All Articles Tagged As: ants

Using DNA, scientists hunt for the roots of the modern potato (2/3/2008)

More than 99 percent of all modern potato varieties planted today are the direct descendents of varieties that once grew in the lowlands of south-central Chile. How Chilean germplasm came to dominate the modern potato-which spread worldwide from Europe-has been the subject of a long, contentious debate among scientists. ...> Full Article

Probing Question: Why are flowers beautiful? (1/28/2008)

Biologist studies the genetic roots of flowers ...> Full Article

Tree DNA helps support traditional view that some New Zealand plants were saved from catastrophic flood (1/15/2008)

Advanced DNA dating techniques used to analyse New Zealand kauri trees have led scientists to believe that New Zealand was never completely submerged. ...> Full Article

Smell-wars Between Butterflies And Ants (1/7/2008)

Among humans, making yourself smell more alluring than you really are is a fairly harmless, socially accepted habit that maintains a complete perfume industry. However, it is a matter of life and death for caterpillars of large blue butterflies that dupe ant workers into believing them to be one of the ant's own larvae. ...> Full Article

Insects' 'Giant Leap' Reconstructed By Founder Of Sociobiology (1/5/2008)

The January 2008 issue of BioScience includes an article by biologist Edward O. Wilson that argues for a new perspective on the evolution of advanced social organization in some ants, bees, and wasps (Hymenoptera). ...> Full Article

New plant study reveals a 'deeply hidden' layer of the transcriptome (12/29/2007)

Cells keep a close watch over the transcriptome - the totality of all parts of the genome that are expressed in any given cell at any given time. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of Missouri-Kansas City teamed up to peel back another layer of transcriptional regulation and gain new insight into how genomes work. ...> Full Article

Pinot Noir Grape Sequenced (12/27/2007)

Viticulture, the growing of grapes (Vitis vinifera) chiefly to make wine, is an ancient form of agriculture, evidence of which has been found from the Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages. We have a detailed understanding of how nurture affects the qualities of a grape harvest leading to the concept of terroir (the range of local influences that carry over into a wine). The nature of the grapes themselves has been less well understood but our knowledge of this is substantially increased by the publication of a high quality draft genome sequence of a Pinot Noir grape by an Italian-based multinational consortium. ...> Full Article

Researchers spearhead key genome initiative (12/16/2007)

The complete collection of genes - the genome - of a moss has been sequenced, providing scientists an important evolutionary link between single-celled algae and flowering plants. ...> Full Article

Plants see the light to help beat the big freeze (12/8/2007)

Light quality signals enhance plant freezing tolerance ...> Full Article

New research to decode the genetic secrets of prolific potato pest (12/1/2007)

The full weight of a consortium of world-leading scientists - including those who helped decode the entire human genome - is being thrown at a parasitic worm less than 1mm long. ...> Full Article

Flowering plants evolved very quickly into five groups (11/30/2007)

Scientists have shed light on what Charles Darwin called the "abominable mystery" of early plant evolution. ...> Full Article

New study unravels how plants respond to light (11/30/2007)

Researchers report a breakthrough in understanding how plants perceive and respond to light. ...> Full Article

Evolutionary Biology Research on Plant Shows Significance of Maternal Effects (11/16/2007)

When habitat changes, animals migrate. But how do immobile organisms like plants cope when faced with alterations to their environment? This is an increasingly important question in light of new environmental conditions brought on by global climate change. ...> Full Article

When animals evolve on islands, size doesn't matter (11/9/2007)

A theory explaining the evolution of giant rodents, miniature elephants, and even miniature humans on islands has been called into question by new research ...> Full Article

Tangled Web Of The Insect, Plant And Parasite Arms Race (11/4/2007)

New insights into the evolutionary relationship between plant-dwelling insects and their parasites are revealed in the online open access journal BMC Biology. Researchers shed light on how sawflies evolved to escape their parasites and gain themselves an 'enemy-free space' for millions of years. ...> Full Article

