Yearly Archives: 2007

Tiny Crow Camera Spies On Clever Birds:

A new technique developed by Oxford University zoologists enables researchers to ‘hitch a ride’ with wild birds and witness their natural and undisturbed behaviour. The scientists developed miniaturised video cameras with integrated radio-tags that can be carried by wild, free-flying birds. Using this new ‘video-tracking’ technology, they spied on the behaviour of New Caledonian crows, a species renowned for its sophisticated use of tools, recording behaviours never seen before.

Diet With A Little Meat Uses Less Land Than Many Vegetarian Diets:

A low-fat vegetarian diet is very efficient in terms of how much land is needed to support it. But adding some dairy products and a limited amount of meat may actually increase this efficiency, Cornell researchers suggest.

Early Apes Walked Upright 15 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought, Evolutionary Biologist Argues:

An extraordinary advance in human origins research reveals evidence of the emergence of the upright human body plan over 15 million years earlier than most experts have believed. More dramatically, the study confirms preliminary evidence that many early hominoid apes were most likely upright bipedal walkers sharing the basic body form of modern humans.

Difference Between Fish And Humans: Century-old Developmental Question Answered:

Embryologists at UCL (University College London) have helped solve an evolutionary riddle that has been puzzling scientists for over a century. They have identified a key mechanism in the initial stages of an embryo’s development that helps differentiate more highly evolved species, including humans, from less evolved species, such as fish. The findings of the research, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), were published online by the journal Nature.

As usual on Tuesday nights, lots of cool stuff got published on PLoS ONE today. Here are some of my picks, but you should check all 30 of them (so, this week I am correct – there are now 1000+ articles on PLoS ONE):
Large-Scale Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of the Domestic Goat Reveals Six Haplogroups with High Diversity:

Studying the genetic diversity of domesticated animals can provide insights into their domestication, and even the history of human migration. In this paper Pompanon and colleagues study mitochondrial DNA diversity of the domestic goat from 2430 animals from widespread Old World geographic origins. The researchers find a very high degree of mitochondrial diversity amongst goats, but suggest that even with such a large dataset, little can be concluded about the origin of goat domestication.

The Environmental Dependence of Inbreeding Depression in a Wild Bird Population:

Evolutionary genetic theory suggests that if related individuals breed, their offspring are likely to be less “fit” (or evolutionarily successful) than outbred offspring, because of the increased chance of inheriting two copies of a harmful recessive gene. The authors of this paper analysed the interaction between environment and inbreeding on individual fitness in a population of great tits. Their results suggest that in wild populations, the interaction between inbreeding and environment on fitness may be considerable.

Wnt and TGF-β Expression in the Sponge Amphimedon queenslandica and the Origin of Metazoan Embryonic Patterning:

The origin of metazoan development and differentiation was contingent upon the evolution of cell adhesion, communication and cooperation mechanisms. While components of many of the major cell signalling pathways have been identified in a range of sponges (phylum Porifera), their roles in development have not been investigated and remain largely unknown. Here, we take the first steps toward reconstructing the developmental signalling systems used in the last common ancestor to living sponges and eumetazoans by studying the expression of genes encoding Wnt and TGF-β signalling ligands during the embryonic development of a sponge.
Using resources generated in the recent sponge Amphimedon queenslandica (Demospongiae) genome project, we have recovered genes encoding Wnt and TGF-β signalling ligands that are critical in patterning metazoan embryos. Both genes are expressed from the earliest stages of Amphimedon embryonic development in highly dynamic patterns. At the time when the Amphimedon embryos begin to display anterior-posterior polarity, Wnt expression becomes localised to the posterior pole and this expression continues until the swimming larva stage. In contrast, TGF-β expression is highest at the anterior pole. As in complex animals, sponge Wnt and TGF-β expression patterns intersect later in development during the patterning of a sub-community of cells that form a simple tissue-like structure, the pigment ring. Throughout development, Wnt and TGF-β are expressed radially along the anterior-posterior axis.
We infer from the expression of Wnt and TGF-β in Amphimedon that the ancestor that gave rise to sponges, cnidarians and bilaterians had already evolved the capacity to direct the formation of relatively sophisticated body plans, with axes and tissues. The radially symmetrical expression patterns of Wnt and TGF-β along the anterior-posterior axis of sponge embryos and larvae suggest that these signalling pathways contributed to establishing axial polarity in the very first metazoans.

