The discovery could have important implications for the treatment of cancer, birth defects and numerous other diseases and disorders. Gorbsky's findings appear in the April 13 issue of the journal Nature.
"No one has gotten the cell cycle to go backwards before now," said Gorbsky, who holds the W.H. and Betty Phelps Chair in Developmental Biology at OMRF. "This shows that certain events in the cell cycle that have long been assumed irreversible may, in fact, be reversible."
Cell division occurs millions of times each day in the human body and is essential to life itself. In the lab, Gorbsky and his OMRF colleagues were able to control the protein responsible for the division process, interrupt and reverse the event, sending duplicate chromosomes back to the center of the original cell, an event once thought impossible.
"Our studies indicate that the factors pointing cells toward division can be turned and even reversed," Gorbsky said. "If we wait too long, however, it doesn't work, so we know that there are multiple regulators in the cell division cycle. Now we will begin to study the triggers that set these events in motion."
The findings may prove important to controlling the development and metastasis of certain cancers. It also holds promise for the prevention and treatment of birth defects and a wide variety of other conditions.
"Dr. Gorbsky's results provide elegant proof that the cell cycle must be precisely controlled," said Dr. Rodger McEver, OMRF vice president of research. "Now he and his lab can work toward developing innovative methods to probe and better understand the complex process of cell division."
Gorbsky heads the Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology Research Program at OMRF and holds both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in biology from Princeton University. He is also adjunct professor of Cell Biology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and a member of the OU Cancer Institute. His research focuses on mitosis and cytokinesis, the processes involved in cell division, and he has earned international recognition for his work in the area of chromosomal movement and cell cycle control.
The current research project, done in collaboration with scientists from the University of Virginia Medical School, was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
How Monarch Butterflies Fly Away Home
New research from the University of Guelph reveals that some North American monarchs born in the Midwest and Great Lakes fly directly east over the Appalachians and settle along the eastern seaboard. Previously, scientists believed that the majority of monarchs migrated north directly from the Gulf coast.
The study appears in the recent issue of the scientific journal Biology Letters.
"It's a groundbreaking finding," said Ryan Norris, a Guelph professor in the Department of Integrative Biology who worked on the study with his graduate student Nathan Miller and two researchers from Environment Canada.
"It solves the long-standing mystery of why monarchs always show up later on the east coast compared to the interior," he said. "Importantly, it means that the viability of east coast populations is highly dependent upon productivity on the other side of the mountains."
Monarchs travel thousands of kilometres each year from wintering sites in central Mexico back to North America's eastern coast, a journey that requires multiple generations produced at various breeding regions.
Biologists had suspected that monarchs fly back from Mexico west-to-east over the Appalachians but no evidence existed to support the theory.
"Ours is the first proof of longitudinal migration," Miller said.
For the study, the researchers collected 90 monarch samples from 17 sites between Maine and Virginia in June and July of 2009. They also collected 180 samples of milkweed (the only plant monarch larvae can eat) from 36 sites along the eastern coast between May and July of that year.
They then used hydrogen and carbon isotope measurements to determine when and where the monarchs were born. Isotope values in milkweed vary longitudinally and can be measured in monarch wings, Miller said.
"It provides a natal, geospatial fingerprint that is fixed for the duration of the butterfly's lifespan."
The researchers discovered that 88 per cent of the monarchs sampled originated in the midwest and Great Lakes regions.
"This means that the recolonization of the east coast is by second-generation monarchs that hatched around the Great Lakes and then migrated eastward over the Appalachians," Miller said.
The monarch butterfly has been listed as a species of "special concern" in Canada since 1997. Past conservation efforts have often focused on breeding sites along a northward migration route.
"Our results suggest that this needs to change," Miller said. "We must target the Great Lakes region to conserve the east coast monarch populations."
The study appears in the recent issue of the scientific journal Biology Letters.
"It's a groundbreaking finding," said Ryan Norris, a Guelph professor in the Department of Integrative Biology who worked on the study with his graduate student Nathan Miller and two researchers from Environment Canada.
"It solves the long-standing mystery of why monarchs always show up later on the east coast compared to the interior," he said. "Importantly, it means that the viability of east coast populations is highly dependent upon productivity on the other side of the mountains."
Monarchs travel thousands of kilometres each year from wintering sites in central Mexico back to North America's eastern coast, a journey that requires multiple generations produced at various breeding regions.
Biologists had suspected that monarchs fly back from Mexico west-to-east over the Appalachians but no evidence existed to support the theory.
"Ours is the first proof of longitudinal migration," Miller said.
For the study, the researchers collected 90 monarch samples from 17 sites between Maine and Virginia in June and July of 2009. They also collected 180 samples of milkweed (the only plant monarch larvae can eat) from 36 sites along the eastern coast between May and July of that year.
