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Flies and Bikes
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- October 20, 2008
- 07:00 PM
- 1,319 views
In the Journals - Miller's "volcanic spark" experiment revisited
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
In the 1950s, Louis Miller conducted a number of experiments that tried to model the origin of organic compounds in a prebiotic world. Among these was the Miller-Urey experiment, in which a vessel containing water, methane, ammonia and hydrogen was heated and subjected to electrical disc [...]... Read more »
A. P. Johnson, H. J. Cleaves, J. P. Dworkin, D. P. Glavin, A. Lazcano, & J. L. Bada. (2008) The Miller Volcanic Spark Discharge Experiment. Science, 322(5900), 404-404. DOI: 10.1126/science.1161527
- February 27, 2009
- 02:03 AM
- 1,307 views
1.5 million year old Hominin footprints
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
Todays issue of Science contains a report on the identification of bipedal hominin footprints found at Ileret in Kenya. Of course older hominid footprints, probably of Australopithecus arafensis, were found some years ago at Laetoli and have become iconic images.
The new discovery is of fossil footprints which are morphologically distinct from the much older Laetoli [...]... Read more »
M. R. Bennett, J. W.K. Harris, B. G. Richmond, D. R. Braun, E. Mbua, P. Kiura, D. Olago, M. Kibunjia, C. Omuombo, A. K. Behrensmeyer.... (2009) Early Hominin Foot Morphology Based on 1.5-Million-Year-Old Footprints from Ileret, Kenya. Science, 323(5918), 1197-1201. DOI: 10.1126/science.1168132
- September 4, 2008
- 07:00 PM
- 1,297 views
In the Journals - Polytene Chromosomes and the Evolution of Drosophila
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
A. Bhutkar, S. W. Schaeffer, S. M. Russo, M. Xu, T. F. Smith, W. M. Gelbart (2008). Chromosomal Rearrangement Inferred From Comparisons of 12 Drosophila Genomes Genetics, 179 (3), 1657-1680 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.107.086108Back when I was a carefree postdoc, one of t [...]... Read more »
A. Bhutkar, S. W. Schaeffer, S. M. Russo, M. Xu, T. F. Smith, & W. M. Gelbart. (2008) Chromosomal Rearrangement Inferred From Comparisons of 12 Drosophila Genomes. Genetics, 179(3), 1657-1680. DOI: 10.1534/genetics.107.086108
- December 4, 2008
- 06:00 PM
- 1,164 views
In the Journals - The origin of digits
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
Once again, I find myself interested in a paper about the analysis of a fossil! This time the point of interest is origin of the tetrapod limb digits. The origins of the proximal elements of the tetrapod limb are well understood, and can be seen as homologues of elements of the fins of sarcopterygian (lobe-finned fish). The origins of the digits may have [...]... Read more »
Catherine A. Boisvert, Elga Mark-Kurik, & Per E. Ahlberg. (2008) The pectoral fin of Panderichthys and the origin of digits. Nature, 456(7222), 636-638. DOI: 10.1038/nature07339
- September 1, 2008
- 07:00 PM
- 1,140 views
What the heck is a Placozoan, anyway?
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
I was intrigued by a brief news piece in the latest issue of Science to fall onto my desk (the 22nd August issue). This concerns the recently published genome sequence of Trichoplax adhaerens, a peculiar animal in a phylum I'd never heard of. That in itself was interesting, particularly as placozoans have a really odd body plan that invol [...]... Read more »
Mansi Srivastava, Emina Begovic, Jarrod Chapman, Nicholas H. Putnam, Uffe Hellsten, Takeshi Kawashima, Alan Kuo, Therese Mitros, Asaf Salamov, Meredith L. Carpenter.... (2008) The Trichoplax genome and the nature of placozoans. Nature, 454(7207), 955-960. DOI: 10.1038/nature07191
- July 24, 2008
- 07:00 PM
- 1,103 views
In the Journals - Tasmanian Devil Tumours
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
... Read more »
M. E. Jones, A. Cockburn, R. Hamede, C. Hawkins, H. Hesterman, S. Lachish, D. Mann, H. McCallum, & D. Pemberton. (2008) Life-history change in disease-ravaged Tasmanian devil populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(29), 10023-10027. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0711236105
- October 22, 2008
- 07:00 PM
- 1,037 views
In the Journals - A "bizarre" feathered fossil from China
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
Perhaps I have just taken the wrong career path in science, but I do find the reports of interesting new fossils rather exciting. And how could I resist a paper describing a "bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran"? It seems that hardly a week goes by without a striking fossil from China being d [...]... Read more »
