http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/life_sciences/ Life Science News. Updated daily with science research articles in all the life sciences. Images. en-us Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:05:01 EST Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/life_sciences/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094139.htm Researchers recently offered the sharpest-yet picture of how core biochemical pathways in skeletal muscle cells and fat cells are altered in people who suffer from insulin resistance -- a primary defect in type 2 diabetes and obesity. Taking a systems biology approach, the bioengineers and medical researchers also determined how a common class of drugs for treating insulin resistance -- TZDs -- alter these same core pathways. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123094139.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141032.htm Leaf-cutter ants, which cultivate fungus for food, have many remarkable qualities. Here's a new one to add to the list: the ant farmers, like their human counterparts, depend on nitrogen-fixing bacteria to make their gardens grow. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141032.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118120307.htm Not just birds, but also a few species of bats face a long journey every year. Researchers have studied the migratory behavior of the largest extant family of bats, the so-called "Vespertilionidae" with the help of mathematical models. They discovered that the migration over short as well as long distances of various kinds of bats evolved independently within the family. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118120307.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124121429.htm The last remaining population of Siberian tigers has likely declined significantly due to the rising tide of poaching and habitat loss, according to a new report Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124121429.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114640.htm Amphibians like frogs and toads have existed for 360 million years and survived when the dinosaurs didn't, but a new aquatic fungus is threatening to make many of them extinct, according to a new article. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114640.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114648.htm A new species of chameleon has been discovered in a threatened forest in Tanzania. Researchers first spotted the animal while surveying monkeys in the Magombera Forest when they disturbed a twig snake eating one. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114648.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120094745.htm Surplus biomass from the production of flax sheaves, and generated from Brassica carinata, a yellow-flowered plant related to those which engulf fields in spring, can be used to produce bioethanol. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120094745.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125094321.htm When you eat may be just as vital to your health as what you eat, found researchers. New experiments in mice revealed that the daily waxing and waning of thousands of genes in the liver -- the body's metabolic clearinghouse -- is mostly controlled by food intake and not by the body's circadian clock as conventional wisdom had it. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091125094321.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124204320.htm The world's largest species of monkey "chooses" mates with genes that are different from their own to guarantee healthy and strong offspring, according to a new research study. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124204320.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124121427.htm The atomic-level action of a remarkable class of ring-shaped protein motors has been uncovered using a state-of-the-art protein crystallography beamline at the Advanced Light Source. These protein motors play pivotal roles in gene expression and replication, and are vital to the survival of all biological cells, as well as infectious agents, such as the human papillomavirus, which has been linked to cervical cancer. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124121427.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122161736.htm Understanding mixing in the ocean is of fundamental importance to modeling climate change or predicting the effects of an El Niño on our weather. Modern ocean models primarily incorporate the effects of winds and tides. However, they do not generally take into account the mixing generated by swimming animals. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122161736.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122161740.htm Scientists have inventoried an astonishing abundance, diversity and distribution of deep sea species that have never known sunlight -- creatures that somehow manage a living in a frigid black world down to 5000 meters (three miles) below the ocean waves. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122161740.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106102954.htm In foods, soil samples or customs checks, plant fragments sometimes need to be quickly identified. The use of DNA "barcodes" to itemize plant biodiversity was proposed during the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Summit. Researchers have now tested this method in the tropical forest. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106102954.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120084617.htm With the introduction of a single bacterial gene into yeast, researchers have achieved three improvements in bioethanol production from agricultural waste material: 'More ethanol, less acetate and elimination of the major by-product glycerol' Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120084617.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119193933.htm A team of scientists has taken a large step toward unraveling how regulatory proteins control the production of gene products during development and growth. They focused specifically on the complex process of producing red blood cells (erythrocytes). These cells contain large amounts of hemoglobin, a molecule essential for transporting oxygen throughout the body. The research results could help in the development of important new therapies to combat sickle-cell disease. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119193933.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124093548.htm Recent theories suggesting that half of fishes' food comes from from land-based ecosystems may not hold water. Experiments show that algae, not land-based matter, is needed to build healthy and fertile aquatic organisms. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091124093548.