Tiger breeding, exports flourish in S.Africa: charity
South Africa's legal lion breeding has spawned a tiger farming industry for commercial exports, potentially posing a threat to the species already in decline, an animal welfare group warned Tuesday......»»
Australian Timor ponies have genetic diversity necessary for a breeding program, researchers find
Researchers at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) collaborated with Australian geneticists to determine whether the country's population of Timor ponies are genetically diverse enough to support a designated bree.....»»
High-resolution imagery advances the ability to monitor decadal changes in emperor penguin populations
Emperor penguin populations have been exceedingly difficult to monitor because of their remote locations and because individuals form breeding colonies on seasonal sea ice fastened to land (known as fast ice) during the dark and cold Antarctic winter.....»»
Rope entanglement found to be a cause of low breeding rates in right whales
New findings show the severe impact of fishing gear entanglements on the survival of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, with every injury from entanglements impacting population recovery......»»
Tsetse fly fertility damaged after just one heat wave, study finds
The fertility of both female and male tsetse flies is affected by a single burst of hot weather, researchers at the University of Bristol and Stellenbosch University in South Africa have found......»»
Migration of hominins out of Africa may have been driven by the first major glaciation of the Pleistocene
A pair of planetary scientists, one with the University of Milan, the other with Columbia University, has found evidence that the exodus of hominins out of Africa approximately 1 million years ago may have been driven by the first major glaciation of.....»»
East Africa must prepare for more extreme rainfall during the short rainy season, says study
East Africa has recently had an unprecedented series of failed rains. But some rainy seasons are bringing the opposite: huge amounts of rainfall......»»
Early experiments show Ebola-fighting potential of engineered bacteria
Since its 1976 emergence in Africa, the Ebola virus has proven an especially lethal contagion, killing roughly 50% of the people who contract it. The 2019 FDA approval of a vaccine, combined with the subsequent development of two antibody-based drugs.....»»
Integrating non-additive GWAS with historical dissemination to illuminate nut traits and blooming time in almonds
Modern breeding focuses on genetic analyses and germplasm management and dominates in altering crop genomes, but often neglects non-additive genetic effects that are essential for understanding traits. Almond [Prunus dulcis Miller (D.A. Webb)] has si.....»»
Kala, rare Sumatran tiger cub, makes her debut in Rome
A run around and a cuddle with dad—Rome zoo's new Sumatran tiger cub made her public debut Thursday, three months after her birth boosted the critically endangered species......»»
Spekboom bushes protect earth but can they cool Earth?
Andre Britz pulled over his pick-up truck on a rocky mountain track to show off the nature-preserving powers of southern Africa's spekboom shrub......»»
Conservation actions for South Africa"s white shark population now a matter of urgency, say researchers
A group of marine biologists specializing in shark ecology, genetics and fisheries have challenged the findings from a recent study suggesting that South Africa's white shark population has not decreased, but simply redistributed eastwards to flee pr.....»»
Conservation actions for South Africa"s declining white shark population now a matter of urgency, say researchers
A group of marine biologists specializing in shark ecology, genetics and fisheries have challenged the findings from a recent study suggesting that South Africa's white shark population has not decreased, but simply redistributed eastwards to flee pr.....»»
Enhancing sweet cherry breeding: Insights from genotyping-by-sequencing and genome-wide association studies
Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is one of the most economically important perennial fruit species growing in temperate regions. However, partly due to climate change and biological pressures from pathogens, sweet cherry production in France has been d.....»»
Honey bees are surprisingly abundant, research shows—but most are wild, not managed in hives
There are roughly 100 million managed western honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in hives worldwide, with about half in Europe, Africa and western Asia, where the species is native, and the rest in the Americas, Oceania and eastern Asia, where it is.....»»
Targeting seed microbes to improve seed resilience
Fonio (Digitaria exilis), a type of millet, is the oldest indigenous crop in West Africa and one of the fastest-maturing cereals. Despite its low yield, the combination of quick maturation and drought tolerance and its ability to thrive in poor soils.....»»
New study: Deforestation exacerbates risk of malaria for most vulnerable children
Malaria kills more than 600,000 people each year worldwide, and two-thirds are children under age five in sub-Saharan Africa. Scientists have found a treatment that could prevent thousands of these deaths: trees......»»
Climate change: Alarming Africa-wide report predicts 30% drop in crop revenue, 50 million without water
African countries will suffer significant economic loss after 2050 if global warming is not limited to below 2°C, a new study by the Center for Global Development has found......»»
Ecologist cautions researchers to look more closely at apparent mismatches between birds and their prey
Climate change may speed up the emergence of insects in northern countries at the end of winter. This may cause breeding birds migrating from the south to come too late to benefit from the insect peak if they do not adjust their travel schedules to t.....»»
Scientists develop rapid gene-screening platform to boost disease resistance in crops
Scientists at CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, have achieved a breakthrough in molecular plant pathology, marking a technological leap forward for breeding durable disease-resistant crops......»»
South Africa"s apartheid legacy is still hobbling research—a study of geography shows how
Knowledge matters. It informs how we think about the world around us. It informs our decisions and government policies, supporting economic growth and development......»»