Adaptation in Biological News

The story of X -- evolution of a sex chromosome

... The X chromosome undergoes periods of intense adaptation in the evolutionary process of creating new ... however, with about 10 times the normal amount of adaptation seen in the autosomes, according to the ... in action." She said evidence suggests that adaptation to being a sex chromosome is most intense between ...

Climate change aims need to be better integrated

... the inclusion of climate change mitigation and adaptation in general governmental programmes and strategies ... will be posed by the emergence of climate change adaptation policies across Europe. Climate policy ... economic and social impacts of both adaptation and mitigation policies. A second report from ...

Symposium to look at genetic basis of exercise

... have organized the symposium, the Genetics of the adaptation to Exercise. The American Physiological Society ... Hoffman will discuss Genetics and skeletal muscle adaptation to exercise, while Dr. Rankinen will talk on ... The researchers compared measures of adaptation to exercise on individuals within families and ...

Seven recommendations from Aarhus to COP15

... an integrated part of the general mitigation and adaptation effort Agriculture and Climate Change: We must ... part of the general climate change mitigation and adaptation effort Climate change (CC) constitutes a ... with other pressures, notably land-use. Key adaptation strategies are: 1. Reducing other pressures ...

Most US organizations not adapting to climate change

... concentrations of greenhouse gases, little adaptation has occurred," says Robert Repetto, author of "The Climate Crisis and the adaptation Myth" and a senior fellow of the United Nations ... organizations face significant obstacles to adaptation because of uncertainties over the occurrence of ...

Space researchers developing tool to help disoriented pilots

... said Small, a member of NSBRI's Sensorimotor adaptation Team. "It is worse in a spacecraft because the ... Dr. Charles Oman, who is NSBRI's Sensorimotor adaptation Team Leader and director of the Man Vehicle ... help in the cockpit." The NSBRI Sensorimotor adaptation Team is developing pre-flight and in-flight ...

Study helps clarify role of soil microbes in global warming

... was substrate depletion in the warmer soils or adaptation by the microbes. In the next set of ... in the heated soils. To test whether thermal adaptation occurred, they measured respiration while keeping ... respiration in heated soils is caused by the adaptation of individual microbes, by shifts in species ...

Dissecting the genetic components of adaptation of E. coli to the mouse gut

... mechanisms that facilitate the remarkably fast adaptation of intestinal bacteria within their natural ... system the authors analyzed the intestinal adaptation of a model bacterial strain, Escherichia coli ... coordinate physiological activities necessary for adaptation to complex environments and that mutations offer ...

Report shows the power of US cities to mitigate climate change and steps they need to take to adapt

... of Chicago has developed a comprehensive risk management plan including 39 adaptation tactics such as implementing a needs assessment to evaluate drainage ... coming decade", whilst Washougal, WA states that "a proactive approach to adaptation and mitigation will reward business and residential consumers with lower ...

Stanford's Woods Institute awards new round of Environmental Venture Projects

... Northern California Water Supply: Meadow Restoration for adaptation to Climate Change: In an average year in Northern California, the Feather ... modeling, researchers will evaluate meadow restoration as an effective adaptation tool to combat climate change, develop a method to screen meadows as ...

Notre Dame researchers describe new tool for evaluating 'managed relocations'

... to a more thoroughly vetted decision to implement, or reject, such an adaptation strategy. The working group notes that managed relocation is only one ... of regulatory innovation in environmental and land use la,w including the adaptation of regulatory institutions in response to climate change. ...

A genome may reduce your carbon footprint

... there exists a great deal of phenotypic variation derived from latitudinal adaptation across its natural range and local adaptation to soil, temperature, and moisture conditions. It is still largely ...

Indigenous peoples at world summit to share climate change observations, coping techniques

... wild food sources as required. Among new Indigenous climate change adaptation efforts to be presented at the Summit: Honduras: With increasing ... discussions now underway. When it comes to implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies, the world would gain greatly from proven ancient approaches ...

'Climate change: Global risks, challenges and decisions'

... increases significantly the long-term social and economic costs of both adaptation and mitigation. Key Message 4: Equity Dimensions Climate change is ... and on human societies and the natural world. An effective, well-funded adaptation safety net is required for those people least capable of coping with ...

Lower increases in global temps could lead to greater impacts than previously thought, study finds

... Woods Institute for the Environment, said, "We need both mitigation and adaptation policies to cope with climate change, since we must adapt to changes we ... and mitigate changes that are hard to adapt tothat is, mitigation and adaptation are complements, not trade-offs" Another lead author, Joel B. Smith, a ...

Survival in a Changing World: The Journal of Experimental Biology 2009 symposium

... of these changes have had on animal biodiversity and ecology, emphasizing adaptation and resilience in physiological systems. The Symposium is a satellite ... animals Emerging zoonosis and human diseases Animal resilience and adaptation in coping with changes Population and ecosystem responses to land use ...

Evolutionary process more detailed than previously believed, study shows

... a microorganism, scientists could discover a once-overlooked beneficial adaptation that arose somewhere along the way that would help enhance tolerance. That adaptation might otherwise not be apparent if only the current generation of the ...

The birds of Spain, in a digital ornithological encyclopedia

... their environment" covers topics to do with bird biodiversity and species' adaptation to particular habitats, while "Flight" offers some little known facts on ... locomotion, with discussions on energy budgets, flightless birds and their adaptation to the aquatic medium. Other themes covered are feeding behavior, ...

Rong Li Lab offers insight into adaptive ability of cells

... Associate and co-equal lead author on the paper. "Surprisingly, the adaptation was accomplished not by changes in DNA sequences but largely by modifying ... generations." "Another process that contributed to the successful adaptation involved polyploidization, in which yeast cells multiplied their entire ...

