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Tag: "diversity" at biology news

Tarantulas produce silk from their feet

...ginated in the feet to increase traction, with the diversity of spinneret silk evolving later." The researchers placed tarantulas on a vertical glass surface. Though ground dwelling, these spiders can normally hang on to vertical surfaces by using thousands of spatulate hairs and small claws. However, the sc...

Striking the right balance between excitation and inhibition

...x nervous system, and we don't understand how this diversity comes about," Goulding explains. Referring to the multiple roles of Notch, not only in controlling the differentiation of neurons but in determining their excitatory/inhibitory activity, he adds: "Given that we now have a detailed description of ho...

Scientists' cell discovery unearths evolutionary clues

...al amoebas are a group of organisms with a genetic diversity that is greater than that of fungi and similar to that of all animals. They offer an excellent experimental system for studying aspects of evolution and communication that are not easy to study in more complex multi-cellular organisms. The York a...

Gut reaction: Researchers define the colon's genome

...revibacter smithii , was prominent. To assess the diversity of the colon microbiome, the researchers used two ...ce at hand, the researchers have described greater diversity in the human gut than researchers have reported for samples of acid mine drainage. These microbes a...

Eminent inventor of DNA fingerprinting gains new recognition

...01 national research assessment exercise. It has a diversity of active research groups with a common approach, the use of molecular techniques to resolve the problems addressed. The Department was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2002, for pioneering research and its impact on society. The work of th...

Beaver dams create healthy downstream ecosystems

...changing plant species and influencing the overall diversity of the ecosystem in the future. They suggest that although there are multiple explanations for the reduction in beaver population, such as alterations in the flow along the Colorado River, similar hydrologic effects downstream likely affect river sys...

Evolution reveals an independent route for diversity in animal form

...als. Knowing this, the spectacular morphological diversity in Cnidaria comes as a surprise. The Cnidaria is one of the most diverse and species-rich of animal groups, ranging in shape and size from microscopic solitary polyps to massive and highly differentiated colonial siphonophores up to 40 meters long. O...

What controls stickiness of 'smart' chromosomal glue

...e of DNA between chromosomes that promotes genetic diversity ?was also needed for the initial removal of cohesin from the chromosome arms, they found. In meiotic recombination, after each member of a chromosome pair has replicated to produce identical sister chromotids in the initial stage of meiosis, the ch...

Potato blight pathogenicity explained by genome plasticity

...artial gene copies function as a source of modular diversity remains to be resolved, this study highlights the importance of genome plasticity in evolution. Understanding genome plasticity as a mechanism for environmental response and ecological adaptation in pathogenic organisms has important implications. ...

New research finds surveys of larval-stage organisms effective for measuring marine biodiversity

...e marine environments. To date, surveys of species diversity in the world's oceans have focused on adult organisms, but new research from Boston University has found that studying marine life in its larval phase with DNA barcoding is a valuable way to estimate biodiversity. Using this novel approach, Paul Ba...

Global warming may have damaged coral reefs forever

...fter 1998. The survey also revealed that species diversity of the fish community had decreased by 50 per cent in the heavily impacted sites. Reduced biodiversity results in a more fragile and less stable ecosystem. Smaller fish have reduced in number more quickly than larger species but their decreased av...

Ecosystem services and invasive species

...and neighboring states contain the world's richest diversity of freshwater mussels. How can we start to protect these mussels, if we don't even know what's in our local rivers?," says Kesler. ...

Small molecule interactions were central to the origin of life

... and an external source of available energy. "The diversity of organic chemistry, with its harvest of competing, interconnected reactions, becomes an asset rather than a liability in the case of the energy-driven system," explains Shapiro. "The existence of side reaction paths can provide the network with the...

Chimpanzee study reveals genome variation hotspots

...zees and found that the overall chimpanzee genetic diversity may be more extensive than was previously thought,...n genome better, but it can also shed light on the diversity and adaptations of our nearest relatives," says Stone, who is one of the study's senior co-authors, ...

Invasive species alter habitat to their benefit

...vaded, they usually find predictable patterns. The diversity of native species declines, and changes occur in n...in the experimental plots, she found that both the diversity and the density of native species were lower when litter was present. But while native plants suffer...

Agriculture and tropical conservation: rethinking old ideas

... a new subpopulation. "We now think that most high diversity situations operate this way, with a continual process of local extinction and re-migration. When you couple that ecological theory with the observation of highly fragmented forests in the Atlantic coast rainforest, the real question is not how much f...

A new look at the state of the oceans

...pansion of the data base, but also leads to a high diversity of data entries with varied geographic origin thro... regions, genetic tools have revealed that species diversity is much higher than previously thought. Especially in marine systems, the term 'diversity' not only ...

When the going gets tough, slime molds start synthesizing

...same crowd. "While reading a review article on the diversity of polyketides in the journal Nature, we realized ...ry while continuing to collaborate on the chemical diversity found in this fascinating organism that crawls around on the forest floor. Says Noel, who is a pro...

Study finds that a woman's chances of having twins can be modified by diet

...gotic set increases, so does the level of physical diversity among them. In his most recent study of the mechanisms of twinning prior to the new study, Dr. Steinman confirmed that use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) methods increases the incidence of monozygotic twinning -- where the transfer and/or implantati...

Connect the Quantum Dots

...ples thus replacing conventional organic dyes in a diversity of imaging and sensing applications." Fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy have become invaluable analytical tools in biomedical research but rely on the fluorescence of organic dyes which have limited luminescent properties. Quantum dots have ...

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