Time-lapse reveals the hidden dance of roots. Duke Today, Feb. 19, 2021. One of the first orders of business for any plant seed is to put out its first root. Time-lapse footage and soft-bodied robots reveal how roots search hard soil for the path of least resistance. Picked up by MSN and Yahoo! Canada News, News18.
Tag Archives: genetics
Lemur DNA paints a picture of Madagascar’s forested past
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Lemur DNA paints a picture of Madagascar’s forested past. Duke Today, July 18, 2016. While there’s no question that human activities such as logging and slash-and-burn agriculture have dramatically altered Madagascar’s forests since the first settlers arrived about 2000 years ago, just how much of the island was forested before people got there remains a matter of debate. Now, a DNA study of tree-dwelling mouse lemurs suggests that humans did not arrive to find the island as blanketed by forests as frequently assumed. Picked up by the Daily Mail, the Christian Science Monitor and the Washington Post.
Ancient DNA offers clues to how barnyard chickens came to be
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Ancient DNA offers clues to how barnyard chickens came to be. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, April 21, 2014. Ancient DNA adds a twist to the story of how barnyard chickens came to be, finds a study in the journal PNAS. Analyzing DNA from the bones of chickens that lived 200-2300 years ago in Europe, researchers report that some of the traits we associate with modern domestic chickens — such as their yellowish skin — only became widespread in the last 500 years, much more recently than previously thought. Picked up by Ars Technica, Nature and Public Radio International.