Issues at intersection of climate change and health impact global well-being

... communication. Much public health activity will have to focus on adaptation reducing harm from the effects of climate change. Key principles of adaptation are discussed by Kristie Ebi and Jan Semenza, and lessons learned from ...

Barcelona Declaration 2008: Challenges and Pathways to Earth Sustainability

... and share lessons learned. There is unrecognized and unused knowledge on adaptation to specific risks in low-income countries that needs to be mobilized. Research is needed to ensure that adaptation programs and activities are effective and efficient locally. Developing ...

Statin does not appear helpful for children with learning disabilities caused by genetic disorder

... assessing nonverbal long-term memory, assessing attention and prism adaptation task (measurement of adaptation of the angle of hand movements in response to prism glass distortion, ...

New fossil tells twisted tale of how flatfishes ended up with two eyes on one side of head

... no idea how the forces of evolution gave rise to this curious structural adaptation because no fishesliving or fossilwith intermediate characteristics of this adaptation have ever been identified. What might have led to this adaptation? What ...

Ocean life under threat from climate change

... published today in the journal Science by researchers at CSIRO's Climate adaptation National Research Flagship. "Marine ecosystems are undoubtedly ... climate change in the oceans is important, ultimately we need to develop adaptation options as the knowledge-base expands," Dr Richardson said. National ...

Is DNA repair a substitute for sex?

... bdelloids DNA repair capacity evolved due to a different environmental adaptation tolerance of extreme dryness. Bdelloids, which live in ephemeral ... We think that gene conversion resulting from DNA repair resulting from adaptation to (desiccation in) its environment may provide enough of the advantages ...

Impoverished areas of Africa and Asia face severe crop losses from climate change in 20 years

... as Southern Africa and South Asia, where urgent investment in agricultural adaptation is needed, the authors pointed to other regions where uncertainties about ... where should organizations be investing money, and what kind of adaptation investments make the most sense" There are the sure bets, such as ...

Scientists develop new measure of 'socioclimactic' risk

... providing integrated, country-based information to aid the development of adaptation and mitigation policies at the national and regional level," Giorgi said. ... on regional scale climate change, its impacts and mitigation, and adaptation strategies. The center serves as a hub for a range of activities beyond ...

Evolutionary biology research on plant shows significance of maternal effects

... their offspring will recover. We found a temporary mechanism of adaptation to local environmental conditions, says Galloway. Since plant adaptation is typically studied on a permanent, genetic level rather than in direct ...

Alaska graduate program in sustainability receives $3.2 million award

... FAIRBANKS, Alaska Graduate students and scientists of the Resilience and adaptation Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks received a five-year, $3.2 ... Science Foundation to address questions of social-ecological resilience, adaptation and sustainability. RAP focuses on answering questions of how global ...

Venomous sea snakes play heads or tails with their predators

... venomous sea snakes are susceptible to attack from several predators such as sharks, large bony fishes, and even birds. "The value of such an adaptation is twofold; it may increase the chances of surviving predator attack by exposing a less 'vital' body part, but more importantly it may deter attack ...

Climate change poker: The barriers which are preventing a global agreement

... on a post-2012 framework are issues evolving around the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and how to implement adaptation to climate change. Even if some consensus is reached in Copenhagen, there is however no guarantee a deal will be agreed on. Nevertheless, the ...

Microbes and their hosts -- exploring the complexity of symbiosis in DNA and cell biology

... the individual ants that make up the colony. Their thought-provoking review of the impact of symbiotic lifestyle on genetic variation and microbial adaptation is entitled, "Remaining Flexible in Old Alliances: Functional Plasticity in Constrained Mutualisms." Adam Silver and Joerg Graf from the ...

High-tech vehicle design boosts emergency rescue capacity

... manufactured superstructures for fire engines, mobile workshops, food delivery vehicles and military transport. It has a particular expertise in the adaptation of box bodies to Unimog off-road vehicle subframes. Different approach The high capacity model developed in the EUREKA project demanded a ...

Scientists track chemical changes in cells as they endure extreme conditions

... to monitor, at a molecular level, the chemical changes in individual cells as they survive extreme conditions. The ability to watch this Herculean adaptation to stress, from such an up-close and real-time vantage, gives scientists an improved way to study adaptive responses in a range of microbes, such as ...

Evolution: Crabs go deep to avoid hot water

... the world, the shallow water ancestors of current deep-sea groups had to go deep and adapt to the challenges of life in the deep sea. The process of adaptation to constant low temperatures (1-4C) prevailing in the deep sea seems to have narrowed the temperature tolerance range of the crabs where they have ...

Scientists capture the first image of memories being made

... because a lot of information needs to be maintained over a long time there has to be some degree of stability. Second, to allow for learning and adaptation the system also needs to be highly flexible. For this reason, research has focused on synapses which are the main site of exchange and storage in ...

Rising acidity levels could trigger shellfish revenue declines, job losses

... Because changes in seawater chemistry are already apparent and will grow over the next few decades, Cooley and Doney suggest measures that focus on adaptation to future CO 2 increases to lessen the impact on marine ecosystems, such as flexible fishery management plans and support for fishing communities. ...

World Day to Combat Desertification focuses on human security

... to develop sustainable observation systems by using EO technology that will help to establish a sound scientific basis for developing effective adaptation or mitigation measures against the impacts of climate change. This year's official observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification is being ...

Work of Field Museum scientist addresses question of chance in evolution

... As Darwin observed, natural selection leading to adaptation of individuals and populations is occurring gradually and all the time. But over very long spans of time, the major channels of genetic organization, ...

'Jellyfish joyride' a threat to the oceans

... New research led by CSIRO Climate adaptation Flagship and University of Queensland scientist, Dr Anthony Richardson, presents convincing evidence that this 'jellyfish joyride' is associated with ...