Maladaptation and the Paradox of Robustness in Evolution:

Organisms use a variety of mechanisms to protect themselves against perturbations. For example, repair mechanisms fix damage, feedback loops keep homeostatic systems at their setpoints, and biochemical filters distinguish signal from noise. Such buffering mechanisms are often discussed in terms of robustness, which may be measured by reduced sensitivity of performance to perturbations.
I use a mathematical model to analyze the evolutionary dynamics of robustness in order to understand aspects of organismal design by natural selection. I focus on two characters: one character performs an adaptive task; the other character buffers the performance of the first character against perturbations. Increased perturbations favor enhanced buffering and robustness, which in turn decreases sensitivity and reduces the intensity of natural selection on the adaptive character. Reduced selective pressure on the adaptive character often leads to a less costly, lower performance trait.
The paradox of robustness arises from evolutionary dynamics: enhanced robustness causes an evolutionary reduction in the adaptive performance of the target character, leading to a degree of maladaptation compared to what could be achieved by natural selection in the absence of robustness mechanisms. Over evolutionary time, buffering traits may become layered on top of each other, while the underlying adaptive traits become replaced by cheaper, lower performance components. The paradox of robustness has widespread implications for understanding organismal design.

Homeotic Evolution in the Mammalia: Diversification of Therian Axial Seriation and the Morphogenetic Basis of Human Origins:

Despite the rising interest in homeotic genes, little has been known about the course and pattern of evolution of homeotic traits across the mammalian radiation. An array of emerging and diversifying homeotic gradients revealed by this study appear to generate new body plans and drive evolution at a large scale.
This study identifies and evaluates a set of homeotic gradients across 250 extant and fossil mammalian species and their antecedents over a period of 220 million years. These traits are generally expressed as co-linear gradients along the body axis rather than as distinct segmental identities. Relative position or occurrence sequence vary independently and are subject to polarity reversal and mirroring. Five major gradient modification sets are identified: (1)-quantitative changes of primary segmental identity pattern that appeared at the origin of the tetrapods ; (2)-frame shift relation of costal and vertebral identity which diversifies from the time of amniote origins; (3)-duplication, mirroring, splitting and diversification of the neomorphic laminar process first commencing at the dawn of mammals; (4)-emergence of homologically variable lumbar lateral processes upon commencement of the radiation of therian mammals and ; (5)-inflexions and transpositions of the relative position of the horizontal septum of the body and the neuraxis at the emergence of various orders of therian mammals. Convergent functional changes under homeotic control include laminar articular engagement with septo-neural transposition and ventrally arrayed lumbar transverse process support systems.
Clusters of homeotic transformations mark the emergence point of mammals in the Triassic and the radiation of therians in the Cretaceous. A cluster of homeotic changes in the Miocene hominoid Morotopithecus that are still seen in humans supports establishment of a new “hominiform” clade and suggests a homeotic origin for the human upright body plan.

Nullomers: Really a Matter of Natural Selection?:

Nullomers are short DNA sequences that are absent from the genomes of humans and other species. Assuming that nullomers are the signatures of natural selection against deleterious sequences in humans, the use of nullomers in drug target identification, pesticide development, environmental monitoring, and forensic applications has been envisioned.
Here, we show that the hypermutability of CpG dinucleotides, rather than the natural selection against the nullomer sequences, is likely the reason for the phenomenal event of short sequence motifs becoming nullomers. Furthermore, many reported human nullomers differ by only one nucleotide, which reinforces the role of mutation in the evolution of the constellation of nullomers in populations and species. The known nullomers in chimpanzee, cow, dog, and mouse genomes show patterns that are consistent with those seen in humans.
The role of mutations, instead of selection, in generating nullomers cast doubt on the utility of nullomers in many envisioned applications, because of their dependence on the role of lethal selection on the origin of nullomers.

