Forest elephants at risk from the illegal ivory trade
...he darker side of humanity, willing to lay waste a giant beast for the sake of its tusk, one can only hope that it can also inspire the human capacity for wisdomand the understanding that the world would be a poorer place without every incarnation of what Donne called "nature's great master-peece." For mor...Researchers identify gene involved in dog size
... done using 526 dogs from 14 small breeds and nine giant dog breeds. Ultimately, the researchers analyzed DNA from more than 3,000 dogs from 143 breeds to pinpoint a specific gene sequence variant, or haplotype, associated with small size in the canine genetic code. Nearly all of the small dogs studied ...Dog DNA study yields clues to diverse size of breeds
...tic data allowed the study to fill the gap between giant and miniature breeds ensuring coverage across the entire range of sizes of breeds we have today. These findings are just the tip of the iceberg in canine genetics, Jones said. We are well on our way to identifying additional genes that can provid...India's biotech industry emerging as world innovator, collaborator, competitor
...s and vaccines at costs small relative to those of giant Western firms, according to ground-breaking Canadian research published April 9. The budding of an innovative Indian biotech sector holds major implications for the global industry and for improving both health and prosperity in the developing worl...Famous Galpagos tortoise, Lonesome George, may not be alone
New Haven, Conn. "Lonesome George," a giant Galapagos tortoise and conservation icon long thought to be the sole survivor of his species, may not be alone for much longer, according to a multinational team of researchers headed by investigators at Yale University. New research led by biologi...Lonesome George is not alone among Galpagos tortoises
...ng thought to be the sole survivor of a species of giant Galpagos tortoise (Geochelone abingdoni), this conservation icon may not be alone for much longer. Researchers headed by investigators at Yale University report these findings in work published online on April 30th in the journal Current Biology, pub...The opossum genome sequence casts light on evolution, immunity and disease
...domestica: evolution of lineage-specific genes and giant chromosomes. Genome Res. doi:10.1101/gr.6093907 ...Rare soft-shell turtle, nesting ground found in Cambodia
...eleased an 11-kilogram (24.2-pound) female Cantors giant softshell turtle (Pelochelys cantorii) during a su...hell commonly associated with turtles, the Cantors giant softshell turtle has a rubbery skin with ribs fused together to form a protective layer over the int...Caribbean frogs started with a single, ancient voyage on a raft from South America
...ead, by rafting across the Caribbean Sea after the giant asteroid impact near Cuba 65-million years ago, wh...ther than earlier. "The asteroid impact generated giant waves that devastated the islands, probably eliminating any existing fauna at that time," Hedges sai...University of Colorado invention may allow thirsty crops to signal farmers
...edy musical film, "Little Shop of Horrors," when a giant carnivorous plant tells humans to "feed me." "This technology allows plants to say, 'water me,' " he said. High eastern plains water-use has led to lawsuits against Colorado for violations of interstate water compacts, including a recent $30 mil......luting renewable plant matter. Scientists took a giant step closer to the biorefinery this week, reporting in the June 15 issue of the journal Science that they have directly converted sugars ubiquitous in nature to an alternative source for those products that make oil so valuable, with very little of t...UI anthropologist, colleagues discover remains of earliest giant panda
...he first discovery of a skull from a "pygmy-sized" giant panda -- the earliest-known ancestor of the giant panda -- that lived in south China some two million years ago. The ancestor of today's giant panda...Giant magnetocaloric materials could have large impact on the environment
...d on gadolinium-germanium-silicon alloys display a giant magnetocaloric effect due to unusual coupling betw...minally non-magnetic germanium-silicon ions in the giant magnetocaloric effect. In an article published in the June 15 issue of Physical Review Letters, the ...International team to honor 30th anniversary of deep-sea vent discovery in Galpagos
...down the middle of the world's ocean basins like a giant zipper, said Christopher German, ChEss co-chair an...eyeless shrimp that can see in the dark, beauties: giant worms of exquisite design, and curiosities: snails with plates of armor." The most well known anim......ger beak than seen in some living penguins but the giant Icadyptes salasi exhibits a grossly elongated beak with features not known in any extinct or living species. This species beak is sharply pointed, almost spear-like in appearance, and its neck is robustly built with strong muscle attachment sites. Ic...Glimmer of hope for Tahitian tree snails' survival
...truder was meant to control yet another snail, the giant African land snail, which was presumably brought to the island as a potential food source. It instead became something of an agricultural pest, and the rosy wolf snail was brought in. As a consequence, Tahitis tree snail populations have been almost ...Microscopic jets, diamonds unlikely on Uranus, and amazing mosquito legs
...pontaneously form in carbon rich layers of the gas giant planets. White dwarf stars, according to the study...wing that at the temperatures and pressures in gas giant planets like Uranus, arrangements of carbon atoms would be much more suitable for creating tiny bits...Scientists to make news at Computational Biology Conference
... Novel accomplishments will dot the landscape at a giant assembly of computational biologists in Vienna in mid-July. From new ways to discern how DNA folds into cell nuclei to possible treatments for diseases such as cancer, both basic and applied biology are getting a boost from researchers who call thems...Genetic diversity in honeybee colonies boosts productivity
...six to 20 mates on average, for example, while the giant honeybee in Asia has a reported record of 102 mates. To study the reasons for honeybees' promiscuity, the Cornell biologists inseminated 12 queens with sperm from 15 drones (a different set for each) and nine additional queens with sperm from a singl......nibalistic fish populations, individuals may reach giant sizes, more than double the size of those in unharvested population. Indeed, such giant cannibals seem to occur frequently in heavily fished lakes. Our results are directly applicable to c...