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| News Around World |
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Plant Scientist at the University of York have published the first genetic map of the medicinal herb Artemisia annu. The genetic map is being used to accelerate plant breeding of Artemisia and rapidly develop the species into a high-yielding crop. This development is urgently needed to help meet escalating demand for effective malaria treatments.
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The 6400-square-kilometer Huai Kha Kheang and Thung Yai Wildlife Sanctuaries on the Myanmar border represent a rare success in the struggle to save the world’s dwindling tiger population. Funded by the New York-based Wildlife Conversation Society, the increased patrols, armed with the latest technology, have scared off poachers and helped stabilise the tiger population of more than 100, along with animals such as the banteng which they prey on. Ministers from the 13 countries with tiger populations will hold a first-ever meeting on Wednesday through Friday in Hua Hin, Thailand to write an action plan for a tiger summit in September in Russia, where Prime Minister Vlamidir Putin has been championing the survival of the tiger.
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Scientists
have unveiled
the genome of the soybean, saying it was an achievement that should
deepen understanding of one of the world’s most important crops, help
to boost yields and defend the plant against pests. Eighteen
organisations, most of them American, teamed up in a 15-year endeavour
that yielded a draft of 85 per cent of the soybean’s 1.1 billion base
pairs, the “rungs” in the double-helix ladder of DNA. More than 1,000
genes involved in lipid metabolism have been spotted, says researcher
Gary Stacey of the National Centre for Soybean Biotechnology at the
University of Missouri. |
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