http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/ Plants and animals. Read current science news in biology, botany and zoology. Find everything from research on genetics and stem cells to the most recent stories on animal care, with images. en-us Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:05:01 EDT Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903134309.htm Permafrost blanketing the northern hemisphere contains more than twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, making it a potentially mammoth contributor to global climate change depending on how quickly it thaws Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903134309.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904144837.htm A genetic target may provide a significant new opportunity for vaccine or therapeutic development. Scientists have uncovered new evidence that strengthens the link between a host-cell gene called Apobec3 and the production of neutralizing antibodies to retroviruses. The finding adds a new dimension to the set of possible explanations for why most people who are infected with HIV do not make neutralizing antibodies that effectively fight the virus. Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904144837.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902225431.htm Many animals learn to avoid being eaten by predators. Now ecologists have discovered that bumblebees can even learn to outwit color-changing crab spiders. Bumblebees learn to avoid camouflaged predators by sacrificing foraging speed for predator detection, according to new research. Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902225431.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904215901.htm The annotated genome of one of the most destructive nematodes -- Meloidogyne incognita -- the southern root-knot nematode, has just been published in the journal Nature Biotechnology. Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904215901.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172152.htm Large flightless birds of the southern continents -- African ostriches, Australian emus and cassowaries, South American rheas and the New Zealand kiwi -- do not share a common flightless ancestor as once believed. Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172152.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221739.htm What is it that distinguishes humans from other mammals? The answer to this question lies in the neocortex -- the part of the brain responsible for sensory perceptions, conscious thought and language. Humans have a considerably larger neocortex than other mammals, making it an ideal subject for the research of higher cognition. Scientists now reveal new insights into the mysteries of neocortex organization and function. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221739.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903134325.htm Arteries play an active role in the immune system by sensing infection and injury. They collect information about invaders through dendritic cells embedded in their walls. Arteries supplying blood to distinct parts of the body specialize in recognizing different bacterial signals. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903134325.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153759.htm Conventional wisdom suggests that stress accelerates aging -- but is it really true? Evolutionary studies of aging use short-lived animals under laboratory conditions -- constant temperature and humidity, no parasites, superabundant food. Researchers identified individual stilt-legged flies in their harsh natural environments while simultaneously monitoring their cousins in the lab. In males, the rate of aging was as least two times greater in the wild. For both sexes, life in the wild was dramatically shorter. More study of how environment affects gene expression is needed. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153759.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221735.htm Worldwide, about 80% of young adults are infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). The most common symptom of infection is a cold sore, but in some individuals the virus can also cause life-threatening inflammation of the brain (encephalitis); 70% of individuals who do not get treatment for this condition die. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221735.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221814.htm Researchers have show for the first time that sexually selected vocalizations can signal social dominance in mammals other than primates, and reveal that the independent acoustic components -- fundamental frequency (pitch) and formant frequencies -- encode information on dominance status and body size, respectively. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221814.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172428.htm Researchers have discovered a key biochemical link in the process by which the Ebola Zaire virus infects cells -- a critical step to finding a way to treat the deadly disease produced by the virus. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172428.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904220344.htm Even scientists define ‘a gene’ in different ways, so it comes as little surprise that the media also have various ways of framing the concept of a gene, according to a new study. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904220344.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221816.htm A new study presents a genome-wide characterization of grapevine transposons. This work shows that transposons have captured and amplified gene sequences in grapevines, which could have had an impact on gene evolution and their regulation. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221816.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904144830.htm Researchers have shown that they can create entirely new strains of infectious proteins known as prions in the laboratory by simply mixing infectious prions from one species with the normal prion proteins of another species. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904144830.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221812.htm How does Salmonella bacteria cause food poisoning by attaching to salad leaves? A new study shows how some Salmonella bacteria use the long stringy appendages they normally use to help them "swim" and move about to attach themselves to salad leaves and other vegetables, causing contamination and a health risk. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221812.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904145058.htm In a surprising reversal of conventional wisdom, a DNA-based study has revealed that the last of the woolly mammoths--which lived between 40,000 and 4,000 years ago--had roots that were exclusively North American. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904145058.