http://www.biosentients.com Article & News for biology information Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:30:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 en http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/good-breeding-increases-shelf-life/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/good-breeding-increases-shelf-life/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:30:35 +0000 admin Biology Information http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/good-breeding-increases-shelf-life.html The lettuce cut and packaged for food service and salad mixes is an increasingly important component of the produce industry. Lettuce is highly perishable, and the cutting mandatory in processing further shortens its shelf life. Packaging cut lettuce and other fresh produce in semipermeable plastic films extends shelf life via a technique called "modified-atmosphere packaging". The success of modified-atmosphere (MA) packaging for lettuce and certain salad greens has led to innovative products, marketing strategies, and enhanced sales to consumers........ ]]> The lettuce cut and packaged for food service and salad mixes is an increasingly important component of the produce industry. Lettuce is highly perishable, and the cutting mandatory in processing further shortens its shelf life. Packaging cut lettuce and other fresh produce in semipermeable plastic films extends shelf life via a technique called "modified-atmosphere packaging". The success of modified-atmosphere (MA) packaging for lettuce and certain salad greens has led to innovative products, marketing strategies, and enhanced sales to consumers........ ]]> http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/good-breeding-increases-shelf-life/feed/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/lionfish-decimating-tropical-fish-populations/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/lionfish-decimating-tropical-fish-populations/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:20:21 +0000 admin Biology Information http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/lionfish-decimating-tropical-fish-populations.html The invasion of predatory lionfish in the Caribbean region poses yet another major threat there to coral reef ecosystems a new study has observed that within a short period after the entry of lionfish into an area, the survival of other reef fishes is slashed by about 80 percent. Aside from the rapid and immediate mortality of marine life, the loss of herbivorous fish also sets the stage for seaweeds to potentially overwhelm the coral reefs and disrupt the delicate ecological balance in which they exist, as per researchers from Oregon State University........ ]]> The invasion of predatory lionfish in the Caribbean region poses yet another major threat there to coral reef ecosystems a new study has observed that within a short period after the entry of lionfish into an area, the survival of other reef fishes is slashed by about 80 percent. Aside from the rapid and immediate mortality of marine life, the loss of herbivorous fish also sets the stage for seaweeds to potentially overwhelm the coral reefs and disrupt the delicate ecological balance in which they exist, as per researchers from Oregon State University........ ]]> http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/lionfish-decimating-tropical-fish-populations/feed/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/predicting-the-distribution-of-creatures-great-and-small/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/predicting-the-distribution-of-creatures-great-and-small/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:20:21 +0000 admin Biology Information http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/creatures-great-and-small.html In studying how animals change size as they evolve, biologists have unearthed several interesting patterns. For instance, most species are small, but the largest members of a taxonomic group -- such as the great white shark, the Komodo dragon, or the African elephant are often thousands or millions of times bigger than the typical species. Now for the first time two SFI scientists explain these patterns within an elegant statistical framework........ ]]> In studying how animals change size as they evolve, biologists have unearthed several interesting patterns. For instance, most species are small, but the largest members of a taxonomic group -- such as the great white shark, the Komodo dragon, or the African elephant are often thousands or millions of times bigger than the typical species. Now for the first time two SFI scientists explain these patterns within an elegant statistical framework........ ]]> http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/predicting-the-distribution-of-creatures-great-and-small/feed/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/do-birds-have-a-good-sense-of-smell/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/do-birds-have-a-good-sense-of-smell/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:20:21 +0000 admin Biology Information http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/do-birds-have-a-good-sense-of-smell.html The sense of smell might indeed be as important to birds as it is to fish or even mammals. This is the main conclusion of a study by Silke Steiger (Max Planck Institute for Ornithology) and her colleagues. The sense of smell in birds was, until quite recently, believed to be poorly developed. Recent behavioural studies have shown that some bird species use their sense of smell to navigate, forage or even to distinguish individuals. Silke Steiger and her colleagues chose a genetic approach for their study. Their research focused on the olfactory receptor (OR) genes, which are expressed in sensory neurons within the olfactory epithelium, and constitute the molecular basis of the sense of smell. The total number of OR genes in a genome may reflect how a number of different scents an animal can detect or distinguish. In birds such genetic studies were previously restricted to the chicken, hitherto the only bird for which the full genomic sequence is known........ ]]> The sense of smell might indeed be as important to birds as it is to fish or even mammals. This is the main conclusion of a study by Silke Steiger (Max Planck Institute for Ornithology) and her colleagues. The sense of smell in birds was, until quite recently, believed to be poorly developed. Recent behavioural studies have shown that some bird species use their sense of smell to navigate, forage or even to distinguish individuals. Silke Steiger and her colleagues chose a genetic approach for their study. Their research focused on the olfactory receptor (OR) genes, which are expressed in sensory neurons within the olfactory epithelium, and constitute the molecular basis of the sense of smell. The total number of OR genes in a genome may reflect how a number of different scents an animal can detect or distinguish. In birds such genetic studies were previously restricted to the chicken, hitherto the only bird for which the full genomic sequence is known........ ]]> http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/do-birds-have-a-good-sense-of-smell/feed/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/vaccine-offers-hope-for-endangered-ferrets/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/vaccine-offers-hope-for-endangered-ferrets/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:20:21 +0000 admin Biology Information http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/vaccine-offers-hope-for-endangered-ferrets.html Endangered black-footed ferrets, like children, aren't exactly lining up to be stuck with a vaccine, but in an effort to help control an extensive outbreak of plague in South Dakota, some of the ferrets are getting dosed with a vaccine given by biologists. This is the first time the vaccine has been used during a major plague epizootic-an animal version of a human epidemic. Sylvatic plague is an infectious bacterial disease commonly transmitted from animal to animal by fleas. This exotic disease is commonly deadly for black-footed ferrets and their primary prey, prairie dogs. Black-footed ferrets are one of the rarest mammals in North America........ ]]> Endangered black-footed ferrets, like children, aren't exactly lining up to be stuck with a vaccine, but in an effort to help control an extensive outbreak of plague in South Dakota, some of the ferrets are getting dosed with a vaccine given by biologists. This is the first time the vaccine has been used during a major plague epizootic-an animal version of a human epidemic. Sylvatic plague is an infectious bacterial disease commonly transmitted from animal to animal by fleas. This exotic disease is commonly deadly for black-footed ferrets and their primary prey, prairie dogs. Black-footed ferrets are one of the rarest mammals in North America........ ]]> http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/vaccine-offers-hope-for-endangered-ferrets/feed/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/spotted-hyenas-can-increase-survival-rates-by-hunting-alone/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/spotted-hyenas-can-increase-survival-rates-by-hunting-alone/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:20:21 +0000 admin Biology Information http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/spotted-hyenas-can-increase-survival.html Recent research by Michigan State University doctoral student Jennifer Smith has shed new light on the way spotted hyenas live together and - more importantly - hunt for their food alone. In a paper recently reported in the journal Animal Behaviour, Smith, a student in MSU's Department of Zoology, shows that while spotted hyenas know the value of living together in large, cooperative societies, they also realize that venturing on their own now and then to hunt for food is often the key to their survival........ ]]> Recent research by Michigan State University doctoral student Jennifer Smith has shed new light on the way spotted hyenas live together and - more importantly - hunt for their food alone. In a paper recently reported in the journal Animal Behaviour, Smith, a student in MSU's Department of Zoology, shows that while spotted hyenas know the value of living together in large, cooperative societies, they also realize that venturing on their own now and then to hunt for food is often the key to their survival........ ]]> http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/spotted-hyenas-can-increase-survival-rates-by-hunting-alone/feed/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/pollination-habits-of-endangered-texas-rice/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/pollination-habits-of-endangered-texas-rice/#comments Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:10:01 +0000 admin Biology Information http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/pollination-habits-of-endangered-texas-rice.html A type of wild rice that only grows in a small stretch of the San Marcos River is likely so rare because it plays the sexual reproduction game poorly, a study led by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin has revealed. The first study of breeding habits of this endangered, aquatic grass (Zizania texana) observed that the pollen of Texas wild-rice can only travel about 30 inches away from a parent plant. If pollen doesn't land on a receptive female flower within that distance, no seeds will be produced. No seeds means no new plants to replenish a population that faces other survival threats........ ]]> A type of wild rice that only grows in a small stretch of the San Marcos River is likely so rare because it plays the sexual reproduction game poorly, a study led by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin has revealed. The first study of breeding habits of this endangered, aquatic grass (Zizania texana) observed that the pollen of Texas wild-rice can only travel about 30 inches away from a parent plant. If pollen doesn't land on a receptive female flower within that distance, no seeds will be produced. No seeds means no new plants to replenish a population that faces other survival threats........ ]]> http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/pollination-habits-of-endangered-texas-rice/feed/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/environmental-programs-in-china-successful/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/environmental-programs-in-china-successful/#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:51:50 +0000 admin Biology Information http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/environmental-programs-in-china-successful.html Two of the world's largest environmental programs in China are generally successful, eventhough key reforms could transform them into a model for the rest of the world, as per research results published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Jianguo "Jack" Liu, a scientist at Michigan State University, is the lead researcher on the project. Liu and other researchers evaluated China's Natural Forest Conservation and Grain to Green programs that together represent a government investment of more than 500 billion yuan (more than $72 billion)........ ]]> Two of the world's largest environmental programs in China are generally successful, eventhough key reforms could transform them into a model for the rest of the world, as per research results published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Jianguo "Jack" Liu, a scientist at Michigan State University, is the lead researcher on the project. Liu and other researchers evaluated China's Natural Forest Conservation and Grain to Green programs that together represent a government investment of more than 500 billion yuan (more than $72 billion)........ ]]> http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/environmental-programs-in-china-successful/feed/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/genetic-basis-for-the-black-sheep-of-the-family/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/genetic-basis-for-the-black-sheep-of-the-family/#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:51:47 +0000 admin Biology Information http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/genetic-basis-for-the-black-sheep-of-the-family.html Coat color of wild and domestic animals is a critical trait that has significant biological and economic impact. As per a research findings published online in Genome Research (www.genome.org), scientists have identified the genetic basis for black coat color, and white, in a breed of domestic sheep........ ]]> Coat color of wild and domestic animals is a critical trait that has significant biological and economic impact. As per a research findings published online in Genome Research (www.genome.org), scientists have identified the genetic basis for black coat color, and white, in a breed of domestic sheep........ ]]> http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/genetic-basis-for-the-black-sheep-of-the-family/feed/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/wasps-and-bumble-bees-heat-up/ http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/wasps-and-bumble-bees-heat-up/#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:51:47 +0000 admin Biology Information http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalinks/7-2008/wasps-and-bumble-bees-heat-up.html Good pollen makes bees hot, biologists at UC San Diego have found. Wasps warm up too when they find protein-rich meat, a separate experiment has shown. In both cases warmer flight muscles likely speed the insects' trips home, allowing them to quickly exploit a valuable resource before competitors arrive, the scientists report in separate studies, published this month in two scientific journals........ ]]> Good pollen makes bees hot, biologists at UC San Diego have found. Wasps warm up too when they find protein-rich meat, a separate experiment has shown. In both cases warmer flight muscles likely speed the insects' trips home, allowing them to quickly exploit a valuable resource before competitors arrive, the scientists report in separate studies, published this month in two scientific journals........ ]]> http://www.biosentients.com/biology-information/wasps-and-bumble-bees-heat-up/feed/