Demographic Histories of ERV-K in Humans, Chimpanzees and Rhesus Monkeys:

We detected 19 complete endogenous retroviruses of the K family in the genome of rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta; RhERV-K) and 12 full length elements in the genome of the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes; CERV-K). These sequences were compared with 55 human HERV-K and 20 CERV-K reported previously, producing a total data set of 106 full-length ERV-K genomes. Overall, 61% of the human elements compared to 21% of the chimpanzee and 47% of rhesus elements had estimated integration times less than 4.5 million years before present (MYBP), with an average integration times of 7.8 MYBP, 13.4 MYBP and 10.3 MYBP for HERV-K, CERV-K and RhERV-K, respectively. By excluding those ERV-K sequences generated by chromosomal duplication, we used 63 of the 106 elements to compare the population dynamics of ERV-K among species. This analysis indicated that both HERV-K and RhERV-K had similar demographic histories, including markedly smaller effective population sizes, compared to CERV-K. We propose that these differing ERV-K dynamics reflect underlying differences in the evolutionary ecology of the host species, such that host ecology and demography represent important determinants of ERV-K dynamics.

SIRNA-Directed In Vivo Silencing of Androgen Receptor Inhibits the Growth of Castration-Resistant Prostate Carcinomas:

Prostate carcinomas are initially dependent on androgens, and castration or androgen antagonists inhibit their growth. After some time though, tumors become resistant and recur with a poor prognosis. The majority of resistant tumors still expresses a functional androgen receptor (AR), frequently amplified or mutated.
To test the hypothesis that AR is not only expressed, but is still a key therapeutic target in advanced carcinomas, we injected siRNA targeting AR into mice bearing exponentially growing castration-resistant tumors. Quantification of siRNA into tumors and mouse tissues demonstrated their efficient uptake. This uptake silenced AR in the prostate, testes and tumors. AR silencing in tumors strongly inhibited their growth, and importantly, also markedly repressed the VEGF production and angiogenesis.
Our results demonstrate that carcinomas resistant to hormonal manipulations still depend on the expression of the androgen receptor for their development in vivo. The siRNA-directed silencing of AR, which allows targeting overexpressed as well as mutated isoforms, triggers a strong antitumoral and antiangiogenic effect. siRNA-directed silencing of this key gene in advanced and resistant prostate tumors opens promising new therapeutic perspectives and tools.

Implementing Routine HIV Testing: The Role of State Law:

In September 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended routine HIV testing for all Americans aged 13-64, which would eliminate requirements for written consent and pretest counseling as previously required. However, this approach may conflict with state requirements concerning pretest counseling and informed consent for HIV testing. Our survey of state HIV testing laws demonstrates that the majority of states have HIV testing requirements that are inconsistent with the CDC’s recommendations. Moreover, states that have recently amended their laws have not eased the requirements for pretest counseling and informed consent. The reasons for the persistence of these legal requirements must be understood to effect policy changes to increase HIV testing.

Moderate Neonatal Stress Decreases Within-Group Variation in Behavioral, Immune and HPA Responses in Adult Mice:

