Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Science 2020 07 6;369(6499):77-81. Epub 2020 May 6.

Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, Chinese Ministry of Health, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Models of Emerging and Remerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Comparative Medicine Center, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in an unprecedented public health crisis. Because of the novelty of the virus, there are currently no SARS-CoV-2-specific treatments or vaccines available. Therefore, rapid development of effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are urgently needed. Read More

Science 2019 10;366(6464):480-485

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.

Soil organisms, including earthworms, are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about their diversity, their distribution, and the threats affecting them. We compiled a global dataset of sampled earthworm communities from 6928 sites in 57 countries as a basis for predicting patterns in earthworm diversity, abundance, and biomass. Read More

Science 2019 09;365(6459)

Institute for Environmental Decisions, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

The global scale-up in demand for animal protein is the most notable dietary trend of our time. Antimicrobial consumption in animals is threefold that of humans and has enabled large-scale animal protein production. The consequences for the development of antimicrobial resistance in animals have received comparatively less attention than in humans. Read More

Science 2019 10 29;366(6464):494-499. Epub 2019 Aug 29.

INSERM U932, PSL University, Institut Curie, Paris 75005, France.

How the microbiota modulate immune functions remains poorly understood. Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are implicated in mucosal homeostasis and absent in germ-free mice. Here, we show that commensal bacteria govern murine MAIT intrathymic development, as MAIT cells did not recirculate to the thymus. Read More

Science 2019 06;364(6445)

Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.

Chemical defense against predators is widespread in natural ecosystems. Occasionally, taxonomically distant organisms share the same defense chemical. Here, we describe an unusual tripartite marine symbiosis, in which an intracellular bacterial symbiont (" Endobryopsis kahalalidefaciens") uses a diverse array of biosynthetic enzymes to convert simple substrates into a library of complex molecules (the kahalalides) for chemical defense of the host, the alga sp. Read More

Science 2019 03;363(6430):983-988

NYU Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA.

Like many adaptive behaviors, acoustic communication often requires rapid modification of motor output in response to sensory cues. However, little is known about the sensorimotor transformations that underlie such complex natural behaviors. In this study, we examine vocal exchanges in Alston's singing mouse (). Read More

Science 2018 11 4;362(6415):700-705. Epub 2018 Oct 4.

Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Center for Life Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Institute for Immunology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.

The maintenance of autoreactive B cells in a quiescent state is crucial for preventing autoimmunity. Here we identify a variant of human immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) with a Gly→Arg substitution (hIgG1-G396R), which positively correlates with systemic lupus erythematosus. In induced lupus models, murine homolog Gly→Arg (G390R) knockin mice generate excessive numbers of plasma cells, leading to a burst of broad-spectrum autoantibodies. Read More

Science 2018 Jun;360(6392):987-992

Agroscope, Agroecology and Environment Research Division, LCA Research Group, CH-8046 Zürich, Switzerland.

Food's environmental impacts are created by millions of diverse producers. To identify solutions that are effective under this heterogeneity, we consolidated data covering five environmental indicators; 38,700 farms; and 1600 processors, packaging types, and retailers. Impact can vary 50-fold among producers of the same product, creating substantial mitigation opportunities. Read More

Science 2018 03;359(6380):1151-1156

State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.

The gut microbiota benefits humans via short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production from carbohydrate fermentation, and deficiency in SCFA production is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We conducted a randomized clinical study of specifically designed isoenergetic diets, together with fecal shotgun metagenomics, to show that a select group of SCFA-producing strains was promoted by dietary fibers and that most other potential producers were either diminished or unchanged in patients with T2DM. When the fiber-promoted SCFA producers were present in greater diversity and abundance, participants had better improvement in hemoglobin A1c levels, partly via increased glucagon-like peptide-1 production. Read More

Science 2017 09 10;357(6357):1303-1307. Epub 2017 Aug 10.

eGenesis, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Xenotransplantation is a promising strategy to alleviate the shortage of organs for human transplantation. In addition to the concerns about pig-to-human immunological compatibility, the risk of cross-species transmission of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) has impeded the clinical application of this approach. We previously demonstrated the feasibility of inactivating PERV activity in an immortalized pig cell line. Read More

Science 2017 08;357(6350)

Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

Coloration mediates the relationship between an organism and its environment in important ways, including social signaling, antipredator defenses, parasitic exploitation, thermoregulation, and protection from ultraviolet light, microbes, and abrasion. Methodological breakthroughs are accelerating knowledge of the processes underlying both the production of animal coloration and its perception, experiments are advancing understanding of mechanism and function, and measurements of color collected noninvasively and at a global scale are opening windows to evolutionary dynamics more generally. Here we provide a roadmap of these advances and identify hitherto unrecognized challenges for this multi- and interdisciplinary field. Read More

Science 2017 05;356(6337):513-519

Department of Immunobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.

