PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Identifying sloth species at a genetic level

2012-01-05
(Press-News.org) Identifying species, separating out closely related species and managing each type on its own, is an important part of any animal management system. Some species, like the two types of two-toed sloth, are so close in appearance and behavior that differentiation can be challenging. Conservation researchers at San Diego Zoo Global's Institute of Conservation Research have developed a mechanism for identifying these reclusive species from each other.

"Species identification of two-toed sloths has always been problematic in the wild and captivity due to their large overlap in external morphology. " said Oliver Ryder Ph.D., Director of Genetics for San Diego Zoo Global's Institute of Conservation Research. "Through this effort we have described a low-cost easy-to-use molecular tool for species identification that will help to improve management of two-toed sloth species so that we can ensure that they are properly represented on the ark of rare and endangered species."

The study, published in the December 2011 issue of Zoo Biology, describes a PCR-based technique that allows species identification of two-toed sloths without requiring sequencing, by using a mitochondrial marker (COI gene) and restriction enzyme assay. It also reports intra- and inter-specific patterns of chromosome variation in captive two-toed sloths. The chromosome number in Hoffman's two-toed sloths showed low variation ranging only between 50 and 51. In contrast, Linnaeus's two-toed sloths appeared to vary widely, with diploid numbers ranging from 53 to 67, suggesting distinct geographic groups.

INFORMATION:

The San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research is dedicated to generating, sharing and applying scientific knowledge vital to the conservation of animals, plants and habitats worldwide. The work of the Institute includes onsite research efforts at the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (historically referred to as Wild Animal Park), laboratory work at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Conservation Research, and international field programs involving more than 235 researchers working in 35 countries. In addition to the Beckman Center for Conservation Research, the Institute also operates the Anne and Kenneth Griffin Reptile Conservation Center, the Frozen Zoo® and Native Seed Gene Bank, the Keauhou and Maui Hawaiian Bird Conservation Centers, Cocha Cashu Biological Research Station and the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center. The Zoo also manages the 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo Safari Park, which includes a 900-acre biodiversity reserve, and the San Diego Zoo. The important conservation and science work of these entities is supported in part by The Foundation of the Zoological Society of San Diego.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Many NIH-funded clinical trials go unpublished over 2 years after completion

2012-01-05
In a study that investigates the challenges of disseminating clinical research findings in peer-reviewed biomedical journals, Yale School of Medicine researchers have found that fewer than half of a sample of trials primarily or partially funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were published within 30 months of completing the clinical trial. These findings appear in the January issue of the British Medical Journal, which focuses on the topic of unpublished evidence. "When research findings are not disseminated, the scientific process is disrupted and leads ...

Intellectsoft Launches New Corporate Website

2012-01-05
Intellectsoft celebrates the New Year 2012 with the launch of a brand new website. Last year the company celebrated their fourth birthday, successfully delivered more than 100 projects and entered Scandinavian mobile development market. Intellectsoft couldn't but commemorate their significant progress with the launch of a new marvellous corporate website. As with any business there is, you eventually outgrow your old website however good it is. Intellectsoft decided to renew the design and content of http://www.intellectsoft.co.uk, so that it corresponds precisely to ...

Pitt researchers discover one of the most porous materials to date

2012-01-05
PITTSBURGH -- The delivery of pharmaceuticals into the human body or the storage of voluminous quantities of gas molecules could now be better controlled, thanks to a study by University of Pittsburgh researchers. In a paper published online today in Nature Communications, a team of chemists and colleagues from Pitt's Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and the Pitt School of Medicine and Northwestern and Durham universities have posed an alternative approach toward building porous materials. Working with metal-organic frameworks—crystalline compounds comprising ...

New guideline: Caution needed when choosing seizure drugs for people with HIV/AIDS

2012-01-05
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A new guideline issued by the American Academy of Neurology recommends doctors use caution when choosing seizure drugs for people with HIV/AIDS to avoid potential drug interactions. The guideline, which was co-developed with the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), is published in the January 4, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology and in Epilepsia, the journal of the ILAE. Seizures and seizure disorders are common in people infected with HIV, with more than one in 10 patients experiencing ...

Pets in the Classroom Grant Program Now Available to 7th and 8th Grade Teachers

2012-01-05
Following the tremendous success of the Pets in the Classroom Grant Program to date and numerous requests from teachers of 7th & 8th grade classes to be eligible for funding, the Pet Care Trust Board has agreed to expand the program's reach to those grades beginning in 2012. Established by the Pet Care Trust in 2009, Pets in the Classroom has provided grants to Pre-Kindergarten through Sixth grade teachers to purchase or adopt a new pet and required equipment or to support existing classroom pets. The Pets in the Classroom program has seen over 7,000 grant requests ...

