Want to know why spring flowers are always on time? Small wonder. It’s a gene.
Tag Archives: genes
Good news: we somehow killed just the right blue whales
Earth is a bit over 4.5 billion years old. Life on it is only about one billion years younger. And let´s say Homo smartphonensis is a mere three years old.
Genetic diversity Scandinavian spruce trees higher – as some survived ice age
What a difference a gene makes
Genetic manipulation of circadian rhythm may open up all-season crop yields
Just like human beings plants too have a biological clock, which prepares them to make optimal use of both day and night – and which helps them to nicely tune their annual growth cycle within the appropriate seasons. It is … Continue reading
Sulphur switch in algae new route to marine cloud geoengineering?
Marine bacteria produce two types of sulphur compounds as they eat dead algae biomass. The one, methanethiol, or MeSH, is cycled downwater into the food chain. The other forms a liquid aerosol, dimethylsulfide, or DMS. The latter plays an important … Continue reading
Publication of the human genome turns 10
Ten years ago this month, the first complete human genome sequence was published. While many have questioned why this has not translated into more relevant clinical applications, it has increased the molecular understanding of disease. Increasingly, the relationship between genome … Continue reading
Bumblebee CCD in US?
Recently we witnessed positive news with respect to the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) of honeybees. In December British scientists announced in Parasites & Vectors they had discovered a method to combat a parasitic mite that kills honeybee colonies, varroa destructor, … Continue reading
‘Genes cannot be patented’
Human and other genes should not be eligible for patents because ‘they are part of nature’, says (PDF) the US Department of Justice on behalf of the government, revoking longstanding policy – and practice of government agencies like the Patent … Continue reading
Today’s paradox: non-GM crops help promote GMO
This week the EU considers decentralising the rules on the production of Genetically Modified Organisms. If they do so, it won’t be Brussels stating GMO risks are unacceptable, but individual member states deciding for themselves – no doubt weighing in … Continue reading