Interleukin 10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine that plays a critical role in the control of immune responses. However, its mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. Here, we show that IL-10 opposes the switch to the metabolic program induced by inflammatory stimuli in macrophages. Read More

Science 2017 03 16;355(6330):1211-1215. Epub 2017 Mar 16.

Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Bacteriophage transfer (lysogenic conversion) promotes bacterial virulence evolution. There is limited understanding of the factors that determine lysogenic conversion dynamics within infected hosts. A murine Typhimurium (Tm) diarrhea model was used to study the transfer of SopEΦ, a prophage from Tm SL1344, to Tm ATCC14028S. Read More

Science 2016 10;354(6309):213-217

Avian influenza viruses affect both poultry production and public health. A subtype H5N8 (clade 2.3. Read More

Science 2016 10;354(6309)

Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond NSW 2753, Australia. Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.

The biodiversity-productivity relationship (BPR) is foundational to our understanding of the global extinction crisis and its impacts on ecosystem functioning. Understanding BPR is critical for the accurate valuation and effective conservation of biodiversity. Using ground-sourced data from 777,126 permanent plots, spanning 44 countries and most terrestrial biomes, we reveal a globally consistent positive concave-down BPR, showing that continued biodiversity loss would result in an accelerating decline in forest productivity worldwide. Read More

Science 2016 Aug;353(6300):708-12

Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.

An expanded hexanucleotide repeat in C9orf72 causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (c9FTD/ALS). Therapeutics are being developed to target RNAs containing the expanded repeat sequence (GGGGCC); however, this approach is complicated by the presence of antisense strand transcription of expanded GGCCCC repeats. We found that targeting the transcription elongation factor Spt4 selectively decreased production of both sense and antisense expanded transcripts, as well as their translated dipeptide repeat (DPR) products, and also mitigated degeneration in animal models. Read More

Science 2016 07;353(6297):387-9

The Ratel Trust, Niassa Carnivore Project, Private Bag X18, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa.

Greater honeyguides (Indicator indicator) lead human honey-hunters to wild bees' nests, in a rare example of a mutualistic foraging partnership between humans and free-living wild animals. We show experimentally that a specialized vocal sound made by Mozambican honey-hunters seeking bees' nests elicits elevated cooperative behavior from honeyguides. The production of this sound increased the probability of being guided by a honeyguide from about 33 to 66% and the overall probability of thus finding a bees' nest from 17 to 54%, as compared with other animal or human sounds of similar amplitude. Read More

Science 2016 Jun;352(6292):aad1210

MRC Centre for Transplantation, Division of Transplant Immunology and Mucosal Biology, King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK.

The NLRP3 inflammasome controls interleukin-1β maturation in antigen-presenting cells, but a direct role for NLRP3 in human adaptive immune cells has not been described. We found that the NLRP3 inflammasome assembles in human CD4(+) T cells and initiates caspase-1-dependent interleukin-1β secretion, thereby promoting interferon-γ production and T helper 1 (T(H)1) differentiation in an autocrine fashion. NLRP3 assembly requires intracellular C5 activation and stimulation of C5a receptor 1 (C5aR1), which is negatively regulated by surface-expressed C5aR2. Read More

Science 2016 Mar 18;351(6278):1192-5. Epub 2016 Feb 18.

Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.

The fungal kingdom is the source of almost all industrial enzymes in use for lignocellulose bioprocessing. We developed a systems-level approach that integrates transcriptomic sequencing, proteomics, phenotype, and biochemical studies of relatively unexplored basal fungi. Anaerobic gut fungi isolated from herbivores produce a large array of biomass-degrading enzymes that synergistically degrade crude, untreated plant biomass and are competitive with optimized commercial preparations from Aspergillus and Trichoderma. Read More

Science 2016 Jan;351(6271):388-91

Key Laboratory for Insect-Pollinator Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China.

Ecological intensification, or the improvement of crop yield through enhancement of biodiversity, may be a sustainable pathway toward greater food supplies. Such sustainable increases may be especially important for the 2 billion people reliant on small farms, many of which are undernourished, yet we know little about the efficacy of this approach. Using a coordinated protocol across regions and crops, we quantify to what degree enhancing pollinator density and richness can improve yields on 344 fields from 33 pollinator-dependent crop systems in small and large farms from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Read More

Science 2015 Aug;349(6249):734-8

Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.

