Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Plant viruses from past provide ecological clues

10-08-2007 · EurekAlert!

Taking the medical history of a grassland may seem a bit esoteric. 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. Carolyn Malmstrom at Michigan State University isolated historical viral RNA sequences in native and invasive grasses revealing a complex picture of struggles of species, interactions of insects and implications for the ways viruses behave today.

Keywords: plant, viruses, past, provide, ecological, clues, viruse, clue

« Previous | Next »

Similar news on "Plant viruses from past provide ecological clues":

Past greenhouse warming events provide clues to what the future may hold
02-15-2008 · EurekAlert!
Scientists studying an extreme period of global warming 55 million years ago are piecing together an increasingly detailed picture of its causes and consequences. Their findings describe what may be the best analog in the geologic record for the global changes likely to result from continued carbon dioxide emissions from human activities.
Similar news · Read more »
DOE JGI Community Sequencing Program delivers first moss genome
12-13-2007 · EurekAlert!
Messages from nearly a half-billion years ago, conveyed via the inventory of genes sequenced from a present-day moss, provide clues about the earliest colonization of dry land by plants. The US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, was among the leaders of an international effort to complete the sequence of the first nonvascular land plant, the moss Physcomitrella patens, published Dec. 13 online in Science Express.
Similar news · Read more »
Sperm's immune-protection properties could provide link to how cancers spread
12-13-2007 · EurekAlert!
Sugar-based markers on human sperm cells which may prevent them from being attacked by the female immune system could provide a vital clue to how some cancers spread in the human body, according to new research published on Dec. 14, 2007.
Similar news · Read more »
Cell death in sparrow brains may provide clues in age-related human diseases
09-17-2007 · EurekAlert!
A remarkable change takes place in the brains of tiny songbirds each year, and some day the mechanism controlling that change may help researchers develop treatments for age-realted degenerative diseases of the brain such as Parkinson's and dementia.
Similar news · Read more »
Brain patterns of former anorexics reveal clues to disorder's lasting impact
12-01-2007 · EurekAlert!
Even after more than a year of maintaining a normalized body weight, young women with past anorexia nervosa show vastly different patterns of brain activity compared to similar women without the eating disorder, Walter H. Kaye, M.D., and colleagues report in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Studying these differences in brain function could lead to a better understanding of why some young women are at greater risk of developing the disorder.
Similar news · Read more »
The floral network -- What determines who pollinates whom
01-22-2007 · EurekAlert!
The topology of plant-pollinator networks can be explained by relatively simple rules incorporating both "complementarity" and "barrier" traits, thus providing insights into the possible evolutionary and ecological processes driving the pattern.
Similar news · Read more »
Signs of recent water on Mars
12-23-2006 · Science News Online
Pictures showing fresh deposits of bright material on two Martian gullies provide the most compelling evidence yet that water flowed on parts of the Red Planet during the past few years.
Similar news · Read more »
'Jekyll and Hyde' bacteria offer pest control clue
12-19-2007 · EurekAlert!
New research at the University of York has revealed so-called 'Jekyll and Hyde' bacteria, suggesting a novel way to control insect pests without using insecticides. Scientists in the University's Department of Biology studied the relationship between plant-dwelling insects and the bacteria that live in them -- and discovered an unexpected interaction.
Similar news · Read more »
Tumor cell activity may provide clues for treating breast cancer in young women
06-03-2007 · EurekAlert!
When women under 50 develop breast cancer the disease tends to be more aggressive and less responsive to treatment than when it occurs in older women. Researchers at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy and the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center may have discovered a part of the reason why, and their findings may lead to targeted therapies that can help treat patients more effectively.
Similar news · Read more »
'Magma P.I.' unearths clues to how crust was sculpted
12-03-2007 · EurekAlert!
Scientist says that Earth's magma delivery system fractured the planet's crust to provide a sort of "template," guiding the sculpting of valleys and mountain ranges.
Similar news · Read more »