Team IDs ancient cargo from DNA (11/1/2007)

For the first time, researchers have identified DNA from inside ceramic containers in an ancient shipwreck on the seafloor, making it possible to determine what the ship's cargo was even though there was no visible trace of it. ...> Full Article

Bacteria Use Plant Defence for Genetic Modification (10/23/2007)

Bacteria that cause tumours in plants modify plant genomes by skilfully exploiting the plants' first line of defence. ...> Full Article

Scientists Sequence Genome of Soil-Dwelling Green Alga (10/12/2007)

Results have implications for understanding early evolutionary events ...> Full Article

Plant viruses from past provide ecological clues (10/10/2007)

Taking the medical history of a grassland may seem a bit esoteric – after all, how sick can grass be? However, scientists have discovered plant viruses from as early as 1917 containing information crucial not only for plant scientists, but for those in ecology, human health and bioterrorism. ...> Full Article

Living fossils have hot sex (10/5/2007)

Primitive Plants Use Heat and Odor to Woo Pollinating Insects ...> Full Article

Genetic differences in clover make one type toxic (10/4/2007)

Botanical "cloak and dagger" ...> Full Article

Research project on rice epigenetics using new techniques (9/11/2007)

Using a novel "deep sequencing" technology that can in one fell swoop decode 50 million sequences representing well over a billion bases of DNA, a research team led by University of Delaware scientists is working to unmask where, why and how certain genes are switched on or off in rice--a crop vital to the world's food supply. ...> Full Article

Auto Immune Response Creates Barrier To Fertility; Could Be A Step In Speciation (9/5/2007)

Plant biologists at the Max Planck Institute of Developmental Biology and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered that an autoimmune response, triggered by a small number of genes, can be a barrier to producing a viable offspring. ...> Full Article

A major advance in plant biology: the grapevine genome is completely sequenced (9/4/2007)

A major achievement has been reached in plant biology: the first detailed analysis of the grapevine genome has just been published. The joint effort carried out by scientists from Genoscope and INRA in France and from several Universities and the Istituto di Genomica Applicata (IGA) in Italy has produced a high-quality draft of the genome sequence of Vitis vinifera, the first for a fruit crop, cultivated for both fruit and beverage. ...> Full Article

Ancient yucca chaws yield ancient DNA (9/1/2007)

In a groundbreaking study, two Harvard scientists have for the first time extracted human DNA from ancient artifacts. The work potentially opens up a new universe of sources for ancient genetic material, which is used to map human migrations in prehistoric times. ...> Full Article

First orchid fossil puts showy blooms at some 80 million years old (8/30/2007)

Biologists at Harvard University have identified the ancient fossilized remains of a pollen-bearing bee as the first hint of orchids in the fossil record, a find they say suggests orchids are old enough to have coexisted with dinosaurs. ...> Full Article

How To Share A Bat (8/29/2007)

New Study Demonstrates Flowers Evolve Different Shapes to Reduce Competition for Bat Pollination ...> Full Article

Scientists Aim To Sequence And Catalog Conifer Genes For Future Biofuels Research (8/23/2007)

Jeffrey Dean, professor of forest biotechnology in the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, is spearheading a project at the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute (JGI) that will greatly expand the gene catalog for pines and initiate the first gene discovery efforts in five other conifer families. ...> Full Article

Rubbish heaps helped crops evolve (8/23/2007)

Rubbish heaps and backyard gardens helped early farmers domesticate crop plants, according to Oxford University scientists. Their research confirms that seeds and fruits gathered in the wild and then discarded or planted at home created a 'backyard melting pot' that gave rise to novel hybrids. Ancient people were quick to spot useful hybrids and start growing them as crops as the first village farms were established, around 4,000 years ago. ...> Full Article

Clones on task serve greater good, evolutionary study shows (8/21/2007)

"Don't ever change" isn't just a romantic platitude. It's a solid evolutionary strategy. ...> Full Article

Circadian Clock Controls Plant Growth Hormone (8/15/2007)

