AIBS BioScience Features 3

Minnesota's Moose: Ghosts of the Northern Forest?

2009-11-06T18:11:45Z

Gii-wen (Ojibwe for "so the story is told"), moose once vanished from the land. According to Ojibwe legend, an owl flew north and chanced upon the herd grazing on balsam fir trees. The moose were thriving, without humans. The Ojibwe, on the other hand, couldn't live without the moose. Whither go the moose, so go the Ojibwe, says Norman Deschampe, chairman of the Minnesota Tribe of Lake Superior Chippewa/Ojibwe, Grand Portage Band. "Moose are at the center of our culture. Without them, we will cease to be Ojibwe. We've hunted moose since chemaywe'ya, the way-back time, for subsistence. One moose can feed a family for several seasons." Now, says Deschampe, the Grand Portage Band can't locate enough moose to fulfill its allotted hunting permits. "We need to find out why this is happening."

Epigenetics and Development

2009-10-06T20:03:40Z

Understanding how epigenetics works at the molecular level can be mind-boggling.

The Encyclopedia of Life: Describing Species, Unifying Biology

2009-07-16T22:11:20Z

The grand endeavor to catalog and describe every species may be biology's unifying principle.

Lone Parents: Parthenogenesis in Sharks

2009-07-16T22:04:13Z

The discovery that sharks can reproduce asexually means that mammals are the only jawed vertebrate lineage incapable of parthenogenesis. But can this surprising capacity make any difference to shark survival as their populations decline?

Evolution: Applications in Human Health and Populations

2008-06-17T16:46:56Z

The American Institute of Biological Sciences and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center convened their fourth annual evolution symposium at the 2007 National Association of Biology Teachers conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Crime Scene Genetics: Transforming Forensic Science through Molecular Technologies

2008-06-03T18:55:25Z

Advances in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) technology over the past 25 years have led to spectacularly precise forensic identification techniques, although some applications have also unleashed controversies regarding genetic privacy. Current molecular forensic work is pushing these technologies even further by analyzing extremely damaged DNA and by introducing RNA (ribonucleic acid) techniques to forensics.

Colony Collapse Disorder: Many Suspects, No Smoking Gun

2008-05-09T19:51:05Z

The cause of colony collapse disorder remains unknown, although some possible explanations for the loss of honey bee colonies can be ruled out.

Deep Sea Lost and Found

2008-05-01T16:12:48Z

Glass sponge reefs thought to be extinct are discovered to be thriving in ocean depths.

Citizen Science: Can Volunteers Do Real Research?

2008-03-12T22:29:23Z

Collaborations between scientists and volunteers have the potential to broaden the scope of research and enhance the ability to collect scientific data. Interested members of the public may contribute valuable information as they learn about wildlife in their local communities.

Permafrost in Flux: Tracking Carbon in the Alaskan Tundra

2008-03-06T21:23:59Z

Ecologists are trying to determine how much of the carbon stored in permafrost may be released as temperatures warm and permafrost thaws.

The Green Revolution Arrives in Africa

2008-01-28T21:21:04Z

The Green Revolution that brought advances in crop genetics to Asia and Latin America completely bypassed the African continent. Africa's smallholder farmers finally joined the movement in 2006, when the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation joined the Rockefeller Foundation to create the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. Its goal is to develop 100 new crop varieties in 5 years, so that within 20 years farmers will double or triple their yields.

Running Hot and Cold: Are Rainforests Sinks or Taps for Carbon?

2007-07-24T16:14:30Z

Conventional wisdom has long held that tropical rainforests act as a sink for carbon dioxide, cleansing the atmosphere of a major greenhouse gas. However, biologists studying the forests of Costa Rica are finding that rising temperatures are casusing trees to grow less and to pump out more carbon dioxide, adding to an accelerating pattern of global warming.

Decrypting Biofuel Scenarios

2007-06-07T21:21:45Z

An energy–food–environment maelstrom, and a prairie plan

Out of Africa: A Tale of Gorillas, Heart Disease ... and a Swamp Plant

2007-05-04T19:51:39Z

Captive western lowland gorillas are susceptible to a heart condition known as fibrosing cardiomyopathy. Although the cause of the disease is unknown, the captive gorillas' diet may be a contributing factor. Aframomum melegueta, an herbaceous perennial plant that gorillas in the wild consume with gusto, contains substances with powerful anti-inflammatory properties that may protect gorillas' health.

Ghosts in Our Midst: Coming to Terms with Amphibian Extinctions

2007-04-03T16:07:03Z

A global mass extinction of amphibians is well under way, driven both by habitat loss and by environmental changes. As amphibian communities in Central America are being decimated by chytrid disease, scientists are working to fashion an emergency response. They are also sending out an urgent warning about what the loss of these environmentally sensitive species may portend.