Genomic Study Yields Plausible Cause Of Colony Collapse Disorder

SITE SUMMARY: ScienceDaily (2009-08-25) -- Researchers have found a surprising but reliable marker of colony collapse disorder, a baffling malady that in 2007-2008 killed off more than a third of commercial honey bees in the US. Their study is the first to identify a single, objective molecular marker of the disorder, and to propose a data-driven hypothesis to explain the mysterious disappearance of American honey bees.

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COMMENTS: CCD is a major concern for society.  In addition to the honey that many love & that is an integral ingredient, the real value of bees to humans is that we rely on bees extensively for crop pollination.

Why we're all so different

A new study finds that LINE elements play a larger role in brain cells than anyone had thought. Because genes can jump around, the capacity of brain cells to be different from each other in form and function is virtually infinite.

clipped from www.sciencedaily.com 'Jumping Genes' Create Diversity In Human Brain Cells, Offering Clues To Evolutionary And Neurological Disease ScienceDaily (Aug. 6, 2009) — Rather than sticking to a single DNA script, human brain cells harbor astonishing genomic variability, according to scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The findings, to be published in the Aug. 5, 2009, advance online edition of Nature, could help explain brain development and individuality, as well as lead to a better understanding of neurological disease. The team, led by Fred Gage, Ph.D., a professor in the Salk's Laboratory of Genetics and holder of the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases, found that human brain cells contain an unexpected number of so-called mobile elements—extraordinary pieces of DNA that insert extra copies of themselves throughout the genome using a "copy and paste" mechanism.

What is this?

In addition to rants and musings about all things Bio, I have decided to also make this blog a collection of interesting/