The plant growth hormone auxin is controlled by circadian rhythms within the plant, UC Davis researchers have found. The discovery explains how plants can time their growth to take advantage of resources such as light and water, and suggests that many other processes may be influenced by circadian rhythms. ...> Full Article

DNA Sequences and Fossils Show that the Proteaceae, A Major Group of Gondwanaland's Plants, Spread by Continental Drift and Transoceanic Dispersal to Modern Continents (8/12/2007)

Using DNA sequence data, botanists have shown that the large southern hemisphere plant family Proteaceae lived on the super-continent Gondwanaland almost 120 million years ago. ...> Full Article

Researcher To Trace Genetic History Of Coconut (8/10/2007)

The coconut has been popular in lore and on palates for centuries, yet little is known about the history of coconut's domestication and dispersal around the world. ...> Full Article

Which Came First, The Moth Or The Cactus? (8/10/2007)

Studies of desert duo show there's more to life than predator eats prey ...> Full Article

Scientists Plant Self-Pollination Idea (8/8/2007)

Studies in Science Express and Nature Genetics revise an understanding of sex evolution and genetic heritage. ...> Full Article

Why Do Flowers Smell, And Why Do Plants Smell, Too? (8/6/2007)

The luscious aroma of flowers attracts lovers, and the biological role of that smell is similar: to attract pollinators. "Plants need to attract insects, bats and hummingbirds to transfer the pollen and create fertile seeds,"¯ says Hugh Iltis, professor emeritus of botany at UW-Madison. ...> Full Article

Charting Ever-Changing Genomes (7/23/2007)

Instead of immutable proprietary software, any species' genetic information resembles open source code that is constantly tweaked and optimized to meet the users' specific needs. But which parts of the code have withstood the test of time and which parts have undergone rapid evolutionary change has been difficult to assess. ...> Full Article

How Pathogens Evolve To Escape Detection (7/20/2007)

An arms race is under way in the plant world. It is an evolutionary battle in which plants are trying to beef up their defenses against the innovative strategies of pathogens. The latest example of this war is a bacterium (Pseudomonas syringae) that infects tomatoes by injecting a special protein into the plant's cells and undermines the plant's defense system. ...> Full Article

How Plants Learned To Respond To Changing Environments (7/15/2007)

A team of John Innes Centre scientists led by Professor Nick Harberd have discovered how plants evolved the ability to adapt to changes in climate and environment. Plants adapt their growth, including key steps in their life cycle such as germination and flowering, to take advantage of environmental conditions . They can also repress growth when their environment is not favourable. This involves many complex signalling pathways which are integrated by the plant growth hormone gibberellin. ...> Full Article

Professor Probing The Evolution Of Tropical Orchids (7/14/2007)

John Cushman, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology professor, is making great strides in the ongoing research of plants with the metabolic ability to use less water than other plants. ...> Full Article

Exploring the Genetic Diversity of Flowers (7/13/2007)

Unlike moths and butterflies that are often brilliantly colored to warn potential predators that they carry toxins, flowers and the fruits they produce have brilliant colors and unusual shapes because they want to attract the attention of pollinators and frugivores who will disperse their pollen and seed, thus guaranteeing the next generation. ...> Full Article

Rapid Evolution Of Defense Genes In Plants May Produce Hybrid Incompatibility (7/13/2007)

Species are kept separate in plants and animals through barriers to gene flow. However, the exact mechanisms of speciation have only been explained within the last 20 years. Scientists found that one mechanism, hybrid necrosis, is associated with a plant defense gene. Different forms of these rapidly evolving genes in parent plants can cause autoimmune responses leading to offspring inviability and may represent a molecular pathway to speciation unique to plants. ...> Full Article

Ancient Americans Ate Chili Peppers 1,500 Years Ago (7/12/2007)

One of the world's tastiest and most popular cuisines, Mexican food also may be one of the oldest. ...> Full Article

Internal Clock, External Light Regulate Plant Growth (7/11/2007)

