UN backs cassava as future global crop

Cassava has huge potential and could turn from "a poor people's food into a 21st century crop" if grown according to a new environmentally-friendly farming model, the UN food agency said on Tuesday.

Building a digital life form: OpenWorm, Open Source

(Phys.org) —The worm Caenorhabditis elegans is one of the most widely studied creatures. Scientists consider the worm a model organism for exploring animal development including neural development. The reasons are basic; ...

Where does our head come from?

A research team at the Sars Centre in Norway and the University Vienna has shed new light on the evolutionary origin of the head. In a study published in the journal PLoS Biology they show that in a simple, brainless sea ...

The origins of a genetic switch

Cilia, microscopic whip-like organelles that protrude from the surface of many cell types, are almost ubiquitous. They are present in all eukaryotes—organisms whose cells have a nucleus—and have diversified to perform ...

Ecuador's Yasuni dilemma: a reserve full of life, and oil

The thumping whir of helicopters overhead sends a pack of terrified monkeys fleeing into the brush—one clear sign of the impact of oil development in this incredibly biodiverse part of Ecuador's Amazon.

The role of the cellular entry point of anthrax identified

Anthrax uses a receptor on the surface of cells to inject its lethal toxins. However, the physiological function of this receptor, named Anthrax Toxin Receptor 2a (Antxr2a), remained unknown until now.

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