Scientists Sequence Genome of Soil-Dwelling Green Alga

User rating: 4.8 / 5 after 4 vote(s)

Biologists have sequenced much of the genome of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii a tiny green alga. Credit: UCLA
Biologists have sequenced much of the genome of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a tiny green alga. Credit: UCLA

The genome analysis of a tiny green alga has uncovered hundreds of genes that are uniquely associated with carbon dioxide capture and generation of biomass. Among the 15,000-plus genes revealed in the study are those that encode the structure and function of the specialized organelle that houses the photosynthetic apparatus, the chloroplast, which is responsible for converting light to chemical energy. The genome also provides a glimpse back through time to the last common ancestor of plants and animals.


Full story »

All News summaries from General Science news
All News summaries for October 11, 2007

Wealth Does Not Dictate Concern for the Environment

1 minute ago | User rating: not rated yet
It has been a long-held assumption that poor nations will not support efforts to protect the environment since their citizens are too preoccupied with meeting basic needs, such as food and housing. However, a new study in ...

Construction workers unearth mammoth bones in Minsk

9 minutes ago | User rating: not rated yet
Workers building a business centre in Minsk came across the bones of two mammoths thought to be between 25,000 and 45,000 years old, an official from Belarus' Academy of Sciences told AFP on Friday.

Women's access to credit affects efficiency in rural households

21 minutes ago | User rating: not rated yet
Rural strategies designed to induce economic growth often emphasize the need to improve access to capital for poor households. However, this approach implicitly assumes that family members pool all their resources and allocate ...

Colonial heritage metaphors used in US military conflicts

21 minutes ago | User rating: not rated yet
The historical reference to "Indian Country" presents a complex metaphor. For many Native Americans it signifies home, family, and territory; however, for others the term can refer to colonialism and Native American land ...

Limits on futures trading could boost gas prices, expert says

22 minutes ago | User rating: not rated yet
Proposals to reign in wallet-draining gasoline prices by curbing speculation in oil markets would likely increase costs at the pump instead of trimming them, a University of Illinois economist says.