Fucheng Zhang, Zhonghe Zhou, Xing Xu, Xiaolin Wang, & Corwin Sullivan. (2008) A bizarre Jurassic maniraptoran from China with elongate ribbon-like feathers. Nature, 455(7216), 1105-1108. DOI: 10.1038/nature07447
- January 31, 2009
- 06:00 PM
- 991 views
In the Journals - Human expansion across the Pacific mapped by language and bacteria
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
Just as I finish reading (or rather, re-reading) chapters concerning the fate of Easter Island (Rapanui) and of Henderson and Pitcairn Islands in Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive by Jared Diamond, the 23rd January issue of Science arrives, bearing two articles on the spread of humans (Austronesians) from Taiwan and onwards across Micronesia to Polyne [...]... Read more »
R. D. Gray, A. J. Drummond, & S. J. Greenhill. (2009) Language Phylogenies Reveal Expansion Pulses and Pauses in Pacific Settlement. Science, 323(5913), 479-483. DOI: 10.1126/science.1166858
Y. Moodley, B. Linz, Y. Yamaoka, H. M. Windsor, S. Breurec, J.-Y. Wu, A. Maady, S. Bernhoft, J.-M. Thiberge, S. Phuanukoonnon.... (2009) The Peopling of the Pacific from a Bacterial Perspective. Science, 323(5913), 527-530. DOI: 10.1126/science.1166083
C. Renfrew. (2009) ANTHROPOLOGY: Where Bacteria and Languages Concur. Science, 323(5913), 467-468. DOI: 10.1126/science.1168953
- October 17, 2008
- 07:00 PM
- 990 views
In the Journals - Fossils revealing ancient behaviour
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
A pair of recent issues of Science plonked into my mail box this week. Among the items that caught my eyes was an exciting brief communication in Science shows a rare example of what appears to be fossil evidence of behaviour. These are Waptia-like arthropods from the Lower [...]... Read more »
X.-G. Hou, D. J. Siveter, R. J. Aldridge, & D. J. Siveter. (2008) Collective Behavior in an Early Cambrian Arthropod. Science, 322(5899), 224-224. DOI: 10.1126/science.1162794
- July 30, 2008
- 07:00 PM
- 987 views
In the Journals - A New Genetics of Metazoan Mitochondria?
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
Manipulating the Metazoan Mitochondrial Genome with Targeted Restriction Enzymes Hong Xu, Steven Z. DeLuca, Patrick H. O'FarrellScience 25 July 2008:Vol. 321. no. 588 [...]... Read more »
H. Xu, S. Z. DeLuca, & P. H. O'Farrell. (2008) Manipulating the Metazoan Mitochondrial Genome with Targeted Restriction Enzymes. Science, 321(5888), 575-577. DOI: 10.1126/science.1160226
- February 5, 2009
- 06:00 PM
- 967 views
In the Journals - Chemical evidence of multicellular life 635 million years ago
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
A paper in the current issue of Nature [Love et al (2009) Nature 457; 718-722] suggests that multicellular life existed about 100 million years before the explosion of bilaterian animals in the Cambrian. The evidence comes from analysis of rocks from the Arabian peninsula, in which geologically preserved derivatives of characteristic chemicals have been detected. Now [...]... Read more »
Gordon D. Love, Emmanuelle Grosjean, Charlotte Stalvies, David A. Fike, John P. Grotzinger, Alexander S. Bradley, Amy E. Kelly, Maya Bhatia, William Meredith, Colin E. Snape.... (2009) Fossil steroids record the appearance of Demospongiae during the Cryogenian period. Nature, 457(7230), 718-721. DOI: 10.1038/nature07673
- March 20, 2009
- 12:35 PM
- 931 views
The evolution of feathers
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
Ed Yong has a nice discussion of a recent paper about a feathered dinosaur over at his blog (Not Exactly Rocket Science -Tianyulong - a fuzzy dinosaur that makes the origin of feathers fuzzier). The neat thing with this fossil is that it suggests that the evolution of feathers might have been a stepwise process, [...]... Read more »
Zheng, X., You, H., Xu, X., & Dong, Z. (2009) An Early Cretaceous heterodontosaurid dinosaur with filamentous integumentary structures. Nature, 458(7236), 333-336. DOI: 10.1038/nature07856
- November 6, 2008
- 06:00 PM
- 921 views
In the Journals - Wolbachia infection and protection agaist viral infection in insects
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
Wolbachia pipientis is a rather peculiar bacterium. It's an intracellular organism, and is found in a wide variety of tax, including nematodes, crustacea, and arachnids. About 20% of insect species are thought to have Wolbachia [...]... Read more »
L. M. Hedges, J. C. Brownlie, S. L. O'Neill, & K. N. Johnson. (2008) Wolbachia and Virus Protection in Insects. Science, 322(5902), 702-702. DOI: 10.1126/science.1162418
- October 30, 2008
- 07:00 PM
- 841 views
In the Journals - Diapause adaptation in Drosophila melanogaster
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
