Biosentients - Science Biology… etc

Finally, some good news about the prospects of coral reefs in the age of climate change. As per a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society, corals may actually survive rising ocean temperatures in tough love seas with wide-ranging temperatures. Scientists discovered that coral reefs in sites with varying seasonal temperatures are more likely to survive the hot pulses of Climate Change. On the other hand, reefs living in environments with stable but higher temperatures are more susceptible to bleaching, a global phenomenon where beneficial algae are evicted by corals, ultimately leading to the reefs demise……..

The most significant accomplishment in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year was the creation of the Tumba-Lediima Natural Reserve. The new reserve covers 1.9 million acres, an area more than two-and-a-half times the size of Yosemite National Park. Biodiversity surveys conducted by WWF identified critical populations of bonobo and forest elephant in this region……..

Much of the discussion at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, will focus on. monitoring tropical deforestation and the critical role that remote sensing systems will play in the development of REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) mechanisms policies designed to compensate rainforest nations for avoiding deforestation. Using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data acquired over a six-week period by the Japanese Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), researchers at the Woods Hole Research Center have just completed the first-of-its-kind, large-scale, wall-to-wall image mosaic at 25 m resolution for a portion of the Amazon basin……..

A pasture improvement research program by Dr. Dariusz Malinowski has him looking at summer-dormant tall fescue grasses as an alternative to winter wheat pastures. But these arent the typical tall fescue grasses grown in a number of parts of the nation, said Malinowski, a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station forage agronomist in Vernon. They are from the Mediterranean Basin of southern Europe and northern Africa……..

A team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Milan has discovered some unexpected forms of liquid crystals of ultrashort DNA molecules immersed in water, providing a new scenario for a key step in the emergence of life on Earth. CU-Boulder physics Professor Noel Clark said the team observed that surprisingly short segments of DNA, lifes molecular carrier of genetic information, could assemble into several distinct liquid crystal phases that self-orient parallel to one another and stack into columns when placed in a water solution. Life is widely believed to have emerged as segments of DNA- or RNA-like molecules in a prebiotic soup solution of ancient organic molecules……..

Using supercomputers to compare portions of the human genome with those of other mammals, scientists at Cornell have discovered some 300 previously unidentified human genes, and found extensions of several hundred genes already known. The discovery is based on the idea that as organisms evolve, sections of genetic code that do something useful for the organism change in different ways……..

Whether you prefer a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Pinot Noir grape variety, two new research articles reported in the online open access journal, BMC Genomics, offer a host of new genetic information on fruit ripening for this economically important fruit crop. The grapevine’s gene expression analysis reveals two distinct molecular and functional phases that correspond with the green and red grape stages. And scientists have reported the first biochemical evidence that reactive oxygen species accumulate during the colour transition. Stefania Pilati and fellow scientists from the IASMA Research Center, San Michele all’Adige, Italy, investigated ripening Pinot Noir grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) to identify fruit ripening genes and investigate seasonal influences. They found a core set of more than 1,400 ripening-specific genes that fluctuated similarly across three growing seasons and a smaller gene group strongly influenced by climatic conditions……..

A multi-national team of biologists has concluded that developmental evolution is deterministic and orderly, rather than random, based on a study of different species of roundworms. The findings are published in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology. The leading author is Karin Kiontke, a post-doctoral fellow in New York Universitys Department of Biology. The research team included NYU Biology Professor David Fitch as well as scientists from the University of Paris, the Israel Institute of Technology, and the Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Gera number of……..

Bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered a technique that for the first time enables the detection of biomolecules’ dynamic reactions in a single living cell. By taking advantage of the signature frequency by which organic and inorganic molecules absorb light, the team of researchers, led by Luke Lee, professor of bioengineering and director of UC Berkeley’s Biomolecular Nanotechnology Center, can determine in real time whether specific enzymes are activated or particular genes are expressed, all with unprecedented resolution within a single living cell……..

Deepak Singh, the author of BBGM, shared an interesting link with us through Twitter. You can get your own DNA portrait at DNA 11. In the era of personalized genetics, it’s a perfect example how industry will use these methods to explore all the financial possibilities. Here is DNA ………