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903134405.htm Biocontrol agents, such as insects, are often released outside of their native ranges to control invasive plants. But scientists in Montana have found that through complex community interactions among deer mice, native plants and seeds, the presence of an introduced fly may exacerbate the effects of the invasive plant it was meant to control. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903134405.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903134213.htm Imagine having to copy an entire book by hand without missing a comma. Our cells face a similar task every time they divide. They must duplicate both their DNA and a subtle pattern of punctuation-like modifications on the DNA known as methylation. Scientists have caught in action one of the tools mammalian cells use to maintain their pattern of methylation. Visualized by X-ray crystallography, the SRA domain of the protein UHRF1 appears to act like a bookmark while enzymes are copying a molecule of DNA. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903134213.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080901215125.htm Researchers are reporting a new, more detailed explanation for the link between low folate intake and an increased risk for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080901215125.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153853.htm Giant weta females are twice the size of males. Radiotracking the insects showed that males travel more than 90 meters each night in search of a mate, favoring small, long-legged males who walked further and acquired more mates. It suggests that sexual selection for smaller, more mobile males could be responsible for some of the impressive sexual difference in body size in this species and may explain other species where males are smaller than females. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153853.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153847.htm Researchers show how sheep on a remote island off the west coast of Scotland respond to two consequences of climate change: altered food availability and the unpredictability of winter storms. When times are good, lambs contribute almost twice as much to population size. The oldest sheep contribute most to population growth when conditions are harsh. New mathematical breakthroughs have made it possible to learn how individuals affect population dynamics in rapidly changing environments. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153847.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153803.htm Captive breeding colonies of a critically endangered vulture, whose numbers in the wild have dwindled from tens of millions to a few thousand, are too small to protect the species from extinction, a new analysis shows. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905153803.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905072128.htm Linseed is said to protect against cancer – but not everybody likes the taste. Researchers have now isolated the valuable components of the flax seeds. Incorporated in bread, cakes or dressings, they support the human organism without leaving an unpleasant aftertaste. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905072128.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905072124.htm Mammalian fatty acid synthase is one of the most complex molecular synthetic machines in human cells. It is also a promising target for the development of anti-cancer and anti-obesity drugs and the treatment of metabolic disorders. Now researchers have determined the atomic structure of a mammalian fatty acid synthase. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080905072124.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904102756.htm Echolocation may have evolved more than once in bats, according to new research from the University of Bristol. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904102756.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903213325.htm Why is it that the origins of many serious diseases remain a mystery?  In considering that question, a scientist at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has come up with a unified molecular view of the indivisible unit of life, the cell, which may provide an answer. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903213325.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080901215335.htm Bread that goes moldy is the bane of consumers and bakers alike, ruining appetites and wasting food and money. Now, researchers have developed a new type of paper packaging made with cinnamon oil that appears to prolong the freshness of bread and other baked goods by up to 10 days. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080901215335.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172156.htm In an effort to better understand how chronic stress affects the human body, researchers have created an animal model that shows how chronic stress affects behavior, physiology and reproduction. Developing the animal model better positions the researchers to understand the neurohormonal causes of such stress and the body reaction in order to develop more effective treatment options for humans. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172156.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080901205633.htm Although most people imagine wolves chasing deer and other hoofed animals, new research suggests that, when they can, wolves actually prefer fishing to hunting. The study shows that when salmon is available, wolves will reduce deer hunting activity and instead focus on seafood. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080901205633.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080901140919.htm Neonatal mortality in pigs is a major welfare and economic concern. It is one of the issues being tackled by Welfare Quality®, an EU-funded project designed to integrate farm animal welfare into the food chain. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080901140919.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172410.htm With significant increases in the price of fertilizer and grain, site-specific management -- especially in variable rate nitrogen application -- can have a significant impact on yield and profitability, as reported in the latest issue of Agronomy Journal. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903172410.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904220139.htm While animal buyers often look closely at physical characteristics, behavioural traits can make the difference between a dog becoming a much loved and pampered family member, or a mistreated or neglected unwanted animal. Science and breeding can be used to produce dogs that have characteristics desired by average dog owners and are well suited to the domestic environment. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904220139.