Biology Archives - Page 3 of 26

Category: Biology

Network expansion of genetic associations defines a pleiotropy map of human cell biology

March 9, 2023 sNawaWebs.ADV

Systematic augmentation of GWAS with network propagation

Recent studies have shown that a comprehensive protein interaction network is critical for network propagation efforts⁹. Here, we combined the International Molecular Exchange physical protein interaction dataset¹⁹ from IntAct (protein–protein interactions)²⁰, Reactome (pathways)²¹ and SIGNOR (directed signaling pathways)²². To facilitate re-use of these data (referred to as ‘OTAR interactome’) we have made the data available via a Neo4j Graph Database (ftp://ftp.ebi.ac.uk/pub/databases/intact/various/ot_graphdb/current). The physical interactions were combined with functional associations from the STRING database (v.11)²³ to give a final network containing 571,917 edges connecting 18,410 proteins (nodes) (Fig. 1a). GWAS trait associations were mapped to genes using the locus-to-gene (L2G) score from Open Targets Genetics, a machine learning approach that integrates features such as SNP fine-mapping, gene distance and molecular quantitative trait locus (QTL) information to identify causal genes (Fig. 1b)¹¹. Genes with

Eiphosoma laphygmae likely to be best classical biological control against devastating fall armyworm pest

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A review conducted by CABI scientist Dr. Marc Kenis suggests that the parasitoid Eiphosoma laphygmae is likely to be the best classical biological control from the Americas against the devastating fall armyworm pest.

Dr. Kenis, Head of Risk Analysis and Invasion Ecology, based at CABI’s Swiss center in Delémont, evaluated the prospects and constraints of a classical biological control program to fight the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) using larval parasitoids, which are considered the most suitable natural enemies of the pest.

His findings are published in the Journal of Economic Entomology.

The fall armyworm—which originates from tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas—is a highly destructive pest of over 350 plant species, though it favors staple foods of millions including maize, rice and sorghum.

A previous review led by Dr. Kenis, published in Entomologia Generalis, provided a comprehensive study of the

To save traditional Mohawk basketry, Akwesasne uses biology to outsmart the emerald ash borer

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Mar 06, 2023 —

When the emerald ash borer was first discovered in Akwesasne Mohawk territory in 2016, it was a painful blow. Not only are ash trees essential parts of the forest, but they’re also the raw material for the basket-making tradition that’s at the heart of Mohawk culture.

Artists like Carrie Hill rely on ash trees as the primary material for their basketry. Hogansburg, NY. October 2019. Photo: Amy Feiereisel

So when scientists in Akwesasne took on how to stop the beetles from devouring all the ash trees, they started by observing how the insects kill a tree.

“They carve these very characteristic feeding galleries, which are like tunnels,” said Jessica Raspitha, land resources program manager for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s environment division. “Over time, that damage gets so excessive that it cuts off the vascular tissue, which prevents it from transporting the water nutrients through the

UACE: Makerere launches study on poor performance in Biology

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Makerere University has commissioned a study, following the perennial poor performance of candidates in science subjects, particularly Biology, at the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) level.
The study, under the office of the deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs, aims at averting the trend.

The Dean of School of Bioscience, Prof Arthur Tugume, said the study will be done in two phases, starting with identification of the root causes of poor performance.
This will be undertaken through analysing qualifications, competence, and availability of Biology teachers and technicians, the Biology curriculum, how topics are segregated, the state of laboratory, the state of field infrastructure for teaching Biology at A-Level and attitudes of learners towards the subject.
The institution will come up with solutions and make recommendations from the findings.

“We are hopeful that in the medium to long-term the problems of poor academic performance in Biology at UACE and the ills

Scientists Discover How To Generate New Neurons in the Adult Brain

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Newly produced neurons (red) in the dentate gyrus with cell nuclei (blue) and a marker for immature neurons (green). Credit: Knobloch Lab – UNIL

A team of biologists has discovered how to awaken neural stem cells and reactivate them in adult mice.

Some areas of the adult brain contain quiescent, or dormant, neural stem cells that can potentially be reactivated to form new neurons. However, the transition from quiescence to proliferation is still poorly understood. A team led by scientists from the Universities of Geneva (UNIGE) and Lausanne (UNIL) has discovered the importance of cell metabolism in this process and identified how to wake up these neural stem cells and reactivate them. Biologists succeeded in increasing the number of new neurons in the brain of adult and even elderly mice. These results, promising for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, are to be discovered in the journal Science Advances.

Stem