The significance of behavioral neuroscience and the validity of its animal models of human pathology largely depend on the possibility to replicate a given finding across different laboratories. Under the present test and housing conditions, this axiom fails to resist the challenge of experimental validation. When several mouse strains are tested on highly standardized behavioral test batteries in different laboratories, significant strain×lab interactions are often detected. This limitation, predominantly due to elevated within-group variability observed in control subjects, increases the number of animals needed to address fine experimental questions. Laboratory rodents display abnormal stress and fear reactions to experimental testing, which might depend on the discrepancy between the stability of the neonatal environment and the challenging nature of the adult test and housing conditions.
Stimulating neonatal environments (e.g. brief maternal separations, increased foraging demands or maternal corticosterone supplementation) reduce stress and fear responses in adulthood. Here we tested whether reduced fearfulness associated with experimental testing would also reduce inter-individual variation. In line with our predictions, we show that a moderate elevation in neonatal corticosterone through maternal milk significantly reduces fear responses and inter-individual variability (average 44%) in adult mouse offspring.
We observed reduced variation in pain perception, novelty preference, hormonal stress response and resistance to pathogen infection. This suggests that the results of this study may apply to a relatively broad spectrum of neuro-behavioral domains. Present findings encourage a reconsideration of the basic principles of neonatal housing systems to improve the validity of experimental models and reduce the number of animals used.

Adaptive Evolution of a Stress Response Protein:

Some cancers are mediated by an interplay between tissue damage, pathogens and localised innate immune responses, but the mechanisms that underlie these linkages are only beginning to be unravelled.
Here we identify a strong signature of adaptive evolution on the DNA sequence of the mammalian stress response gene SEP53, a member of the epidermal differentiation complex fused-gene family known for its role in suppressing cancers. The SEP53 gene appears to have been subject to adaptive evolution of a type that is commonly (though not exclusively) associated with coevolutionary arms races. A similar pattern of molecular evolution was not evident in the p53 cancer-suppressing gene.
Our data thus raises the possibility that SEP53 is a component of the mucosal/epithelial innate immune response engaged in an ongoing interaction with a pathogen. Although the pathogenic stress mediating adaptive evolution of SEP53 is not known, there are a number of well-known candidates, in particular viruses with established links to carcinoma.

Habitat Fragmentation, Variable Edge Effects, and the Landscape-Divergence Hypothesis:

Edge effects are major drivers of change in many fragmented landscapes, but are often highly variable in space and time. Here we assess variability in edge effects altering Amazon forest dynamics, plant community composition, invading species, and carbon storage, in the world’s largest and longest-running experimental study of habitat fragmentation. Despite detailed knowledge of local landscape conditions, spatial variability in edge effects was only partially foreseeable: relatively predictable effects were caused by the differing proximity of plots to forest edge and varying matrix vegetation, but windstorms generated much random variability. Temporal variability in edge phenomena was also only partially predictable: forest dynamics varied somewhat with fragment age, but also fluctuated markedly over time, evidently because of sporadic droughts and windstorms. Given the acute sensitivity of habitat fragments to local landscape and weather dynamics, we predict that fragments within the same landscape will tend to converge in species composition, whereas those in different landscapes will diverge in composition. This ‘landscape-divergence hypothesis’, if generally valid, will have key implications for biodiversity-conservation strategies and for understanding the dynamics of fragmented ecosystems.

As always, look around, read the articles, rate them, post comments and annotations, send trackbacks if you blog about them, and if you want to do a Journal Club on one of them, let me know.

A newspaper should hire me to be that guy whose only job is to write titles and headlines. I can make them as misleading and sensationalist as the best of ’em!
But really, this year’s Nobel Prize for Physics is going to Albert Fert and Peter Grunberg for the invention of Giant Magnetoresistance. And yes, one of the many thingamajigs that uses this technology is iPod. But it makes for such a cool headline….

Why Are Huge Numbers Of Camels Dying In Africa And Saudi Arabia?:

More than 2000 dromedaries — Arabian camels — have died since August 10 in Saudi Arabia. Various theories have been put forward to explain the numerous deaths. For several years, the Sahel and the Horn of Africa have also seen similar numbers of deaths. In 1995-1996, CIRAD worked on a fatal epizootic disease affecting dromedaries in Ethiopia.

Humans Unknowing Midwives For Pregnant Moose:

When it’s time for moose to give birth in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, they head to where it is safest from predators — namely closer to people, according to a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society. Published in the Royal Society’s journal Biology Letters, the study says that moose avoid predation of their calves by grizzly bears by moving closer to roads and other infrastructure prior to giving birth.