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904215903.htm With more than 3 million acres of wheat in north Texas, 50 percent or more of which is grazed by 1 to 2 million head of cattle, it is important to look at tillage practices and their effect on forage production. Research agronomists have been studying nitrogen response and forage production in relation to tillage practices. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904215903.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904215621.htm Biological systems evolve in ways that increase their fitness for survival amidst environmental fluctuations and internal errors. Now researchers have found new evidence that evolution has produced cell metabolisms that are especially well suited to handle potentially harmful changes like gene deletions and mutations. The team developed a mathematical model, which could be useful in bioengineering, medicine and the design of synthetic networks, describing the cascading failure phenomenon as a percolation-like process. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904215621.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904145209.htm There's no magic bullet for wiping out malaria, but a new study offers strong support for a method that effectively delays the evolution of drug resistance in malaria parasites, a researcher says. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904145209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904144833.htm A new mouse model has provided some surprising insight into XLF, a molecule that helps to repair lethal DNA damage. The research suggests that although XLF shares many properties with well known DNA repair factors, certain cells of the immune system possess an unexpected compensatory mechanism that that can take over for nonfunctional XLF. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904144833.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904144821.htm Researchers have new insight into the motivating factors that drive breeding pairs of some tropical bird species to sing duets. Those duets can be so closely matched that human listeners often mistake them for solos. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904144821.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904112659.htm A young scientist studied the relationship between the speed of growth of young dogs and the development of common skeletal diseases such as elbow dysplasia and hip dysplasia. A common conception is that rapidly-growing breeds have a greater risk of developing certain types of skeletal illness. However, no comprehensive research has been conducted in dogs in a domestic environment to establish this. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904112659.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904112656.htm Human activities bear a large part of the responsibility for coral reef degradation. Several threats hang over this complex ecosystem with its extraordinary biodiversity, whether in the form of anthropogenic effluents emitted at certain times or global warming which causes coral bleaching. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904112656.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904102852.htm A bioinformatic system takes adult stem cell research to a new level. Rather than using stem cells from embryonic sources, which opens difficult ethical and complicated scientific issues, scientists have been looking to adult human stem cells, culled from a person's own body. Adult stem cells are now being cultivated from various tissues in the body -- from skin, bones and even wisdom teeth. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904102852.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903210652.htm Ecologists have developed a new technique for genetically "bar-coding" biting midges that could help prevent the spread of bluetongue -- a serious animal disease -- in the UK. Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903210652.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903080858.htm Mice given quercetin, a naturally occurring substance found in fruits and vegetables, were less likely to contract the flu. The study also found that stressful exercise increased the susceptibility of mice to the flu, but quercetin canceled out that negative effect. Quercetin, a close chemical relative of resveratrol, is present in a variety of fruits and vegetables, including red onions, grapes, blueberries, tea, broccoli and red wine. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080903080858.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902143245.htm The growing number of dams and other impoundments is increasing the number of invasive species and the speed at which they spread, putting natural lakes at risk, says a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902143245.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221728.htm A new study has finally resolved a controversy that cellular biologists have been arguing over for nearly 50 years, with findings that may aid research on everything from birth defects and genetic diseases to the most classic "cell division" issue of them all -- cancer. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902221728.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902182035.htm Bacteria save energy by producing proteins that moonlight, having different roles at different times, which may also protect the microbes from being killed. The moonlighting activity of one enzyme from the tuberculosis bacterium makes it partially resistant to a family of broad-spectrum antibiotics, according to a paper published in the journal Microbiology. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902182035.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902163920.htm Scientists have discovered the oldest known fossil of a gecko, with body parts that are forever preserved in life-like form after 100 million years of being entombed in amber. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902163920.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902075737.htm For a long time scientists have been puzzled by the fact that the immune system in the gut is capable of fighting toxic bacterial infection while staying, at the same time, tolerant to its resident “friendly” bacteria. But a new article has starting to explain the mystery by revealing how a recently discovered gene - pims – is activated by the gut immune response against friendly bacteria to rapidly suppress it, effectively creating tolerance to the gut microbiota. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080902075737.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080830191638.htm The Indonesian government is to double the size of a national park that is one of the last havens for endangered Sumatran elephants and tigers. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080830191638.htm