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114848.htm Two recent studies investigating the use of human umbilical cord blood stem cell (UCB) transplants for lung and heart disorders in animal models found beneficial results. When human UCB-derived mensenchymal cells were transplanted into newborn laboratory rats with induced oxygen-deprived injury, the effects of the injury lessened. A second study found that UCB mononuclear cells transplanted into sheep with a right ventricular malfunction beneficially altered the malfunction and enhanced diastolic function. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114848.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114815.htm The time of day matters to forest trees dealing with drought, according to a new article. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114815.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114811.htm When asked to compare apples to apples, consumers said they would pay more for locally grown apples than genetically modified (GMO) apples. But in a second questionnaire consumers preferred GMO apples -- that is, when they were described, not as GMO, but as having a Reduced Environmental Impact. The research demonstrated that product labeling makes a difference when it comes to consumer acceptance. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123114811.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120000437.htm Food production of modern human societies is mostly based on large-scale monoculture crops, but it now appears that advanced insect societies have the same practice. Our societies took just ten thousand years of (mainly cultural) evolution to adopt this habit and we are far from convinced that it is sustainable. Farming ants and termites had tens of millions of years to evolve their fungus farming systems and here monocultures are apparently evolutionary stable. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120000437.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106145254.htm Plasmids, which are DNA molecules capable of independent replication in cells, have played an important role in gene technology. Researchers have now demonstrated that plasmid-based methods, which had been limited to single-cell organisms such as bacteria and yeasts, can be extended to mosses, opening the door to applications of a number of powerful techniques in plant research. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106145254.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119085216.htm Bird flu viruses would have to make at least two simultaneous genetic mutations before they could be transmitted readily from human to human, according to new research. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119085216.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119135642.htm Most countries throughout the world participate in the $40-million-per-year culinary trade of frog legs in some way, with 75 percent of frog legs consumed in France, Belgium and the United States. Scientists have found that this trade is a potential carrier of pathogens deadly to amphibians. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119135642.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119101048.htm Rodent, reptile and ant lion species behave differently on either side of the Israel-Jordan border. Researchers found that Israeli gerbils are more cautious than their Jordanian friends, and the funnel-digging ant lion population in Israel is unmistakably larger than in Jordan. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119101048.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119212100.htm A new study suggests that naturally occurring bacteria on the skin of salamanders could help protect other amphibians, including some species of endangered frogs, from a lethal skin disease. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119212100.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119101207.htm A nutritionist in Nigeria says that malnutrition and iron deficiency in schoolchildren could be reduced in her country by baking up snail pie. She explains snail is not only cheaper and more readily available than beef but contains more protein. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119101207.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141029.htm Roughly 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, North America's vast assemblage of large animals -- including such iconic creatures as mammoths, mastodons, camels, horses, ground sloths and giant beavers -- began their precipitous slide to extinction. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141029.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119135636.htm New DNA barcoding shows that nearly a third of the tuna plated in sushi restaurants was bluefin -- even if it was not labeled bluefin on the menu. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119135636.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029161526.htm Scientists have published the largest nematode phylogenetic tree up until now. It contains over 1,200 species and is entirely based on the analysis of DNA sequence data. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029161526.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118143255.htm Breakthrough research done earlier this year by a plant cell biologist has greatly accelerated scientists' knowledge on how plants and crops can survive difficult environmental conditions like drought. In drought conditions certain receptor proteins in plants perceive ABA, causing them to inhibit an enzyme called a phosphatase. The receptor protein is at the top of a signaling pathway in plants, functioning like a boss relaying orders to the team below that then executes particular decisions in the cell. Now recent published studies show how those orders are relayed at the molecular level. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118143255.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119193936.htm Scientists have identified and grouped the genes thought to be responsible for cell wall development in maize, an effort that expands their ability to discover ways to produce the biomass best suited for biofuels production. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119193936.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119194130.htm A massive survey of genetic diversity in maize has produced a gene map that should pave the way to significant improvements in a plant that is a major source of food, fuel, animal feed and fiber around the world. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119194130.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122095415.htm Scientists have shown how a family of genes (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase, or ACS genes), in the weed Arabidopsis thaliana, are responsible for production of ethylene. This gas affects many aspects of plant development, and this information, which will be applicable to other plants, lays the foundation for future genetic manipulation that could make plants disease resistant, able to survive and thrive in difficult terrain, and increase yields. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091122095415.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141211.htm A four-year, multi-institutional effort co-led by three Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientists culminated today in publication of a landmark series of papers in the journal Science revealing in unprecedented detail the DNA sequence of maize. Maize, or corn, as it is commonly called by North American consumers, is one of the world's most important plants and the most valuable agricultural crop grown in the United States, representing $47 billion in annual value. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141211.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116163210.htm A modified soybean oil increased the level of an omega-3 fatty acid in humans more than regular soybean oil. The modified oil may provide a plant-based alternative source of omega-3s. However, the oil's health effectiveness as a food ingredient remains to be proven. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116163210.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119101209.htm Certain wild flax plants growing in poor soils have succeeded in balancing the stress in their lives -- these plants are less likely to experience infection from a fungal pathogen. The new study attempts to quantitatively explain how plants have evolved a specialization to serpentine soils and ultimately may help to explain floristic diversity in these unique environments. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119101209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119111415.htm Researchers have developed a new model system to study fungal infections. The system can be a powerful tool for screening potential drug targets for conditions like thrush, athlete's foot and vaginal yeast infections, which affect millions of people each year but are difficult to treat with existing medications. Using the new model, the researchers also identified a gene that may be a promising target for a new anti-fungal drug. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119111415.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116193959.htm Biologists have discovered that honeybees can discriminate between food at different temperatures, an ability that may assist bees in locating the warm, sugar-rich nectar or high-protein pollen produced by many flowers. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091116193959.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091117191048.htm A species of common skate is to become the first marine fish species to be driven to extinction by commercial fishing, due to an error of species classification 80 years ago. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091117191048.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118160357.htm Biologists and engineers have dramatically improved the speed and accuracy of measuring an enigmatic set of proteins that influences almost every aspect of how cells and tissues function. The new method offers a long-sought tool for studying stem cells, cancer and other problems of fundamental importance to biology and medicine. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118160357.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112141319.htm Scientists have established a successful captive breeding program for dwarf cuttlefish, Sepia bandensis. The program is the first of its kind in a US aquarium, and offers the academy and other institutions the opportunity to study a species that is both captivating and little known. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091112141319.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119194120.htm A new study of maize has identified thousands of diverse genes in genetically inaccessible portions of the genome. New techniques may allow breeders and researchers to use this genetic variation to identify desirable traits and create new varieties that were not easily possible before. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119194120.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119193634.htm The maize genome sequence is now complete thanks to a decoding effort so challenging even the epic aptitudes of secret agent 007 -- James Bond -- would have come up short. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119193634.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119144714.htm Scientists have deciphered the complete genetic code of the maize plant for the first time. The researchers, who have been collaborating for the past four years on the Maize Genome Sequencing Project, have provided the complete sequence and structures of maize genes and their locations, in linear order, on both the genetic and physical maps of maize. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119144714.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141050.htm Scientists have long known that the offspring of two inbred strains tend to be superior to both their parents. Now, a team of researchers has discovered clues to why that might be the case for one of the most important crops in the world: corn. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141050.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141046.htm The offspring of two inbred strains tend to be superior to both of their parents. Characterizing the gene-level variability that leads to this phenomenon, known as heterosis or hybrid vigor, could boost our ability to custom-tailor crops for specific traits, such as high protein content for human consumption or high glucose content for biomass fuel. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141046.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141041.htm Maize is an important crop in many countries of the world. It is widely used for human consumption, animal feed and industrial materials. It also is considered an exemplar plant species for studying domestication, molecular evolution and genome architecture. The authors of the research presented in this special collection used the first description of the B73 maize genome to probe some of the most intriguing questions in genetics and plant biology. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141041.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141034.htm Scientists have revealed the genetic instructions inside corn, one of the big three cereal crops. Corn, or maize, has one of the most complex sequences of DNA ever analyzed, says a genomicist who was one of more than 100 authors in the article in the journal Science. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119141034.htm