Control mechanism for biological pattern formation decoded
...idermal structures including the hair follicles of mammals and the feather follicles of birds. A particular feature of these follicles is their characteristic special distribution and density. Signal molecules from the WNT family play a dominant role among the substances which are involved in the induction a...Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology
...U.S. in 2004. The virus can be found in birds and mammals (including humans and pigs), but is not generally transmissible between birds and humans. Pigs are believed to be susceptible to both origins resulting in them being deemed "mixing vessels" for the virus and ultimately reinforcing concerns of zoonos...Decoded sea urchin genome shows surprising relationship to man
...uding human and primates like rhesus monkey, other mammals like the cow and wallaby, insects such as honey bee, beetle, and wasp, and most recently the dolphin. In addition, numerous microbes have been sequenced, with a focus on infectious diseases. Other projects at the BCM-HGSC are studying the genetic bas...Two nerve cells in direct contact
...ure has constructed similarly simple mechanisms in mammals is still unclear - the circuitry of the nerve cells in the relevant areas in the cerebral cortex has not yet been sufficiently explained to allow experiments of this nature to be carried out. And it is rather doubtful whether removing a single cell f...Tiny worm provides model for the genetics of nicotine dependence
...the genes known to underlie nicotine dependence in mammals are also present in the worms. Having established worms as a model, the Xu team then tried to identify new genes important for nicotine dependence. They found for the first time that TRP channel genes which enable cells to respond to various external...Key to zebrafish heart regeneration uncovered
... vertebrate species, but that for unknown reasons, mammals have "turned off" this ability over the course of ...scover why this regenerative ability is lacking in mammals and potential ways to stimulate it."...... suggest methods for coaxing the damaged hearts of mammals to better heal, researchers report in the November 3, 2006 issue of Cell, published by Cell Press. The researchers found that the hearts of zebrafish harbor progenitor cells that spring into action to restore wounded heart muscle. Cells from a membr...Global map shows new patterns of extinction risk
...ed. However, different factors entirely may affect mammals such as tigers which are under threat from poachers, and amphibians which are being diminished by diseases brought into their habitat by non-native fish. "This means that even if a mountainous area has a real problem with endangered amphibians in ...Fossil is missing link in elephant lineage
... of elephants originated in Africa, in contrast to mammals such as rhinos, giraffes and antelopes, which had their origins in Europe and Asia and migrated into Africa. The dating of the new fossil, discovered in the East African country of Eritrea, also pushes the origins of elephants and mastodons five mill...Museum-fueled global study shows you can't judge biodiversity by its bird
...y yet of how rare and threatened species of birds, mammals and amphibians are distributed across the globe. T...ds cannot be used as predictors of rare species of mammals or amphibians," Rasmussen said. "It had been assumed on limited studies that birds could be used to ...Looking to a new era in bee research
...ganism-based communities, including those studying mammals and humans. A total of 112 individuals in 63 institutions around the world signed on to analyse the newly available honey bee genome sequence, generating exciting results in many areas of biology. Themes for analysis included Anti-Xenobiotic Defen...Biological clock of honey bee more similar to humans than to insects
...ney bee is more similar to the biological clock of mammals than to that of flies. The research identified a...clock in bees is closer to the biological clock of mammals than that of flies was a big surprise, since previously it had been thought that there is one type o...UGA study identifies North American wild bird species that could transmit bird flu
...f low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses to infect mammals so that the risk of human contact can be put into perspective. "With this information, public health officials will be able to better understand the human health risks associated with both low-pathogenic and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruse...Steep oxygen decline halted first land colonization by Earth's sea creatures
...vel birds breathe 30 percent more efficiently than mammals and at 5,000 feet in elevation birds are 200 percent more efficient. Ward pictures a world in which dinosaurs were able to adapt to low atmospheric oxygen content relatively easily, and when oxygen levels rose the dinosaurs developed into giant cre...Why the best things come to those who wait
...regnate the female. Many insect species but also mammals such as ground squirrels and even primates, including our close relative the chimpanzee, are 'polyandrous', which means that they mate with multiple partners. Previous studies have shown that the last male is most likely to be successful, and have pu...Intrinsic eye protein halts angiogenesis
... invade the cornea. They studied a wide variety of mammals and confirmed the effect in each species including humans. "The millenia-old mystery of corneal avascularity has been the subject of serious scientific inquiry for 50 years. The significance of this publication is that we have now identified a singl...Earliest fungi may have found multiple solutions to propagation on land, new study infers
...odiferous masses that are attractive to insects or mammals that then serve to disperse them," Vilgalys said. "Virtually every lineage of terrestrial fungi has some novel dispersal mechanism, and surviving aquatic fungi have their own adaptations," he added. James said the new research suggests that the f...New dwarf buffalo discovered by chance in the Philippines
...here is limited food and a small population, large mammals often evolve to much smaller size," said Darin Cro...ry Heaney, a co-author of the study and curator of mammals at The Field Museum. "The concentration of unique mammal species there is among the very highest in...Researchers give name to ancient mystery creature
... of primitive relatives of ungulates, the group of mammals which includes horses and cows. But despite that link to ungulates, which are traditionally herbivores, Horolodectes was thought to have dined on small insects and grubs. "It had sharp crests on the teeth which formed blades, indicating it was likely...Potassium limitation, ammonium toxicity and amino acid excretion in yeast
...ikely to be a yeast equivalent of urea excreted by mammals in urine. Using microarrays, the authors found that, in potassium-limiting conditions, many genes involved in nitrogen metabolism showed altered activity compared with unstressed cells. These expression patterns suggested that some attempt was being...