Farmers and GM crops should both impact farmland birds, Science study predicts
... have created a model that simulates the growth of weed populations within crops. Using the model, the tea...ssociated with GMHT crops. The results showed that weed seed populations can be expected to decline by at least 90% in some cases. An important part of the ...Building better engines through natural selection
...of parameters. Next, a computer model is used to weed out the best parameters of the first group. The two fittest "parents" are then allowed to "reproduce" and a new generation is formed, complete with "mutations" that represent marked improvements over the previous generation. The process is continued ...Genes for unusual flower within a flower are identified by UCSD scientists
...d off in the discovery of the triple mutant in the weed plant, Arabidopsis, which has long been used as a plant model by geneticists. "This was a heroic undertaking, as three genes had to be knocked out in order for the function to be revealed," says Detlef Weigel, an expert on flower development who is...UCSD scientists identify genes controlling seed dispersal
...a, San Diego have identified genes in a laboratory weed that are necessary for normal seed dispersal. In ...n Arabidopsis that, when inactivated, prevent this weed from shattering its seed-containing pods. This is significant because the inactivation of these same...Chromosome centers defined and sequenced for model plant
...nes into an organism. These altered plants, even a weed like Arabidopsis, could then provide an inexpensive source of complex biomolecules for biochemical or pharmaceutical use. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Consortium for Pl......tely needed agricultural land invaded by a noxious weed known as Striga, or witchweed. Field trials in Ma... among subsistence farmers," says Dr. Watson. The weed compensates for its own lack of root system by penetrating the roots of other plants and stunting t...USGS studies wildfire ecology in the western United States
...aused by fire, interact to determine the course of weed invasion and habitat transformation. Esque also takes advantage of the "natural experiments" provided by desert wildfires. In 1994, for example, he began a collaborative studies with USGS research ecologist Dr. Cecil Schwalbe, of the Western Eco...Genetic engineered crop studies questioned
... thefield, and they say that "few entomologists or weed scientists familiar with thebutterflies or corn production ? give credence to the Nature article." Crops are genetically engineered with Bt to control pests without the use ofbroad spectrum insecticides, which may cause environmental and human heal......risks at home, including exposure todisinfectants, weed killers, pet care products and insecticides will bepresented by EPA researchers, along with proposed measures to reduce and preventexposure and hazards for children under age six. (See page 89, ENVR 43, Monday,August 23, 2:30 p.m., Convention Center,...... Tech professor ofplant pathology, physiology, and weed sciences, Karen Oishi, vice president ofresearch at CropTech,, David Radin, president of CropTech, and DeborahWeissenborn, director of regeneration and propagation at CropTech. The researchers are using tobacco plants to produce human lysosom......ia, 240,000 tiny seedlingsof Arabidopsis, a common weed closely related to mustard, will be frozen inliquid nitrogen, stopping all biological action and preserving molecularinformation. Reddy says about 13,000 genes--some 65 percent of the plant'stotal--have been sequenced (that is, the order of each gene...Scientists discover beetle that cures water fern menace
...tiny beetle stenopelmus rufinasus that will eatthe weed known as Azolla filiculoides and clear dams and lakes withouthurting any other plants or animal life. Mr Andrew McConnachie, a postgraduate Zoology student and hissupervisor, Dr Marcus Byrne, received financial and logistical supportfrom Dr Martin H...Keep Off The Grass And Take Off Your Shoes!
...use A government funded study shows that weed killers and other pesticidesapplied to lawns can be tracked into homes by people and pets up to a week aftertreatment, causing unnecessary exposure, particularly to children. By takingcommonsense steps such as removing shoes before entering the hous...How Can You Tell Whether Corn Is Fungus-Ridden?
...t infected grains." A combination of the two could weed out evenmore of the infected kernels, he says....Invading Pests Harm People, Plants And Animals
...vering about 22 million acres. This fast-spreading weed replaces desirablevegetation. In natural settings, its prickly thorns can make hiking pathsunpassable and its density can help carry wild fires. Within the agriculturalcommunity, yellow starthistle most severely affects ranchers. While young shootsca...Researchers isolate gene that helps plants take in iron from soil
..., cloned by Guerinotand colleagues from the common weed Arabidopsis, produces an enzyme thattransforms ferric iron, the most common form of iron found in soils, intoferrous iron. The ferric reductase enzyme straddles the surfaces of the plant'sroot cells in a series of loops. Each molecule of reductase c...A Fresh Look At Love And War Between The Sexes
... we do it. One explanation is that sex is a way to weed out surprisingly common adversegenetic mutations from the human gene pool. We profit from being sexual, as onescientist recently said, "to flush out these deleterious mutations." Anotherrelated explanation is that sex reduces fatal pathogen-stress....UC Scientists Search For Alternatives For Methyl Bromide
...eforeplanting, the gas kills most old plant roots, weed seeds, nematodes, soil fungi andbacteria – or...d enjoy what appears to be excellent control of weed seeds and soil-borne diseases. For more information contact Molinar at (559) 456-7555, rhmolinar......ntial biocontrol uses foreradicating the rangeland weed it infects. "We are primarily concerned with genetic changes that have occurred inpopulations of organisms during the past tens or hundreds of years up to thepresent," says Dr. Kevin McCluskey, University of Kansas Medical Center."Fortunately, these ...A lowly weed uses one of the same communications systems as does the humanbrain, scientists have found. In the November 12 issue of the journal Nature, Dr. Gloria Coruzzi andco-workers at New York University report that they turned up the sequence forproteins cal...