Biosentients - Science Biology… etc

Everytime you look at the tattered corners of your sofa, your shredded curtains or claw marks on the lovely kitchen cabinets, don'’t you wish that your kitty didn'’t have claws? Why not make your feline happy by providing a stylish alternative for her scratching ………

The last photograph and write-up in the underutilized plants series will appear on Monday. Connor and I are still sorting out some details about the entry, a task made more difficult by the fact that I'’m 2000km away from Vancouver and not online often. So, that’’s the explanation for today’’s exceptionally late entry! In the meantime, Connor has assembled this ………

A savage fish more terrifying than a piranha has been caught in Britain for the first time - sparking fears of a deadly invasion. The vicious giant snakehead eats everything it comes across and has even been reported to kill people.

The monster - from south-east Asia - has a mouth crammed with fearsome teeth, can ‘’crawl'’ on land and survive out of water for up to four days. It is feared the fish had been smuggled in for an aquarium and then illegally ………

Half a century after most of Costa Rica’s rainforests were cut down, scientists from the Boyce Thompson Institute took on a project that a number of thought was impossible - restoring a tropical rainforest ecosystem. When the scientists planted worn-out cattle fields in Costa Rica with a sampling of local trees, native species began to move in and flourish, raising the hope that destroyed rainforests can one day be replaced……..

The mesquite girdler Oncideres rhodosticta may only be 13mm long, but it has a big role in shaping the landscape. Research carried out by Benjamin Duval and Walter Whitford at New Mexico State University has revealed that the beetle is speeding up the degradation of grasslands in the Chihuahua desert, the landscape so stunningly depicted in this years Oscar-winning film No Country for Old Men……..

An 8-year-old Jersey dairy cow is back at her Kansas farm thanks to a decade of research and an experimental surgery performed at Kansas State University’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. The cow, named Wilhelmina Jolene by the veterinary students assigned to her case, sustained a breeding injury in December 2007 when the cruciate ligament in her right knee ruptured. Dr. David Anderson, professor and head of agricultural practices at K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, replaced the ligament using synthetic material called monofilament nylon. The procedure’s success could have enormous implications for breeding quality cows and bulls with the same injury……..

Corn has long been known as the primary food crop in prehistoric North and Central America. Now it appears it may have been an important part of the South American diet for much longer than previously thought, as per new research by University of Calgary archaeologists who are cobbling together the ancient history of plant domestication in the New World……..

Looking for answers in the bright light of day, rather than the confined beam of a street light at night. Thats how University of Michigan researcher Sofia Merajver, M.D., Ph.D., describes the power of a new mathematical model that could have far-reaching impact on how researchers study cellular signaling pathways……..

Hikers and campers venturing into bear country this spring may be safer armed with 8-ounce cans of bear pepper spray than with guns, as per a new study led by a Brigham Young University bear biologist. Thomas S. Smith, associate professor of wildlife science, has conducted field work among bears for 16 years and has never used bear spray, eventhough he carries it faithfully. “I wish I had more scary stories to share, but I’ve behaved myself,” said Smith, emphasizing that caution and wisdom are the best way to prevent bear attacks……..

COLUMBIA, Mo. Before swatting at one of those pesky flies that come out as the days lengthen and the temperature rises, one should probably think twice. A University of Missouri researcher has found, through the study of Drosophila (a type of fruit fly), that by manipulating levels of certain compounds linked to the circuitry of the brain, key genes correlation to memory can be isolated and tested. The results of the study may benefit human patients suffering from Parkinsons disease and could eventually lead to discoveries in the therapy of depression……..