An amino acid polymorphism in the couch potato gene forms the basis for climatic adaptation in Drosophila melanogasterMost organisms are faced with dealing with seasonal variations in environmental conditions. As winter approaches, physiological changes need to [...]... Read more »
P. S. Schmidt, C.-T. Zhu, J. Das, M. Batavia, L. Yang, & W. F. Eanes. (2008) An amino acid polymorphism in the couch potato gene forms the basis for climatic adaptation in Drosophila melanogaster. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(42), 16207-16211. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0805485105
- March 15, 2009
- 09:37 AM
- 832 views
Fossil trackway reveals avian characteristics of theropod posture
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
It’s often claimed that intermediary fossils representing stages in the divergence of extant taxa are absent from the fossil record. Such claims are often made by those with a creationist bent, and in some cases on the back of spectacular ignorance of biology. For example Adnan Oktar’s (he publishes bizarre anti-evolution tirades under the pen [...]... Read more »
Milner, A., Harris, J., Lockley, M., Kirkland, J., & Matthews, N. (2009) Bird-Like Anatomy, Posture, and Behavior Revealed by an Early Jurassic Theropod Dinosaur Resting Trace. PLoS ONE, 4(3). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004591
- November 28, 2008
- 06:00 PM
- 773 views
In the Journals - Antimicrobial Defense in Insects
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
This recent paper caught my eye, as as some of my recent research has related to the regulation of antimicrobial defence in Drosophila. Insects have a two ways of coping with microbial infection. Firstly, microbes... Read more »
E. R. Haine, Y. Moret, M. T. Siva-Jothy, & J. Rolff. (2008) Antimicrobial Defense and Persistent Infection in Insects. Science, 322(5905), 1257-1259. DOI: 10.1126/science.1165265
D. S. Schneider, & M. C. Chambers. (2008) MICROBIOLOGY: Rogue Insect Immunity. Science, 322(5905), 1199-1200. DOI: 10.1126/science.1167450
- November 22, 2008
- 06:00 PM
- 728 views
In the Journals - Selfish Genetic Elements and Polyandry
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
This interesting paper investigates whether there is a relationship between polyandry and selfish genetic elements, in the fruit fly Drosophila pseudoobscura. Polyandry - where females have multiple mating partners - is widespread in animals, but despite its frequency, little is known of the costs and benefits of this reproductive strategy ( [...]... Read more »
T. A. R. Price, D. J. Hodgson, Z. Lewis, G. D. D. Hurst, & N. Wedell. (2008) Selfish Genetic Elements Promote Polyandry in a Fly. Science, 322(5905), 1241-1243. DOI: 10.1126/science.1163766
- December 7, 2008
- 06:00 PM
- 728 views
In the Journals - The strange origin of the Drosophila Y chromosome
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
The Y chromosome in Drosophila is a strange thing, and it has several unique features. While, just as in humans, male flies are XY and females XX, flies differ in the the Y chomosome doesn't determine "maleness". Rather the sex of the fly is determined by the ratio of X chromosomes to the number of sets of autosomes (the X:A ratio). If the X:A ratio is [...]... Read more »
Leonardo B. Koerich, Xiaoyun Wang, Andrew G. Clark, & Antonio Bernardo Carvalho. (2008) Low conservation of gene content in the Drosophila Y chromosome. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature07463
- July 2, 2009
- 12:46 AM
- 595 views
Sydney Brenner on C. elegans
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
The latest issue of Genetics to flop onto my desk has a rather nice article by Sydney Brenner entitled "In the Beginning Was the Worm...". This brief article (in the regularly excellent Perspectives section) presents an account of the origins of Caenorhabditis elegans research, by the beast's main man, research which ultimately earned him Nobel Prize fameRead More...... Read more »
Brenner, S. (2009) In the Beginning Was the Worm .. Genetics, 182(2), 413-415. DOI: 10.1534/genetics.109.104976
- December 20, 2008
- 06:00 PM
- 472 views
In the Journals - Ayurvedic Rasayana therapy in brain aging
by GrumpyBob in Flies and Bikes
While browsing through Biogerontology looking for the citation details of one of my publications (which appears to still be available only online), I came across this review, which kind of stands out because of its subject matter. And any paper with two citations from 300AD and 1300AD has to be looked at!At the outset, I should say that I kRead More...... Read more »
Ram Harsh Singh, K. Narsimhamurthy, & Girish Singh. (2008) Neuronutrient impact of Ayurvedic Rasayana therapy in brain aging. Biogerontology, 9(6), 369-374. DOI: 10.1007/s10522-008-9185-z
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