insects 2 1

Tag: "insects" at biology news

Termites feed through good vibrations

...Force Academy, Dr Evans investigated how the blind insects measured pieces of wood. They recorded the vibrations of worker drywood termites as they fed on large and small wood blocks. Dr Evans then broadcast the recorded vibrations made by termites from the large blocks into small blocks and found that the ...

Plants, animals share molecular growth mechanisms

...sign plants better able to protect themselves from insects and disease. "These genes and their proteins are required for normal development and for normal cell-to-cell adhesion," Szymanski said. "They affect the growth of the whole plant and also the shape and size of types of cells in the plant." Results ...

Ancient olfaction protein is shared by many bugs, offering new pest control target

...be able to utilize this commonality to "blind" the insects to the smell of their prey. Walton D. Jones, Thuy-Ai T. Nguyen, Brian Kloss, Kevin J. Lee, and Leslie B. Vosshall: "Functional conservation of an insect odorant receptor gene across 250 million years of evolution" ...

Spider Venom Could Yield Eco-Friendly Insecticides

...an spider with a bite that is deadly to humans and insects -- is an ideal source of venom for King's research...ins that selectively target the nervous systems of insects to understand the toxins' mechanism of action at the cellular level. Because these toxins do not aff...

Poplar trees redirect resources in response to simulated attack

...tolerate many different stresses, for example from insects or ozone," Ferrieri said. The scientists have not yet determined if more sugar gets stored in the plants' roots, a key component of the theory. "Because the radiotracer has such a short half-life (20.4 minutes), we can see that more is going to the ...

Experiments provide proof of how traveling in groups protects insects

...can travel a mile or so a day. Why such groups of insects form has mystified humans for thousands of years. ...too difficult to monitor what happened to specific insects among untold millions. "With these remarkable new light-weight transmitters, we could keep track of...

Experiments provide proof of how traveling in groups protects insects

...can travel a mile or so a day. Why such groups of insects form has mystified humans for thousands of years. ...too difficult to monitor what happened to specific insects among untold millions. "With these remarkable new light-weight transmitters, we could keep track of...

Why do insects stop 'breathing'? To avoid damage from too much oxygen, say researchers

... new study investigating the respiratory system of insects may have solved a mystery that has intrigued physiologists for decades: why insects routinely stop breathing for minutes at a time. Challenging previous theories, researchers at UC Ir...

UCLA scientists transform HIV into cancer-seeking missile

... suit of the Sindbis virus, which normally infects insects and birds. By altering the Sindbis coat, they reprogrammed the AIDS virus, which ordinarily infects T-cells, to hunt down and attach to P-glycoproteins -- molecules located on the surface of many cancer cells. The UCLA team is the first to prove that...

UCSD discovery may help extend life of natural pesticide

...es, or "binds," in the lining of the intestines of insects and roundworms. The molecule is a glycolipid--a li...which is produced by a soil bacterium, is toxic to insects and roundworms, but not to vertebrates, which accounts for its popularity as a pesticide," explained...

Falling ants glide back to trunk to avoid dangers of forest floor

...Galveston (UTMB). Gliding ants ?the only wingless insects known to actively direct their fall ?were first ob...undreds of species of canopy ants as well as other insects that live in the trees, and to explore the biomechanics of their gliding. ### Yanoviak also is aff...

X-Ray Beams And Fruit Fly 'Flight Simulator' Aid Scientists' View Of Muscle Power

...n “on?and “off?during the wingbeat. “Small flying insects face an enormous task ?generating enough power to ... the heart after contraction. We found that flying insects store much of the elastic energy in the protein filaments themselves, which minimizes the power cost...

Scientists discuss improved biopesticides for locust control in West Africa

...ts and grasshoppers. It specifically targets those insects and does not affect non-target organisms," Vaughan said. "The persistence of base biopesticides is low in the environment because of degradation from sunlight," Agblevor said. "We have developed coating technologies to improve on the environmental p...

Wisconsin researchers identify sleep gene

...earchers noticed shaking in the flies' legs as the insects recovered from anesthesia. The observation led the team to focus on the Shaker gene, which produces this effect. Nevertheless, Shaker's main job in flies-and in its equivalent in humans--is to control the excitability of cell membranes. Genetic anal...

Stem cells from brain transformed to produce insulin at Stanford

... take the first steps toward producing insulin. In insects such as fruit flies, the cells that produce insulin and regulate blood sugar are, in fact, neurons. Taken together, this evidence suggested to Kim that neural stem cells may be able to produce insulin. Despite Kim's informed hunch, the fact that it ...

Disease diagnosis, biodefense among UH chemical research projects

...ins are a family of heme proteins found in certain insects that store nitric oxide (NO). Having importance in many areas of human health, NO is useful in lowering blood pressure, treating cancer and increasing oxygen absorption in lung tissue. Czernuszewicz's research is focused on the roles of salivary nitr...

Scientists journey to southern Africa to unravel the secret world of elephant communication

...on in small animals, including spiders, scorpions, insects and a few vertebrate species, such as white-lipped...Etosha's 6-ton bulls that reminded her of the tiny insects back in the lab. "I did my master's thesis on seismic communication in planthoppers," she says. "I'...

Roots Engage in Underground Chemical Warfare

...mpounds that affect other nearby roots, as well as insects and microbes. But because it goes on unseen, bactericidal root activity has not been extensively investigated—until now. Using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, a relative of garden-variety cabbage, Jorge Vivanco and co-workers at Colorado State ...

Road salt affects mitigation wetlands

...k at the numbers and species of algae, amphibians, insects and bacteria in the salty and freshwater wetlands. "We would like to know how big a hit these two wetlands are going to take from the salt. We see an effect on the midges in the runoff receiving wetland, but so far there is no effect on the slightly...

Master gene controls healing of skin in fruit flies and mammals

...r development and repair of the surface barrier in insects and mammals have been conserved, given the differences in the molecular composition of insect cuticle and mammal skin. "The proteins that link together to form the insect cuticle and stratum corneum--the outer layer of mammal skin--are completely di...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8