They then used hydrogen and carbon isotope measurements to determine when and where the monarchs were born. Isotope values in milkweed vary longitudinally and can be measured in monarch wings, Miller said.
"It provides a natal, geospatial fingerprint that is fixed for the duration of the butterfly's lifespan."
The researchers discovered that 88 per cent of the monarchs sampled originated in the midwest and Great Lakes regions.
"This means that the recolonization of the east coast is by second-generation monarchs that hatched around the Great Lakes and then migrated eastward over the Appalachians," Miller said.
The monarch butterfly has been listed as a species of "special concern" in Canada since 1997. Past conservation efforts have often focused on breeding sites along a northward migration route.
"Our results suggest that this needs to change," Miller said. "We must target the Great Lakes region to conserve the east coast monarch populations."
Monday, July 26, 2010
10 Most Exotic Fruits
Squared Watermelon
For years consumers have struggled to fit the large round fruit in their refrigerators.
And then there was the problem of trying to cut the fruit when it kept rolling around.
But, 20 years ago a forward-thinking farmer on Japan's south-western island of Shikoku solved the problem.
The farmer, from Zentsuji, in Kagawa prefecture, came up with the idea of making a cube-shaped watermelon which could easily be packed and stored.
To make it happen, farmers grew the melons in glass boxes and the fruit then naturally assumed the same shape.
Today, the cuboid watermelons are hand-picked and shipped all over Japan.
But the fruit, on sale in a selection of department stores and up-market supermarkets, appeals mainly to the wealthy and fashion-conscious of Tokyo and Osaka, Japan's two major cities.
Each melon sells for 10,000 yen, equivalent to about $83.
It is almost double, or even triple than of a normal watermelon.
Pomegranate
The pomegranate is native from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India and was cultivated and naturalized over the whole Mediterranean region since ancient times.
The LA Times recently labelled pomegranate as ‘one of the most trendiest and versatile fruit on the market', and it could be good for you (another fruit sold for its ‘medical values'). Packed with antioxidants, pomegranate juice is now on the red carpet, and even the stars at the Oscars drink the dark red liquid.
Dragon fruit
A pitaya is the fruit of several cactus species, most importantly of the genus Hylocereus (sweet pitayas).
These fruit are commonly known as dragon fruit.
The fruit can weigh from 150 to 600 grams.
To prepare a pitaya for consumption, the fruit is cut open to expose the flesh.
The fruit's texture is sometimes likened to that of the kiwifruit due to the presence of black crunchy seeds.
The flesh, which is eaten raw, is mildly sweet and low in calories; dragon fruit should not be used to accompany strong-tasting food – except to "clean the palate" between dishes. The seeds are eaten together with the flesh, but they are indigestible unless chewed.
The fruit is also converted into juice or wine, or used to flavour other beverages.
The flowers can be eaten or steeped as tea.
Kiwano
The horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus) , also called African horned cucumber or kiwano, is an annual vine in the cucumber and melon family
Often known by its nickname in the southeast of the United States - blowfish fruit - it is grown for its fruit, which looks like an oval melon with horn-like spines.
The fruit of this plant is edible, but it is used as often for decoration as for food.
When ripe, it has a yellow-orange skin and a lime green jelly-like flesh.
The horned melon is native to Africa, and it is now grown in California, Chile, Australia and New Zealand as well.
Star fruit
The star fruit or carambola is a tropical fruit that is gaining popularity in the United States. This fruit acquired its name from the five pointed star shape when cut across the middle of the fruit. It has a waxy, golden yellow to green color skin with a complicated flavour combination that includes plums, pineapples, and lemons.
Rambutan
This is the strangest looking fruit ever.
Rambutan in Malay, Indonesian, and Filipino literally means hairy, caused by the 'hair' that covers this fruit.
On the outside it's magenta with green hairy legs all over it.
From the outside you'd have no idea what to expect on the inside.
Inside it's similar to a lychee fruit. It looks sort of clear and gummy.
It's very watery and has a huge seed in the centre.
It tastes pretty decent, but it's the look of the rambutan that puts it in the top
Ten.
Ackee
Ackee is Jamaica's national fruit.
The fruit was imported to Jamaica from West Africa (probably on a slave ship) before 1778.
Since then, it has become a major feature of various Caribbean cuisine, and is also cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas elsewhere around the world.
The fruit of the ackee is not edible in its entirety.
Only the inner, fleshy yellow arils are consumed.
It is extremely poisonous in the very centre if you eat the red bits.
Magosteen
Called ‘mangkut', these are the ‘queen of Thai fruits' with their elegant, segmented white–flesh inside a thick large purple peel.
They grow in the South and the season lasts just a few months of the year, mainly from May to September.
If you are here in Thailand at that time be sure to enjoy this delicious and luxurious sweet fruit.