Ancient African Megadroughts May Have Driven Human Evolution — Out Of Africa:

From 135,000 to 90,000 years ago tropical Africa had megadroughts more extreme and widespread than any previously known for that region, according to new research.

Chronic Arguing With Your Spouse May Raise Your Heart Disease Risk:

Individuals whose close relationships have negative aspects, such as conflict and adverse exchanges, appear to have an increased risk of heart disease than those with more positive close relationships, according to a new report.

Genetic Dissection of Behavioural and Autonomic Effects of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Mice and the accompanying editorial Understanding Cannabinoid Psychoactivity with Mouse Genetic Models:

The fact that cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug has motivated a great deal of research aimed at understanding how it produces its psychoactive effects. Here I use the term psychoactive to describe the mild euphoria, altered perceptions, sense of relaxation, and sociability that often, but not always, accompany recreational cannabis use. Despite the difficulties inherent in working with lipophilic cannabinoids such as Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, our understanding of the mechanism of action of these compounds at the cellular level has increased dramatically over the past 20 years. However, a complete understanding of how cannabis elicits its psychoactive effects would include an appreciation of its actions at the cellular and network level as well as an identification of the neural circuits perturbed. The cannabinoid field has now matured to the point where investigators can begin to relate the cellular mechanisms of THC action to the behavioral effects of cannabis.

HCV-HIV Coinfection: Simple Messages from a Complex Disease:

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV infection are both major global health problems, each with their own specific unsolved and difficult issues of prevention, pathogenesis, and therapy. For HIV, many of the clinical problems experienced are related to loss of immunological control over relatively commonly encountered pathogens. In most of these cases (e.g., cytomegalovirus [CMV], Pneumocystis jiroveci. human herpesvirus-8), normal immunological control is quite efficient, and these organisms behave as “opportunists.” HCV is slightly different, in that immunological control in normal HIV-uninfected individuals is often poor, and HCV infection alone can lead to the gradual evolution of end-stage liver disease in normal hosts. However, although a consensus is forming about the basic details of the immune responses associated with acute control of HCV monoinfection, the long-term relationships between immune responses, viral load, and most importantly, disease progression in those who are persistently infected are still poorly understood.

Genes From The Father Facilitate The Formation Of New Species:

The two closely related bird species, the collared flycatcher and the pied flycatcher, can reproduce with each other, but the females are more strongly attracted to a male of their own species. This has been shown by an international research team directed by Anna Qvarnström at Uppsala University and published in Science. They demonstrate that the gene for this sexual preference is found on the sex chromosome that is inherited from the father and that only females have a copy of. The discovery sheds new light on how new species are formed.

Primitive Plants Use Heat And Odor To Woo Pollinating Insects:

University of Utah scientists discovered a strange method of reproduction in primitive plants named cycads: The plants heat up and emit a toxic odor to drive pollen-covered insects out of male cycad cones, and then use a milder odor to draw the bugs into female cones so the plants are pollinated.

When Taking A Long Time Is Seen As A Good Thing:

Consumers often use the length of time a service takes as a measure of its quality. The longer a session lasts, the better the value. Indeed, a new study shows that this holds true even when judging something primarily by its duration can backfire — for example when a longer exercise program is actually less effective than a shorter regimen or for a lock-picking service.

Brain Images Make Cognitive Research More Believable:

People are more likely to believe findings from a neuroscience study when the report is paired with a colored image of a brain as opposed to other representational images of data such as bar graphs, according to a new Colorado State University study.

New Insights Into The Evolution Of The Human Genome:

Which came first, the chicken genome or the egg genome? Researchers have answered a similarly vexing (and far more relevant) genomic question: Which of the thousands of long stretches of repeated DNA in the human genome came first? And which are the duplicates?

Elephants’ Fear Of Angry Bees Could Help To Protect Them:

At a time when encroaching human development in former wildlife areas has compressed African elephants into ever smaller home ranges and increased levels of human-elephant conflict, a study in Current Biology, suggests that strategically placed beehives might offer a low-tech elephant deterrent and conservation measure.

