Less can be more, for plant breeders too

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Imagine you are a rice breeder and one day within a large field you discover a plant that has just the characteristics you have been looking for. You happily take your special plant to the laboratory where you find out that the spontaneous, beneficial event was due to inactivation of a single gene. This is a great observation; however, there are many different strains grown in different parts of the world, well adapted to the particular region they grow in.


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All News summaries from General Science news
All News summaries for March 19, 2008

Long lost sisters

8 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
The human race was divided into two separate groups within Africa for as much as half of its existence, says a Tel Aviv University mathematician. Climate change, reduction in populations and harsh conditions may have caused ...

Researcher finds El Nino may have been factor in Magellan's Pacific voyage

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A new paper by North Carolina State University archaeologist Dr. Scott Fitzpatrick shows that Ferdinand Magellan’s historic circumnavigation of the globe was likely influenced in large part by unusual weather conditions – ...

MIT crafts bacteria-resistant films

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Having found that whether bacteria stick to surfaces depends partly on how stiff those surfaces are, MIT engineers have created ultrathin films made of polymers that could be applied to medical devices and other surfaces ...

Simple Model Cell is Key to Understanding Cell Complexity

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A team of Penn State researchers has developed a simple artificial cell with which to investigate the organization and function of two of the most basic cell components: the cell membrane and the cytoplasm--the ...

Fuel cells: distant dream, but burning with promise

10 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Some day, fuel cells may power your car and exhaust only water and perhaps carbon dioxide. More efficient and cleaner than an internal combustion engine, their emissions will be much lower. They may also run ...