Buddha's Hand
Ever heard of a Fingered Citron?
How about a Buddha's Hand?
It's a weird -looking citrus that has green or rich yellow tapering fingers or segments attached to a base – the appearance is not unlike a curled, arthritic hand, only there are usually many more than 5 fingers!
But what on earth do you do with a Buddha's Hand?
Do you eat it?
Well, yes, and no. Its thick, lemony rind and pith (the white part) is often candied into a delicious citrus delicacy, infused with spirits or made into liqueurs.
However, the small amount of inside flesh is quite sour and rarely used in food.
The Buddha's Hand and other members of the Citron family are also prized for their aromatic citrus oils and used in perfumes and sometimes kept in homes as a natural air deodorizer.
Urucu
You can count on finding the Urucu plant (Bixa orellana) around every rural household in the Amazon.
Achiote (Bixa orellana) is a shrub or small tree from the tropical region of the Americas.
It is cultivated there and in Southeast Asia, where it was introduced by the Spanish in the 17th century.
It is best known as the source of the natural pigment annatto, produced from the fruit.
Squared Watermelon
For years consumers have struggled to fit the large round fruit in their refrigerators.
And then there was the problem of trying to cut the fruit when it kept rolling around.
But, 20 years ago a forward-thinking farmer on Japan's south-western island of Shikoku solved the problem.
The farmer, from Zentsuji, in Kagawa prefecture, came up with the idea of making a cube-shaped watermelon which could easily be packed and stored.
To make it happen, farmers grew the melons in glass boxes and the fruit then naturally assumed the same shape.
Today, the cuboid watermelons are hand-picked and shipped all over Japan.
But the fruit, on sale in a selection of department stores and up-market supermarkets, appeals mainly to the wealthy and fashion-conscious of Tokyo and Osaka, Japan's two major cities.
Each melon sells for 10,000 yen, equivalent to about $83.
It is almost double, or even triple than of a normal watermelon.
Pomegranate
The pomegranate is native from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India and was cultivated and naturalized over the whole Mediterranean region since ancient times.
The LA Times recently labelled pomegranate as ‘one of the most trendiest and versatile fruit on the market', and it could be good for you (another fruit sold for its ‘medical values'). Packed with antioxidants, pomegranate juice is now on the red carpet, and even the stars at the Oscars drink the dark red liquid.
Dragon fruit
A pitaya is the fruit of several cactus species, most importantly of the genus Hylocereus (sweet pitayas).
These fruit are commonly known as dragon fruit.
The fruit can weigh from 150 to 600 grams.
To prepare a pitaya for consumption, the fruit is cut open to expose the flesh.
The fruit's texture is sometimes likened to that of the kiwifruit due to the presence of black crunchy seeds.
The flesh, which is eaten raw, is mildly sweet and low in calories; dragon fruit should not be used to accompany strong-tasting food – except to "clean the palate" between dishes. The seeds are eaten together with the flesh, but they are indigestible unless chewed.
The fruit is also converted into juice or wine, or used to flavour other beverages.
The flowers can be eaten or steeped as tea.
Kiwano
The horned melon (Cucumis metuliferus) , also called African horned cucumber or kiwano, is an annual vine in the cucumber and melon family
Often known by its nickname in the southeast of the United States - blowfish fruit - it is grown for its fruit, which looks like an oval melon with horn-like spines.
The fruit of this plant is edible, but it is used as often for decoration as for food.
When ripe, it has a yellow-orange skin and a lime green jelly-like flesh.
The horned melon is native to Africa, and it is now grown in California, Chile, Australia and New Zealand as well.
Star fruit
The star fruit or carambola is a tropical fruit that is gaining popularity in the United States. This fruit acquired its name from the five pointed star shape when cut across the middle of the fruit. It has a waxy, golden yellow to green color skin with a complicated flavour combination that includes plums, pineapples, and lemons.
Rambutan
This is the strangest looking fruit ever.
Rambutan in Malay, Indonesian, and Filipino literally means hairy, caused by the 'hair' that covers this fruit.
On the outside it's magenta with green hairy legs all over it.
From the outside you'd have no idea what to expect on the inside.
Inside it's similar to a lychee fruit. It looks sort of clear and gummy.
It's very watery and has a huge seed in the centre.
It tastes pretty decent, but it's the look of the rambutan that puts it in the top
Ten.
Ackee
Ackee is Jamaica's national fruit.
The fruit was imported to Jamaica from West Africa (probably on a slave ship) before 1778.
Since then, it has become a major feature of various Caribbean cuisine, and is also cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas elsewhere around the world.
The fruit of the ackee is not edible in its entirety.
Only the inner, fleshy yellow arils are consumed.
It is extremely poisonous in the very centre if you eat the red bits.
