biodiversity

J. Craig Venter Searching for Energy Alternatives Using Biological Replacements

The man who helped to first sequence the human genome ten years ago, is looking to use biology to tackle the energy problem.

J. Craig Venter Interview - WSJ.com

Australia Has A Feral Camel Population Estimated Close to 1 Million and a $19 Million Culling Project

Having recently seen a National Geographic write up and short video (read full article for reference links) I wanted to know more about the feral camel's that were brought to Australia. According to the Department of Environment and Conservation of Western Australia the one-humped dromedary camels (Camelus dromedaries), was introduced between 1840 and 1907.

feral camels australia, culling, 1 million

Even Spiders are Exploring the Benefits of Going Vegan

It was long thought that all 40,000 species of spiders in the world were strict predators - feeding on other insects or animals. Now two researchers - Christopher Meehan of Villanova University, and Eric Olson of Brandeis - have revealed that a small Central American jumping spider is predominantly a plant eater.

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New Species Discovered on Whale Skeletons

When a whale dies and its body sinks to the bottom of the sea - it becomes a food source for an entire ecosystem. The problem of course, is that it is nearly impossible to predict when and where the whale is going to die, and once it settles to the ocean floor - it doesn't last very long. So it comes as a surprise that some marine species have become specialized in feeding on whale cadevers.

Warmer Oceans Give Rare Algae an Edge

Rising sea temperatures in the Caribbean have provided scientists with the opportunity to study the effects of warmer water on a particular species of algae. In a paper to be published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers led by Penn State biologist Todd LaJeunesse describe their study of coral in the Caribbean during a particularly warm stretch in 2005.

rare algae, lab grab, image, science news

Unique Human Genes Originating from Non-Coding Primate DNA

University of Dublin researchers David Knowles and Aoife McLysaght, of the Smurfit Institute of Genetics, have identified three uniquely human genes that are not found in any other species.

Novel natural product yielding potential new ways to fight diseases

Scientists recently discovered that a cyanobacteria, collected off the coast of Papua New Guinea, produces a compound with a structure that has never before been seen in biomedicine.

DNA Barcoding that can help easily and accurately catalog the worlds plants

University of Toronto scientists are part of an international team of researchers that have identified a pair of genes which they say can be used to quickly and accurately catalog plants around the world. The classification technique is known as DNA barcoding and uses a short genetic marker in an organism's DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species.

matK and rbcL — two chloroplast genes — are adopted as the DNA barcode for land plants

Surviving mass extinction by leading a double life

Drifting across the world’s oceans are a group of unicellular marine microorganisms that are not only a crucial source of food for other marine life — but their fossils, which are found in abundance, provide scientists with an extraordinary record of climatic change and other major events in the history of the earth.

First ever nut-eating dinosaur discovered

Paul Sereno, a paleontologist at the U. of Chicago and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, and two colleagues from the People's Republic of China announce the discovery in the June 17th issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.