Human vocal development occurs through two parallel interactive processes that transform infant cries into more mature vocalizations, such as cooing sounds and babbling. First, natural categories of sounds change as the vocal apparatus matures. Second, parental vocal feedback sensitizes infants to certain features of those sounds, and the sounds are modified accordingly. Read More

Science 2015 Jul 16;349(6245):316-20. Epub 2015 Jul 16.

Mill Hill Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London NW7 1AA, UK.

Secretion of the cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) by macrophages, a major driver of pathogenesis in atherosclerosis, requires two steps: Priming signals promote transcription of immature IL-1β, and then endogenous "danger" signals activate innate immune signaling complexes called inflammasomes to process IL-1β for secretion. Although cholesterol crystals are known to act as danger signals in atherosclerosis, what primes IL-1β transcription remains elusive. Using a murine model of atherosclerosis, we found that cholesterol crystals acted both as priming and danger signals for IL-1β production. Read More

Science 2015 May;348(6236):817-21

RNA Therapeutics Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) protect the animal germ line by silencing transposons. Primary piRNAs, generated from transcripts of genomic transposon "junkyards" (piRNA clusters), are amplified by the "ping-pong" pathway, yielding secondary piRNAs. We report that secondary piRNAs, bound to the PIWI protein Ago3, can initiate primary piRNA production from cleaved transposon RNAs. Read More

Science 2015 May;348(6236):786-9

Fisheries Resources Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.

Endothermy (the metabolic production and retention of heat to warm body temperature above ambient) enhances physiological function, and whole-body endothermy generally sets mammals and birds apart from other animals. Here, we describe a whole-body form of endothermy in a fish, the opah (Lampris guttatus), that produces heat through the constant "flapping" of wing-like pectoral fins and minimizes heat loss through a series of counter-current heat exchangers within its gills. Unlike other fish, opah distribute warmed blood throughout the body, including to the heart, enhancing physiological performance and buffering internal organ function while foraging in the cold, nutrient-rich waters below the ocean thermocline. Read More

Science 2014 Dec;346(6215):1256846

Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.

Song-learning birds and humans share independently evolved similarities in brain pathways for vocal learning that are essential for song and speech and are not found in most other species. Comparisons of brain transcriptomes of song-learning birds and humans relative to vocal nonlearners identified convergent gene expression specializations in specific song and speech brain regions of avian vocal learners and humans. The strongest shared profiles relate bird motor and striatal song-learning nuclei, respectively, with human laryngeal motor cortex and parts of the striatum that control speech production and learning. Read More

Science 2014 Nov;346(6211):861-5

Center for Inflammation, Immunity and Infection, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA. Department of Pathology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Activators of innate immunity may have the potential to combat a broad range of infectious agents. We report that treatment with bacterial flagellin prevented rotavirus (RV) infection in mice and cured chronically RV-infected mice. Protection was independent of adaptive immunity and interferon (IFN, type I and II) and required flagellin receptors Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) and NOD-like receptor C4 (NLRC4). Read More

Science 2014 Sep;345(6204):1250684

Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Epigenetic reprogramming of myeloid cells, also known as trained immunity, confers nonspecific protection from secondary infections. Using histone modification profiles of human monocytes trained with the Candida albicans cell wall constituent β-glucan, together with a genome-wide transcriptome, we identified the induced expression of genes involved in glucose metabolism. Trained monocytes display high glucose consumption, high lactate production, and a high ratio of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) to its reduced form (NADH), reflecting a shift in metabolism with an increase in glycolysis dependent on the activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) through a dectin-1-Akt-HIF-1α (hypoxia-inducible factor-1α) pathway. Read More

Science 2014 Aug;345(6200):1074-1079

Science of Life Laboratory Uppsala, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

The genetic changes underlying the initial steps of animal domestication are still poorly understood. We generated a high-quality reference genome for the rabbit and compared it to resequencing data from populations of wild and domestic rabbits. We identified more than 100 selective sweeps specific to domestic rabbits but only a relatively small number of fixed (or nearly fixed) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for derived alleles. Read More

Science 2014 Aug;345(6197):688-93

Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disease caused by mutation or deletion of the survival of motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. A paralogous gene in humans, SMN2, produces low, insufficient levels of functional SMN protein due to alternative splicing that truncates the transcript. The decreased levels of SMN protein lead to progressive neuromuscular degeneration and high rates of mortality. Read More

Science 2014 Mar 13;343(6175):1148-51. Epub 2014 Feb 13.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

Evolutionary changes in traits involved in both ecological divergence and mate choice may produce reproductive isolation and speciation. However, there are few examples of such dual traits, and the genetic and molecular bases of their evolution have not been identified. We show that methyl-branched cuticular hydrocarbons (mbCHCs) are a dual trait that affects both desiccation resistance and mate choice in Drosophila serrata. Read More

Science 2014 Jan;343(6169):413-6

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama.

