biome
Institute of Arctic Biology (IAB) researcher Donald (Skip) Walker and an international team of Arctic vegetation scientists have published the Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM) – the first map of an entire global biome at such a level of detail.
The 11-year CAVM project, directed by Walker, who also heads IAB’s Alaska Geobotany Ce
New insight into the molecular-level interactions between bacteria and minerals may some day help scientists design bacteria with the express purpose of cleaning up toxic waste.
Hazardous waste experts know that certain bacteria can essentially eat toxic waste, reducing it to less noxious substances. But until now they didn’t know what mechanisms allowed these bacteria to devour chemicals.
A new study by Ohio State and Virginia Tech universities showed how a particular b
Scientists have found the gene that sends a signal through plant immune systems, saying, in effect: “Take two aspirin and call out the troops – we’re under attack!”
Discovery of the salicylic acid-binding protein 2 (SABP2) gene, by scientists at Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (BTI) at Cornell University, is being called an important step toward new strategies to boost plants’ natural defenses against disease and for reducing the need for agricultural pesticides.
Study Shows Why Each Parasite Species Often Infests a Favorite Host Species
University of Utah biologists twirled louse-infested bird feathers on an electric fan and flew pigeons and doves like kites on strings in a study that found small lice stick to small birds and big lice prefer big birds.
The study also showed why size matters to parasites: Lice infest bird species with feathers that are just the right size so the insects can hide between individual “barbs” – the hair
Disabling a set of genes in a strain of the tuberculosis bacteria surprisingly led to a mutant form of the pathogen that multiplied more quickly and was more lethal than its natural counterpart, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
As early as two weeks after infection, researchers found significantly more bacteria from the organs of mice infected with the mutated tuberculosis (TB) bacteria than for mice infected with the unmodified, or “wil
The measurement of new genes at diagnosis in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), discovered through new technologies from the human genome project, may be highly predictive of therapeutic outcomes, according to a study presented today during the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). OPAL 1 (Outcome Predictor in Acute Leukemia 1), a novel, fully cloned human gene, and additional newly identified genes, have a strong predictive power to identify patients who may
Biophysicists at Stanford University have finally answered one of the most fundamental questions in molecular biology: How does the tiny motor molecule, known as kinesin, move across a living cell? According to the researchers, the solution to this longstanding problem will provide new insight into how motor proteins function, and may open new avenues of investigation for the treatment of cancer and various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.
The stud
In species-rich rainforests of the New World tropics most trees have broad geographic distributions–from Mexico to Bolivia and sometimes to the West Indies. Either they have excellent dispersal abilities, or they established broad ranges prior to the formation of present geographic barriers. In a study featured in American Naturalist, Christopher Dick, Kobinah Abdul-Salim and Eldredge Bermingham address these questions in the first phylogeographic study of a rainforest tree.
The morphology
With a slight tweak of temperature, geneticist Barry Ganetzky’s flies drop like, well, flies.
For 25 years, Ganetzky has been identifying, breeding and studying a raft of fly mutants that, when exposed to minor temperature change, become completely paralyzed. The flies, which quickly recover when returned to room temperature, are now finding many uses in studies of human neurological disorders, drug discovery and insecticide development.
Ganetzky, a University of Wisco
By studying how monkeys choose to look at lighted targets for juice rewards, neurobiologists have identified a still-mysterious region of the cerebral cortex as an area that judges the value of rewards, and adjusts that value as circumstances change.
The finding adds a significant piece to the puzzle of how the brain is wired to make judgments, perhaps even moral judgments, about the outside world, said the researchers. The findings may also have implications for understanding a number of
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