After experiencing several political upheavals and natural disasters, Liberia is now facing another kind of problem, this time a biological invader.   Small but highly destructive armyworms have made their way to several Liberian farms, and are munching away happily at the crops.   The peasant farmers of Liberia – most of that country’s population – are wringing their hands in despair at seeing their lush crops being eaten away.

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If everything goes right, the modern world will be able to see what a mammoth looked like in its real flesh and bones.   A fossil unearthed in the northern Yakutsk region in Russia in 2003 has attained fame as the best-preserved remains of the animal so far.  This has given enough grist to Russian scientists to work in collaboration with Japanese scientists to attempt to clone the animal.   The fossil mainly contains the legs of the mammoth in a well-preserved condition.  The cloning is being attempted at the Gifu Science and Technology branch of the Kinki University in Japan. (more…)

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Why do normally harmless desert locusts suddenly become aggressive and cause widespread destruction in farms?   The answer has now been obtained, and the discovery has excited the animal control world. (more…)

Elanco, a branch of Eli Lilly and Company, has acquired from Monsanto the rights to sell Posilac, a product containing recombinant bovine somatotropin.  Among other uses, somatotropin is useful for promoting growth in cattle.   The recombinant DNA technology involved in the production of this form of bovine somatotropin makes Posilac an artificial hormone.   With the production of this growth hormone in an artificial manner, cattle growth can be artificially accelerated.

One of the main benefits accorded to Posilac is in the quantity of milk produced by cattle.  Researchers have shown that when Posilac is administered to cattle, the cows are able to produce milk up to a more advanced age.   Posilac manages this by increasing the life of the cells present in the mammary glands of the cow.  Thus, the cow is able to keep producing milk to a longer age. (more…)

Protient, a nutritional protein supplier based in Minnesota, is launching a goat milk protein concentrate for the sports nutrition and weight loss industries, following demand from formulators for rapidly absorbed, less allergenic protein.

The potential for goat protein and its advantages remains virtually untapped in the United States, where cow’s milk predominates, and goat’s milk products are a specialized market. However, more people worldwide consume goat’s milk and its derivatives than those from any other animal.

The advantage of goat’s milk over cow’s milk is that it is more easily absorbed into the system because goat’s milk contains smaller protein molecules, closer in size and composition to human milk. It also contains only trace amounts of the allergenic protein alpha-S1, found in greater quantities in cow’s milk. (more…)

A squid-like underwater robot has been developed by Osaka University in Japan. It was demonstrated in a Kobe swimming pool as part of a recent underwater robot festival. As this robot swims, it resembles a squid. The new robot squid has head fins like a real squid. It has a long, flat body to easily enter narrow spaces. This kind of robot is called "bio-mimetic" because it imitates characteristics of living things. (more…)

Scientists have identified a faulty gene that causes epilepsy in dogs.  The researchers have developed a test that could soon help breeders eliminate the disease by imposing restrictions to select against dogs that are likely to pass these genes on to future generations.  The discovery should also aid the quest to understand the more severe human form of the condition, Lafora disease, and other similar afflictions.

The latest development is an example of how the human and dog genome projects are expected to benefit both species.  Researchers are comparing and contrasting the "life codes" of the two with many other creatures to track down the genetic causes of ill-health. The researchers showed that the jerky behaviour and seizures suffered by purebred miniature wirehaired dachshunds were caused by a form of epilepsy called EPM2.

The double-stranded DNA molecule is held together by four chemical components, or bases:
Adenine (A) bonds with thymine (T); cytosine (C) bonds with guanine (G).
Sequences of these components, called genes, regulate the production of proteins thereby controlling life.  There are estimated to be about two-and-a-half billion base pairs in the dog genome, wound into forty distinct bundles, or chromosomes.  Written in the DNA are possibly 25,000 genes, which dog cells use as templates to make proteins.   These sophisticated molecules build and maintain the animal’s body.

The affected dogs all share a mutation in their EPM2b gene, involving multiple repeats in the DNA code that prevent the proper production of protein.  It is thought five percent of miniature wirehaireds have the disease and perhaps as many as a quarter of them may be carriers of the faulty gene.

Owners usually start to notice a problem with their pets when they are about six years old.  These animals will (more…)

Meat does not have to come from once-living animals. Meat can be grown from cells in a laboratory dish, where no living animal was ever involved. Commercially viable vegetarian meat isn’t far off. (more…)

As the world looks to agriculture for renewable fuels from crops, University of Florida researchers have developed a process that produces energy, extracts valuable nutrients for fertilizer, cuts greenhouse gas emissions, and stops offensive odors. And it’s all done with manure. (more…)