Animal displays are often perceived by intended and unintended receivers in more than one sensory system. In addition, cues that are an incidental consequence of signal production can also be perceived by different receivers, even when the receivers use different sensory systems to perceive them. Here we show that the vocal responses of male túngara frogs (Physalaemus pustulosus) increase twofold when call-induced water ripples are added to the acoustic component of a rival's call. Read More

Science 2013 Sep 29;341(6152):1390-4. Epub 2013 Aug 29.

Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA.

Invasion of microbial DNA into the cytoplasm of animal cells triggers a cascade of host immune reactions that help clear the infection; however, self DNA in the cytoplasm can cause autoimmune diseases. Biochemical approaches led to the identification of cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate (cGAMP) synthase (cGAS) as a cytosolic DNA sensor that triggers innate immune responses. Here, we show that cells from cGAS-deficient (cGas(-/-)) mice, including fibroblasts, macrophages, and dendritic cells, failed to produce type I interferons and other cytokines in response to DNA transfection or DNA virus infection. Read More

Science 2013 Aug;341(6147):759-65

Animal Physiological Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.

During the past 50 years, the human population has more than doubled and global agricultural production has similarly risen. However, the productive arable area has increased by just 10%; thus the increased use of pesticides has been a consequence of the demands of human population growth, and its impact has reached global significance. Although we often know a pesticide's mode of action in the target species, we still largely do not understand the full impact of unintended side effects on wildlife, particularly at higher levels of biological organization: populations, communities, and ecosystems. Read More

Science 2012 Aug;337(6094):595-9

Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.

Elephants can communicate using sounds below the range of human hearing ("infrasounds" below 20 hertz). It is commonly speculated that these vocalizations are produced in the larynx, either by neurally controlled muscle twitching (as in cat purring) or by flow-induced self-sustained vibrations of the vocal folds (as in human speech and song). We used direct high-speed video observations of an excised elephant larynx to demonstrate flow-induced self-sustained vocal fold vibration in the absence of any neural signals, thus excluding the need for any "purring" mechanism. Read More

Science 2012 Jun 10;336(6086):1306-10. Epub 2012 May 10.

VIB Center for the Biology of Disease, Leuven, Belgium.

Human UBIAD1 localizes to mitochondria and converts vitamin K(1) to vitamin K(2). Vitamin K(2) is best known as a cofactor in blood coagulation, but in bacteria it is a membrane-bound electron carrier. Whether vitamin K(2) exerts a similar carrier function in eukaryotic cells is unknown. Read More

Science 2011 Nov;334(6056):666-70

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.

Plain-tailed wrens (Pheugopedius euophrys) cooperate to produce a duet song in which males and females rapidly alternate singing syllables. We examined how sensory information from each wren is used to coordinate singing between individuals for the production of this cooperative behavior. Previous findings in nonduetting songbird species suggest that premotor circuits should encode each bird's own contribution to the duet. Read More

Science 2011 Sep;333(6048):1440-5

Center for Biomedical Engineering and Technology (BioMET), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21209, USA.

We report that in heart cells, physiologic stretch rapidly activates reduced-form nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase 2 (NOX2) to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a process dependent on microtubules (X-ROS signaling). ROS production occurs in the sarcolemmal and t-tubule membranes where NOX2 is located and sensitizes nearby ryanodine receptors (RyRs) in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). This triggers a burst of Ca(2+) sparks, the elementary Ca(2+) release events in heart. Read More

Science 2011 Sep;333(6048):1434-6

Department of Biology, Advanced Facility for Avian Research, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada.

Although fat is the primary fuel for migratory flight in birds, protein is also used. Catabolism of tissue protein yields five times as much water per kilojoule as fat, and so one proposed function of protein catabolism is to maintain water balance during nonstop flights. To test the protein-for-water hypothesis, we flew Swainson's thrushes (Catharus ustulatus) in a climatic wind tunnel under high- and low-humidity conditions at 18°C for up to 5 hours. Read More

Science 2010 Sep;329(5998):1492-9

Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

Proliferating cells, including cancer cells, require altered metabolism to efficiently incorporate nutrients such as glucose into biomass. The M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKM2) promotes the metabolism of glucose by aerobic glycolysis and contributes to anabolic metabolism. Paradoxically, decreased pyruvate kinase enzyme activity accompanies the expression of PKM2 in rapidly dividing cancer cells and tissues. Read More

Science 2010 Sep;329(5997):1306-11

Department of Biology and Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy Center for Systems Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.

