Mary Caswell Stoddard, an assistant professor in Princeton’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, proposes a far-ranging hypothesis regarding how and why bird eggs acquire their shapes. Her research, an interdisciplinary collaboration involving multiple authors, suggests that the shape of an egg for a given bird species may be driven in part by physiological features related to its capability for flight. (more…)
UCLA-led research highlights some harmful effects of BPS, a common substitute for BPA
Companies advertise BPA-free plastic as a safer version of products ranging from water bottles to sippy cups to toys. Many manufacturers stopped used bisphenol A, a chemical that is used to strengthen plastic, after studies linked it to early puberty and a rise in breast and prostate cancers (more…)
Pollination, essential to much of life on earth, requires the explosive death of the male pollen tube in the female ovule. In new research, Brown University scientists describe the genetic and regulatory factors that compel the male’s role in the process. Finding a way to tweak that performance could expand crop cross-breeding possibilities.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Millions of times on a spring day there is a dramatic biomolecular tango where the flower, rather than adorning a dancer’s teeth, is the performer. In this dance, the female pistil leads, the male pollen tubes follow, and at the finish, the tubes explode and die. A new paper in Current Biology describes the genetically prescribed dance steps of the pollen tube and how their expression destines the tube for self-sacrifice, allowing flowering plants to reproduce. (more…)
After Greenpeace published a report “Missed call: the iPhone’s hazarsoud chemicals” where Greenpeace investigation found two hazardous compounds, brominated flame retardants (BFR) and headphones containing PVC with Phthalates level over 1.5% by weight, much criticism could be seen on YouTube’s page showing the video. BFRs are very effective against fire and used widely in electronics, clothes and furniture from taking fire. Phthalates are toxic and can interfere with sexual development in mammals, means Phthalates are harmful for reproductive system.