Guidelines stress caution when combining anti-epileptic, HIV drugs

Guidelines stress caution when combining anti-epileptic, HIV drugs
2012-01-05
EAST LANSING, Mich. —New guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology will help physicians better choose seizure drugs for people on HIV/AIDS medication, avoiding deadly drug interactions and preventing critical anti-HIV drugs from becoming less effective, possibly leading to a more virulent strain of the disease. Michigan State University's Gretchen Birbeck – who spends several months each year in the sub-Sahara African nation of Zambia researching epilepsy, HIV /AIDS and cerebral malaria – is the lead author of the medical guideline, which was co-developed with ...

William Peace University Sponsors Greater Raleigh Chamber Of Commerce's Chamber Executive Women's Luncheon

2012-01-05
William Peace University (http://www.peace.edu), a private four-year university located in downtown Raleigh, has announced that the university will sponsor the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce's Chamber Executive Women's Luncheon on Thursday, Jan. 12 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, located at 201 Harrison Oaks Blvd. in Cary, N.C. from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. The luncheon will cover the topic of "Women in Politics: Heeding the Call of Public Service." A panel of elected female officials will provide personal and professional insights into the political arena ...

Aspen Systems, Inc. Launches New Website to Meet Growing Demand for Advanced Cooling Technologies

2012-01-05
Advanced miniature refrigeration and environmental control technology developer and manufacturer Aspen Systems, Inc. has launched a new website designed to help companies and government agencies find specialized cooling solutions for advanced commercial, industrial and military applications. According to Aspen Systems Vice President Glenn Deming, the new website comes as part of an integrated business development effort aimed at expanding further into military and commercial markets, in addition to gaining increased awareness of the companies capabilities as a supplier ...

Experts urge BMI method for calculating weight in kids with eating disorders

2012-01-05
An exact determination of expected body weight for adolescents based on age, height and gender is critical for diagnosis and management of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. However, there are no clear guidelines regarding the appropriate method for calculating this weight in children with such disorders. In a study to be published online Jan. 4, 2012, in the journal Pediatrics, researchers from the University of Chicago, the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Rochester Medical Center compared three common methods for calculating ...

Leaping lizards and dinosaurs inspire robot design

Leaping lizards and dinosaurs inspire robot design
2012-01-05
Leaping lizards have a message for robots: Get a tail! University of California, Berkeley, biologists and engineers including undergraduate and graduate students studied how lizards manage to leap successfully even when they slip and stumble, and found that swinging the tail upward is the key to preventing a forward pitch that could send them head-over-heels into a tree. The scientists subsequently added a tail to a robotic car they named Tailbot and discovered that it's not as simple as throwing your tail in the air. Robots and lizards have to adjust the angle of ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Using lightning to make ammonia out of thin air

Machine learning potential-driven insights into pH-dependent CO₂ reduction

Physician associates provide safe care for diagnosed patients when directly supervised by a doctor

How game-play with robots can bring out their human side

Asthma: patient expectations influence the course of the disease

UNM physician tests drug that causes nerve tissue to emit light, enabling faster, safer surgery

New study identifies EMP1 as a key driver of pancreatic cancer progression and poor prognosis

XPR1 identified as a key regulator of ovarian cancer growth through autophagy and immune evasion

Flexible, eco-friendly electronic plastic for wearable tech, sensors

Can the Large Hadron Collider snap string theory?

Stuckeman professor’s new book explores ‘socially sustainable’ architecture

Synthetic DNA nanoparticles for gene therapy

New model to find treatments for an aggressive blood cancer

Special issue of Journal of Intensive Medicine analyzes non-invasive respiratory support

T cells take aim at Chikungunya virus

Gantangqing site in southwest China yields 300,000-year-old wooden tools

Forests can’t keep up: Adaptation will lag behind climate change

Sturgeon reintroduction initiative yields promising first-year survival rate

Study: Babies’ poor vision may help organize visual brain pathways

Research reveals Arctic region was permafrost-free when global temperatures were 4.5˚ C higher than today

Novel insights into chromophobe renal cell carcinoma biology and potential therapeutic strategies

A breakthrough in motor safety: AI-powered warning system enhances capability to uncover hidden winding faults

Research teases apart competing transcription organization models

Connect or reject: Extensive rewiring builds binocular vision in the brain

Benefits and risks: informal use of antibiotics to prevent sexually transmitted infections on the rise in key populations in the Netherlands

New molecular tool sheds light on how cancer cells repair telomeres

First large-scale stem cell bank enables worldwide studies on genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease

Hearing devices significantly improve social lives of those with hearing loss

CNIC scientists reveal how the cellular energy system evolved—and how this knowledge could improve the diagnosis of rare genetic diseases

AI sharpens pathologists' interpretation of tissue samples

[Press-News.org] Identifying sloth species at a genetic level