News From BioScience, November 2008

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  Genetics;  Tropical Diseases
Article Date: 05 Nov 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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The complete list of research articles in the November 2008 issue of BioScience is as follows:

Identifying and Characterizing Bacteria in an Era of Genomics and Proteomics
David Emerson, Liane Agulto, Henry Liu, and Liping Liu.

New molecular technologies in genomics and proteomics are changing techniques used for identifying bacteria. The new techniques are faster and offer unprecedented levels of discrimination, but standards for their use must be adopted and integrated databases assembled.

West Nile Virus Revisited: Consequences for North American Ecology
Shannon L. LaDeau, Peter P. Marra, A. Marm Kilpatrick, and Catherine A. Calder.

The rapid spread of West Nile virus in North America over the past decade is likely to have long-lasting ecological consequences throughout the continent, and outbreaks continue. Note: this article is the subject of a separate press release dated today entitled "West Nile's North American Spread Described."

Pitviper Scavenging at the Intertidal Zone: An Evolutionary Scenario for Invasion of the Sea
Harvey B. Lillywhite, Coleman M. Sheehy III, and Frederic Zaidan III.

Florida cottonmouth snakes that inhabit gulf coast islands feed on dead fish and intertidal carrion, occasionally entering the sea. The snakes suggest a model for how terrestrial vertebrates may have taken up marine existence.

Ecological Restoration and Physiology: An Overdue Integration
Steven J. Cooke and Cory D. Suski.

The authors show how physiological metrics can be used as tools for restoration ecology.

The Tragedy of Ecosystem Services
Christopher L. Lant, J. B. Ruhl, and Steven E. Kraft.

Ecosystem services are rarely traded in markets, but are declining because of over-consumption of common-pool resources. Current economic incentives and property law exacerbate the trend. Reform in these areas and the development of ecosystem service districts could remedy this social trap.

Seeing the Wood for the Trees: An Analysis of Evolutionary Diagrams in Biology Textbooks
Kefyn M. Catley and Laura R. Novick.

An analysis of evolutionary diagrams found in biology textbooks found that the books often did not explain the theory behind the diagrams, and that many of the diagrams used conventions that could confuse students. Diagrams of human evolution were the most confusing of all.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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BioScience, published 11 times per year, is the journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). BioScience publishes commentary and peer-reviewed articles covering a wide range of biological fields, with a focus on "Organisms from Molecules to the Environment." The journal has been published since 1964. AIBS is an umbrella organization for professional scientific societies and organizations that are involved with biology. It represents some 200 member societies and organizations with a combined membership of about 250,000.

Source: Jennifer Williams
American Institute of Biological Sciences