Malaria Research Booming, But Scientific And Technical Gaps Apparent, Report Shows:

Malaria drug and vaccine research is booming. According to a new report launched in the UK by Australian researchers at The George Institute for International Health, 16 new malaria vaccine candidates are now in clinical trials; six new malaria drugs are about to reach the market; and by 2011 we will have up to 12 new anti-malarial drug product registered. However, this unprecedented level of malaria R&D activity is not necessarily all good news. The report’s authors found that the high number of malaria vaccine candidates was the result of scientific and technical gaps and lacking policy coordination rather than a reflection of cohesive global activity. Lack of coordination and planning mean that invested funding and efforts are not delivering as much as they should, and may be costing donors tens of millions of dollars.

How Do Cells Sense And Respond To Messages? Major Signal Transduction Discovery Made:

The chemical process known as acetylation plays a central role in cytokine receptor signal transduction – a fundamental biochemical cascade inside cells that controls the activity of antiviral and tumor-suppressing genes.

In Birds, Expecting To Mate Leads To Higher Fertilization Rates:

From an evolutionary perspective, the primary task of an organism is to pass along its genes to future generations. Such genetic transmission is usually assumed to be instinctive. However, a new study shows that species also learn to adapt to their surroundings in order to increase their “reproductive fitness”– the likelihood that they will successfully reproduce.

For Honey Bee Queens, Multiple Mating Makes Her Attractive To Workers:

The success of the “reign” of a honey bee queen appears to be determined to a large degree by the number of times she mates with drone bees.That is what research by scientists in the Department of Entomology and W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology at North Carolina State University suggests. Dr. Freddie-Jeanne Richard, a post-doctoral research associate; Dr. David Tarpy, assistant professor and North Carolina Cooperative Extension apiculturist; and Dr. Christina Grozinger, assistant professor of insect genomics, found that the number of times a honey bee queen mates is a key factor in determining how attractive the queen is to the worker bees of a hive.

Chimpanzees, Unlike Humans, Apply Economic Principles To Ultimatum Game:

New research from the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany shows that unlike humans, chimpanzees conform to traditional economic models. The research used a modification of one of the most widely used and accepted economic tools, the ultimatum game.

New Telomere Discovery Could Help Explain Why Cancer Cells Never Stop Dividing:

A group working at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) in collaboration with the University of Pavia has discovered that telomeres, the repeated DNA-protein complexes at the end of chromosomes that progressively shorten every time a cell divides, also contain RNA.

Key Step Bird Flu Virus Takes To Spread Readily In Humans Identified:

Since it first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997, the H5N1 avian flu virus has been slowly evolving into a pathogen better equipped to infect humans. The final form of the virus, biomedical researchers fear, will be a highly pathogenic strain of influenza that spreads easily among humans.

Why Emotionally Charged Events Are So Memorable:

Both extensive psychological research and personal experiences confirm that events that happen during heightened states of emotion such as fear, anger and joy are far more memorable than less dramatic occurrences.

Negativity Is Contagious, Study Finds:

Though we may not care to admit it, what other people think about something can affect what we think about it. This is how critics become influential and why our parents’ opinions about our life choices continue to matter, long after we’ve moved out. But what kind of opinions have the most effect” An important new study in the Journal of Consumer Research reveals that negative opinions cause the greatest attitude shifts, not just from good to bad, but also from bad to worse.

Simplest Circadian Clocks Operate Via Orderly Phosphate Transfers:

Researchers at Harvard University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have found that a simple circadian clock found in some bacteria operates by the rhythmic addition and subtraction of phosphate groups at two key locations on a single protein. This phosphate pattern is influenced by two other proteins, driving phosphorylation to oscillate according to a remarkably accurate 24-hour cycle.

