Biomedical subjects
E Pennisi
Publications and source records attributed to E Pennisi.
Biochemistry. High-tech lures hook into new marine microbes.
Two scientific teams, one of which reports its findings on page 1902, have identified large populations of bacteria that convert sunlight hitting the sea surface into energy. These two groups of bacteria, which harness light to move electrons and power cellular processes, likely help bring energy into the food chain. And that could help to explain a puzzle that has confounded researchers trying to understand marine ecosystems: how so many bacteria can survive in the open ocean, where there seems to be relatively little for them to eat.
Genomics. Rat genome off to an early start.
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Biotechnology. Perseverance leads to cloned pig in Japan.
Low success rates and unpredictable results have plagued cloning researchers, particularly those trying to clone pigs. Now, on page 1188, Japanese researchers offer the first scientific report of a cloned pig, named Xena, raising hopes that pigs could one day provide an unlimited supply of organs for transplantation thanks to their close physiological relationship to humans. But this week those hopes were dealt a blow by more evidence suggesting that pig retroviruses can infect human cells.
Evolution 2000 meeting. Evolutionary trends from bacteria to birds.
Talks at Evolution 2000, held here in late June, covered the gamut of evolutionary biology, from life history changes in bacteria to the origins of modern bird diversity. Researchers reported on senescence in single-celled organisms and an origin for modern birds that is both farther back in time and farther south than generally believed.
Developmental biology. Embryonic lens prompts eye development.
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The snarls and sneers that keep violence at bay.
The ability to mete out violence appears to be linked to survival in the animal kingdom. But a handful of researchers is now making a persuasive case that scores are settled far more often by subtle, nonviolent signals such as a curled lip or a snarl. Their provocative idea is that inflicting violence on a member of one's own species is a pathological condition that arises when these signals are missed or misinterpreted.
Genomics. Wellcome Trust backs genome computation.
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Evolutionary biology. Chewed leaves reveal ancient relationship.
On page 291, researchers describe a new beetle fossil based not on traces of the insect skeleton but on the distinctive gouges the beetles left when they munched on 11 ginger leaves many millions of years ago. The chew marks of the newly described Cephaloleichnites strongi prove that leaf beetles underwent rapid evolution and diversification more than 65 million years ago, possibly taking advantage of (and perhaps influencing) the rapid diversification among flowering plants occurring at the same time. What's more, C. strongi represents the earliest known rolled-leaf beetle species, hundreds of which today still prefer just one of the ginger- and heliconia-like plants in the Zingiberales order.
Ecology. When fire ants move in, others leave.
Researchers have uncovered new evidence about the long-range, and potentially long-term, ecological damage being wrought by an invasive species of fire ant. The red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta displaces other ant species and upsets the structures of native communities of ants--disruptions that appear to be permanent, they report in the July issue of Ecology Letters. The drop in biodiversity could represent a significant loss, experts note, because of the critical role ants play in recycling nutrients and other biological material.
Human genome. Finally, the book of life and instructions for navigating it.
The race is over. On 26 June, to much fanfare, two rival teams announced that they had each completed a version of the "book of life"--a rough draft of the complete human genetic code. So what, exactly, is in these two different volumes, and how will they fine-tune it so that everyone from workaday biologists to pharmaceutical giants can mine its gold?
Biomechanics. Geckos climb by the hairs of their toes.
Biomechanists have uncovered the secret of how the gecko manages to run up walls and across ceilings: rows of tiny hairs with multiple split ends on the bottom of each toe pad. As they report in the 8 June issue of Nature, weak attractive forces between the 1000 or so split ends on each hair and the ceiling help the gecko grab even the smoothest surface. Armed with that knowledge, the researchers hope to design synthetic "footpads" to improve the maneuverability of robots and perhaps to design an entirely new type of adhesive.
Animal cloning. Clones: a hard act to follow.
Often left out of news reports of cloned animals is the fact that for every 100 attempts, just two or three live offspring typically result. Now many researchers are going back to the lab to attempt to find out why. They are probing fundamental questions of cell biology, as well as trying to figure out whether there is something inherently flawed in "asexual" reproduction in mammals, or whether some problem lies in the in vitro component of the process. For now, the serious obstacles suggest that human cloning may be a long way off.
Profits from precious pets.
In 1998, an anonymous millionaire, hoping to clone his pet dog Missy, awarded a Texas A&M University animal scientist $2.3 million to develop the necessary techniques. Now several companies are cashing in on the boom in frozen-tissue storage of pets for future cloning.
Biomedical research. Patients help track down disease gene.
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Matching the transcription machinery to the right DNA.
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Human Genome Project. And the gene number is...?
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