31 Mar
Magnetic nano-’shepherds’ organize cells
The power of magnetism may address a major problem facing bioengineers as they try to create new tissue — getting human cells to not only form structures, but to stimulate the growth of blood vessels to nourish that growth. A multidisciplinary team of researchers from Duke University, Case Western Reserve University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst created an environment where magnetic particles suspended within a specialized solution act like molecular sheep dogs. In response to external magnetic fields, the shepherds nudge free-floating human cells to form chains which could potentially be integrated into approaches for creating human tissues and organs……..
February’s brutal chimpanzee attack, during which a pet chimp inflicted devastating injuries on a Connecticut woman, was a stark reminder that chimps are much stronger than humansas much as four-times stronger, some scientists believe. But what is it that makes our closest primate cousins so much stronger than we are? One possible explanation is that great apes simply have more powerful muscles. Indeed, biologists have uncovered differences in muscle architecture between chimpanzees and humans. But evolutionary biologist Alan Walker, a professor at Penn State University, thinks muscles may only be part of the story……..
Native plants are a growing niche market in the southeastern United States. Scientists have documented recent trends toward increased interest in native plants by landscape architects, wholesale and retail nursery owners, and home gardeners. But landscape professionals and amateur gardeners purchase native plants for distinctly different reasons. Statistics reveal that landscape architects most often select native species because they are suited to difficult or unique growing conditions, while retail plant buyers purchase native plants based on recommendations from landscape architects and contractors……..
Pine bark and peatmoss are the two most common substrates used for horticultural crop production in the southeastern United States, but both media can present challenges to growers. Reduced forestry production and increased use of pine bark as fuel and landscape mulch has made the medium less available, while the price of peatmoss is rising due to transportation costs and growing environmental concerns over the mining of peat bogs in Canada and Europe. These and other factors have contributed to a demand for new alternative substrates for container production of horticultural crops……..
Scientific studies of “consumption value” explore the reasons consumers choose particular products and provide marketers with ways to analyze consumer behavior and influence purchasing. Studying the value of consumption is believed to have diagnostic value in the analysis of consumer choice behavior and, therefore, is helpful in improving the efficiency of the market. To enhance efficiency and promotion, it is essential for marketers to know the consumption value that buyers place on products……..
Talk about house calls! The Wildlife Conservation Society thanks The Brain Tumor Foundation and its “Road To Early Detection” campaign for their assistance in performing a brain scan on a gorilla at the Bronx Zoo. The on-site procedureperformed by dozens of wildlife veterinarians, zookeepers, and medical personnel from several institutionswas made possible by the Bobby Murcer Mobile MRI Unit, a 48-foot-long MRI facility on wheels that conducted a comprehensive neurological scan on the brain of Fubo, a 42-year-old western lowland gorilla. Fubo is one of two adult males, or silverbacks, living in the Bronx Zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit, which houses one of the largest breeding groups of western lowland gorillas in North America (more than 20 individuals). Fubo recently suffered a seizure, prompting WCS health and curatorial staff to seek out a neurological diagnosis……..
Large size and a fast bite spelled doom for bony fishes during the last mass extinction 65 million years ago, according to a new study to be published March 31, 2009, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Today, those same features characterize large predatory bony fishes, such as tuna and billfishes, that are currently in decline and at risk of extinction themselves, said Matt Friedman, author of the study and a graduate student in evolutionary biology at the University of Chicago……..
University of Michigan ecologists and their colleagues have answered a question that has puzzled biologists for more than a century: What is the main factor that determines a lizard’s ability to shed its tail when predators attack? The answer, in a word: Venom. Tail-shedding, known to researchers as caudal autotomy, is a common anti-predator defense among lizards. When attacked, a number of lizards jettison the wriggling appendage and flee. The predator often feasts on the tail while the lucky lizard scurries to safety. Later, the lizard simply grows a new tail……..
The small amount of money put toward fighting the tiny, yet destructive soybean aphid will pay big dividends in the coming years, said a Michigan State University economist, thanks to a research and outreach system developed during the last 50 years. State and federal governments have spent $17 million on soybean aphid research and education since 2003, MSU agricultural, food and resource economics professor Scott Swinton said. The net economic benefit of that integrated pest management work, or IPM, should reach $1.3 billion during the next 15 years, he said. That’s an annual rate of return of 180 percent……..
Scientists at the University of Florida have introduced ‘Delicious’, a new muscadine grape cultivar. ‘Delicious’ ripens early, produces high yields, and is disease-resistant. The black fruit features exceptional taste and texture with an edible skin, making it well-suited for fresh fruit consumption and the potential for wine production. The name ‘Delicious’ was selected based on the comments of vineyard visitors who sampled the fruit……..