Most plants and animals show changes in activity over a 24-hour cycle. Now, for the first time, researchers have shown how a plant combines signals from its internal clock with those from the environment to show a daily rhythm of growth. ...> Full Article

Scientists To Sequence Eucalyptus Genome (7/6/2007)

An ambitious international effort has been launched today to decode the genome of Eucalyptus, one of the world's most valuable fibre and paper-producing trees. ...> Full Article

Researchers Say Genes Hold Secret to Wheat's Success (7/5/2007)

The success of wheat as a food crop can be traced through thousands of years of genetic changes that occurred as wheat was domesticated for human use, write UC Davis plant scientists Jorge Dubcovsky and Jan Dvorak in the cover article of the current issue of the journal Science. ...> Full Article

Earliest-Known Evidence Of Peanut, Cotton And Squash Farming Found (7/2/2007)

Anthropologists working on the slopes of the Andes in northern Peru have discovered the earliest-known evidence of peanut, cotton and squash farming dating back 5,000 to 9,000 years. Their findings provide long-sought-after evidence that some of the early development of agriculture in the New World took place at farming settlements in the Andes. ...> Full Article

Moss Genes Provided Fuse For Plant Life Explosion (6/23/2007)

Scientists from the John Innes Centre have identified the genes that control the development of root hairs on plants. Published in the journal Science, Professor Liam Dolan reports that these genes are also found in moss, a finding that changes our understanding of how the plants we see today evolved over 400 million years ago. ...> Full Article

Researchers Demonstrate Way To Genetically Engineer The Height Of Trees (6/22/2007)

Forest scientists at Oregon State University have used genetic modification to successfully manipulate the growth in height of trees, showing that it's possible to create miniature trees that look similar to normal trees - but after several years of growth may range anywhere from 50 feet tall to a few inches. ...> Full Article

Scientists Demonstrate First Use Of Nanotechnology To Enter Plant Cells (5/18/2007)

A team of Iowa State University plant scientists and materials chemists have successfully used nanotechnology to penetrate plant cell walls and simultaneously deliver a gene and a chemical that triggers its expression with controlled precision. Their breakthrough brings nanotechnology to plant biology and agricultural biotechnology, creating a powerful new tool for targeted delivery into plant cells. ...> Full Article

Arsenic-Absorbing Fern May Soak Up Toxic Metal To Repel Hungry Bugs (5/5/2007)

In the struggle for survival, plants are often at the mercy of hungry animals - but one fern has turned the tables by using poisonous arsenic to reduce its appeal, say University of Florida researchers. ...> Full Article

Plankton Have Gene That Integrates Foreign Dna Into Its Own Genome (5/2/2007)

Prominent evidence of selenium use by microbes may force new ideas of element's role in planetary processes such as carbon cycling and photosynthesis ...> Full Article

Scientists Find Missing Link to Understand How Plants Make Vitamin C (4/29/2007)

Vitamin C is possibly the most important small molecule whose biosynthetic pathway remained a mystery. That is until now. ...> Full Article

Researchers Zero In On Genes That Turn A Plant's Ability To Self-pollinate On And Off (4/26/2007)

Some plants need a partner to reproduce. Pollen from one plant pollinates the stigma of another, and a seed is formed. But other plants can self-pollinate, a handy survival mechanism for a lonely plant. ...> Full Article

Two-Protein Team Would Be Lost Without Each Other (4/25/2007)

Researchers are developing a more detailed picture of the complex interplay between genes and proteins in the rapidly growing root tips of plants ...> Full Article

Earth's First Rainforest Unearthed (4/24/2007)

A spectacular fossilised forest has transformed our understanding of the ecology of the Earth’s first rainforests. ...> Full Article

Scientists Unlock Secret Of What Makes Plants Flower (4/19/2007)

A protein acting as a long-distance signal from leaf to shoot-tip tells plants when to flower, says new research published in Science Express on Thursday 19 April 2007. ...> Full Article