Plants and animals produce modular developmental units in a periodic fashion. In plants, lateral roots form as repeating units along the root primary axis; however, the developmental mechanism regulating this process is unknown. We found that cyclic expression pulses of a reporter gene mark the position of future lateral roots by establishing prebranch sites and that prebranch site production and root bending are periodic. Read More

Science 2010 Aug;329(5993):790-2

Energy Biosciences Institute, the University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

In 2008, the world produced approximately 87 gigaliters of liquid biofuels, which is roughly equal to the volume of liquid fuel consumed by Germany that year. Essentially, all of this biofuel was produced from crops developed for food production, raising concerns about the net energy and greenhouse gas effects and potential competition between use of land for production of fuels, food, animal feed, fiber, and ecosystem services. The pending implementation of improved technologies to more effectively convert the nonedible parts of plants (lignocellulose) to liquid fuels opens diverse options to use biofuel feedstocks that reach beyond current crops and the land currently used for food and feed. Read More

Science 2010 Apr 4;328(5974):92-4. Epub 2010 Mar 4.

Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.

When selection favors sexual dimorphism, high-fitness parents often produce low-fitness progeny of the opposite sex. This sexual conflict is thought to overwhelm the genetic benefits of mate choice because preferred males incur a cost through the production of low-fitness daughters. We provide a counterpoint in a lizard (Anolis sagrei) that exhibits sexual conflict over body size. Read More

Science 2010 Feb;327(5967):828-31

Department of Agricultural Engineering, Leibniz-Institute for Agricultural Engineering (ATB), Max-Eyth-Allee 100, D-14469 Potsdam, Germany.

Precision agriculture comprises a set of technologies that combines sensors, information systems, enhanced machinery, and informed management to optimize production by accounting for variability and uncertainties within agricultural systems. Adapting production inputs site-specifically within a field and individually for each animal allows better use of resources to maintain the quality of the environment while improving the sustainability of the food supply. Precision agriculture provides a means to monitor the food production chain and manage both the quantity and quality of agricultural produce. Read More

Science 2010 Feb;327(5967):822-5

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Post Office Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya.

Farmers in mixed crop-livestock systems produce about half of the world's food. In small holdings around the world, livestock are reared mostly on grass, browse, and nonfood biomass from maize, millet, rice, and sorghum crops and in their turn supply manure and traction for future crops. Animals act as insurance against hard times and supply farmers with a source of regular income from sales of milk, eggs, and other products. Read More

Science 2010 Jan 10;327(5964):466-9. Epub 2009 Dec 10.

Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98155, USA.

Granulomas, organized aggregates of immune cells, are a hallmark of tuberculosis and have traditionally been thought to restrict mycobacterial growth. However, analysis of Mycobacterium marinum in zebrafish has shown that the early granuloma facilitates mycobacterial growth; uninfected macrophages are recruited to the granuloma where they are productively infected by M. marinum. Read More

Science 2009 Oct;326(5951):365

Animal Production and Health Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 00153, Italy.

Science 2009 Jun;324(5934):1515

Animal Production and Health Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome 00153, Italy.

Science 2009 Apr;324(5926):532-6

Institute of Comparative Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK.

The domestication of livestock represented a crucial step in human history. By using endogenous retroviruses as genetic markers, we found that sheep differentiated on the basis of their "retrotype" and morphological traits dispersed across Eurasia and Africa via separate migratory episodes. Relicts of the first migrations include the Mouflon, as well as breeds previously recognized as "primitive" on the basis of their morphology, such as the Orkney, Soay, and the Nordic short-tailed sheep now confined to the periphery of northwest Europe. Read More

Science 2008 May;320(5876):630-4

McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Young animals engage in variable exploratory behaviors essential for the development of neural circuitry and adult motor control, yet the neural basis of these behaviors is largely unknown. Juvenile songbirds produce subsong-a succession of primitive vocalizations akin to human babbling. We found that subsong production in zebra finches does not require HVC (high vocal center), a key premotor area for singing in adult birds, but does require LMAN (lateral magnocellular nucleus of the nidopallium), a forebrain nucleus involved in learning but not in adult singing. Read More

Science 2008 Feb;319(5867):1250-3

Department of Theoretical Ecology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden.

Staying aloft when hovering and flying slowly is demanding. According to quasi-steady-state aerodynamic theory, slow-flying vertebrates should not be able to generate enough lift to remain aloft. Therefore, unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms to enhance lift production have been proposed. Read More