New Group Of Algae Discovered: Picobiliphytes:
An international group of researchers has succeeded in identifying a previously unknown group of algae. As currently reported in the scientific journal Science, the newly discovered algae are found among the smallest members of photosynthetic plankton - the picoplankton ('Picobiliphytes: A marine picoplanktonic algal group with unknown affinities to other Eukaroytes" Science, Vol. 316'). On account of the minute size of the organisms (no more than a few thousandth of a millimetre) and the appearance of phycobili-proteins, researchers have termed the new group Picobiliphyta.
Lost Dogs Found More Often Than Lost Cats, Study Suggests:
A lost dog is more likely to be reunited with its owner than a lost cat, according to two new studies. In one city in southwestern Ohio , researchers found that 71 percent of lost dogs were found, compared to just 53 percent of lost cats. More than a third of the recovered dogs were found by a call or visit to an animal shelter. More than one in four dogs were found because the animal wore a dog license or identification tag at the time of its disappearance.
Genetic Marker Predicts Pig Litter Size:
Bigger is often better where litter size is concerned, especially when it comes to piglets. Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb., have identified a genetic marker that could help pig breeders select animals for increased uterine capacity and litter size. This genetic discovery could give swine breeding a boost in efficiency.
A relic plant that once co-existed with dinosaurs has taken up residence in the University of Wisconsin-Madison botany greenhouses. Known as the Wollemi pine, the plant was presumed extinct until a "bushwalker" named David Noble discovered it in an Australian national park in 1994. As part of a worldwide effort to conserve and propagate the tree species - one of the oldest and rarest on earth - botany greenhouse director Mo Fayyaz recently purchased a foot-tall Wollemi pine seedling. A limited number of the plants just became available in the United States through National Geographic.
Pathogens can become superbugs without their even knowing it, research published today in Science shows. 'Stealth' plasmids - circular 'DNA parasites' of bacteria that can carry antibiotic-resistance genes - produce a protein that increases the chances of survival and spread of the antibiotic-resistant strain. Low-cost plasmids, described for the first time in the study are a threat to use of antibiotics.
Large Size Crucial For Amazon Forest Reserves:
An international research team has discovered that the size of Amazon forest reserves is yet more important than previously thought. Their findings, to be published this week (January 12th) in the journal Science, underscore the importance of protecting the Amazon in large stretches of primary forest. The article summarizes bird survey results from the world's largest and longest running experimental study of forest fragmentation -- the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, sponsored by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Institute for Amazon Research, in Brazil.
States With Higher Levels Of Gun Ownership Have Higher Homicide Rates:
Firearms are used to kill two out of every three homicide victims in America.. In the first nationally representative study to examine the relationship between survey measures of household firearm ownership and state level rates of homicide, researchers at the Harvard Injury Control Research Center found that homicide rates among children, and among women and men of all ages, are higher in states where more households have guns. The study appears in the February 2007 issue of Social Science and Medicine.
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