Related: A Circadian Clock that works in a test-tube explained and Bacteria do it differently…

As always on Friday, there are new article published in the community journals – PLoS Pathogens, PLoS Computational Biology and PLoS Genetics. Here are few of my picks:
Growth of H5N1 Influenza A Viruses in the Upper Respiratory Tracts of Mice
A Single Mutation in the PB1-F2 of H5N1 (HK/97) and 1918 Influenza A Viruses Contributes to Increased Virulence
Universally Sloppy Parameter Sensitivities in Systems Biology Models
Ancient Exaptation of a CORE-SINE Retroposon into a Highly Conserved Mammalian Neuronal Enhancer of the Proopiomelanocortin Gene

Fossil Data Plugs Gaps In Current Knowledge, Study Shows:

Researchers have shown for the first time that fossils can be used as effectively as living species in understanding the complex branching in the evolutionary tree of life.

Cilia: Small Organelles, Big Decisions:

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have figured out how human and all animal cells tune in to a key signal, one that literally transmits the instructions that shape their final bodies. It turns out the cells assemble their own little radio antenna on their surfaces to help them relay the proper signal to the developmental proteins “listening” on the inside of the cell.

Avoiding Sweets May Spell A Longer Life, Study In Worms Suggests:

A new study in Cell Metabolism reveals that worms live to an older age when they are unable to process the simple sugar glucose. Glucose is a primary source of energy for the body and can be found in all major dietary carbohydrates as a component of starches and other forms of sugar, including sucrose (table sugar) and lactose.

Engineers Study Brain Folding In Higher Mammals:

Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis are finding common ground between the shaping of the brain and the heart during embryonic development.

Fungus Genome Yielding Answers To Protect Grains, People And Animals:

Why a pathogen is a pathogen may be answered as scientists study the recently mapped genetic makeup of a fungus that spawns the worst cereal grains disease known and also can produce toxins potentially fatal to people and livestock.

Large-scale Head Lice Finding Kits Effective:

Working with parents and schools to provide a bug busting approach to head lice is helping to reduce infestation levels, tackle health inequalities and reduce healthcare costs, according to a review in the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

Hydrothermal Vents: Hot Spots Of Microbial Diversity:

Thousands of new kinds of marine microbes have been discovered at two deep-sea hydrothermal vents off the Oregon coast by scientists at the MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) and University of Washington’s Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean.

Census Of Protein Architectures Offers New View Of History Of Life:

The present can tell you a lot about the past, but you need to know where to look. A new study appearing this month in Genome Research reveals that protein architectures – the three-dimensional structures of specific regions within proteins – provide an extraordinary window on the history of life.

Genes Determine Mate Choice, At Least For Fat Tailed Dwarf Lemurs:

How do we choose our mates? For quite some time now, scientists suspect that it is not for looks or fashion, neither for love or sympathy. It may be the genes that determine our preference for certain males or females. A new study provides support for this idea by looking at lemurs in Madagascar.

Beyond A ‘Speed Limit’ On Mutations, Species Risk Extinction:

Harvard University scientists have identified a virtual “speed limit” on the rate of molecular evolution in organisms, and the magic number appears to be 6 mutations per genome per generation — a level beyond which species run the strong risk of extinction as their genomes lose stability.

Genetic Differences In Clover Make One Type Toxic:

That clover necklace you make for your child could well be a ring of poison. That’s because some clovers have evolved genes that help the plant produce cyanide — to protect itself against little herbivores, such as snails, slugs and voles, that eat clover. Other clover plants that do not make cyanide are found in climates with colder temperatures. So, in picking your poison, er, clover, ecology and geography play important roles.

Spouses Often Mirror Each Other’s Health Habits:

If one spouse exercises, quits smoking, stops drinking alcohol, receives a flu shot, or undergoes a cholesterol screening, the other spouse is more likely to do the same, according to a new study in Health Services Research.

Galapagos Hawk’s Evolutionary History Illuminated:

Scientists at the University of Missouri-St. Louis used DNA sequences from feather lice to study how island populations of their host, the Galápagos Hawk might have colonized the Galápagos islands, home to the endangered and declining raptor.