Scientists investigating how one of the greatest shape shifters in the natural world is able to trick predators to avoid being eaten have identified the gene behind the fascinating feat.
The African Swallowtail butterfly, also known as the ‘Mocker Swallowtail’ or the ‘Flying Handkerchief,’ can appear to change both colour and shape.
Males of the species fly boldly around the tree tops, their rapid flight making them look like shaking handkerchiefs, however females lurk in the bushes and pretend to be examples of Monarch butterflies that are nasty to eat. (more…)
Bislang lernen Forstwissenschaftler: Je älter ein Baum, desto weniger CO2 kann er aufnehmen. Eine neue internationale Studie beweist nun das Gegenteil. Die größten Bäume weisen die höchste Leistungsfähigkeit in Sachen Kohlendioxidspeicherung und -aufnahme auf.
Die aktuelle Studie “Rate of tree carbon accumulation increases continuously with tree size” erschien in der Fachzeitschrift “Nature” und ist das Ergebnis einer Untersuchung von 38 Forschungseinrichtungen, darunter auch das Deutsche Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig. Die Wissenschaftler untersuchten mehr als 400 Baumarten. (more…)
*A slight change in molecular structure introduced by genetic engineering gives crop-protecting proteins called Bt toxins a new edge in overcoming resistance of certain pests, a UA-led team of researchers reports in Nature Biotechnology.*
One of the most successful strategies in pest control is to endow crop plants with genes from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt for short, which code for proteins that kill pests attempting to eat them.
But insect pests are evolving resistance to Bt toxins, which threatens the continued success of this approach. In the current issue of Nature Biotechnology, a research team led by UA Professor Bruce Tabashnik reports the discovery that a small modification of the toxins’ structure overcomes the defenses of some major pests that are resistant to the natural, unmodified Bt toxins. (more…)