Magosteen
Called ‘mangkut', these are the ‘queen of Thai fruits' with their elegant, segmented white–flesh inside a thick large purple peel.
They grow in the South and the season lasts just a few months of the year, mainly from May to September.
If you are here in Thailand at that time be sure to enjoy this delicious and luxurious sweet fruit.
Buddha's Hand
Ever heard of a Fingered Citron?
How about a Buddha's Hand?
It's a weird -looking citrus that has green or rich yellow tapering fingers or segments attached to a base – the appearance is not unlike a curled, arthritic hand, only there are usually many more than 5 fingers!
But what on earth do you do with a Buddha's Hand?
Do you eat it?
Well, yes, and no. Its thick, lemony rind and pith (the white part) is often candied into a delicious citrus delicacy, infused with spirits or made into liqueurs.
However, the small amount of inside flesh is quite sour and rarely used in food.
The Buddha's Hand and other members of the Citron family are also prized for their aromatic citrus oils and used in perfumes and sometimes kept in homes as a natural air deodorizer.
Urucu
You can count on finding the Urucu plant (Bixa orellana) around every rural household in the Amazon.
Achiote (Bixa orellana) is a shrub or small tree from the tropical region of the Americas.
It is cultivated there and in Southeast Asia, where it was introduced by the Spanish in the 17th century.
It is best known as the source of the natural pigment annatto, produced from the fruit.
Remembering Kevin Carter
He ventured into the dark alleys of life capturing images which no one ever had seen before. Or who would have wanted to face those sickening truths which were least appealing to human eyes? His pictures pierced our heart, splitting it wide open letting out our anguish, pain, disgust or whatever emotions that you’ve never known before… emotions that were not familiar to the comfort zone where you, I and millions of others have been lingering for long. 16 years have passed since Kevin Carter – the lensman behind the famous Starving Child with Vulture photograph left this world. The disheartening picture questioned the ethics of photo journalism, which is debated even today.
As you look at the picture, what comes to your mind? Shock, disbelief, pain, anguish…and eventually you will be left behind with a disturbed mind stifled by numerous thoughts. I’m not denying that some of us will be left with a disdain for the man who captured this image on frame. I don’t remember when exactly I saw this picture for the first time. This photograph first appeared in NY Times in 1993. Carter was in Sudan to photograph the rebel movement in famine-stricken Sudan. While taking the shots of famine victims, he saw this little girl crawling all the way to the feeding centre. As he adjusted the frame for her, a vulture approached. Carter himself later said that he waited for the vulture to spread its wings, but it didn’t happen, and so he chased the vulture away after taking the shot. Funds came pouring in to Sudan and people from all over the world wanted to know what eventually happened to the little girl, something Carter did not have any answer for. Though the photograph earned Carter a Pulitzer Prize, he came under severe criticism for abandoning the child. A Florida-based news paper described him as:
“The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering, might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene.”
Carter’s colleague had another version to tell. He said the child was just a few steps behind her parents who were waiting for the supplies. He remembers Carter breaking down after taking the snap. He was depressed afterward, and kept saying he wanted to hug his daughter. Who would have known the emotions that he underwent then? He too was a human being, but the same time it was his job to let people know about what was happening around them.
A year after that, Carter committed suicide unable to cope with depression. Even after his death, the picture continued creating ripples, featuring in newspapers across the world and that’s how I stumbled upon it. Let me admit that even my immediate reaction was anger at the person who took the snap. I was vexed, boiling with ire over the photographer. Though I felt bad over his death, I was too young then to understand depression. I left it there, or did I? It kept recurring, reminding me of Carter. But then, the wrath gave way to doubts, and subsequently to guilt as I realised I have no right to blame someone for not doing the right thing when I fail to justify myself often.
Kevin Carter was raised in Johannesburg witnessing the brutal apartheid regime. In spite of being white, he always questioned it, and an angry Kevin used to have arguments with his parents asking why they couldn’t do something about all the atrocities blacks had to face in his homeland. May be he found the answer in photography. For Carter, photography was a calling, and that was his medium to let the world know about the atrocities happening in Africa where he grew up. As the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words” – and no art can be as effective as photography when it comes to evoking human sympathy.
Was Carter doing the right thing while he took that snap? At times it’s difficult to define things from a ‘black & white’ perspective as there is no such thing as absolute right or wrong. Of course he could have helped that little girl, but Carter was a disturbed man. He was not taking pictures with the same mentality of a fashion photographer. The things which he witnessed were unpleasant truths, and those images kept haunting him like a bitter nightmare. As a man, he too was plagued by self-doubts and fears. The amount of suffering he’d seen was bitter and turbulent unlike a fairytale. This made him a depressed boy and at 16, he tried to kill himself by swallowing pills. All this explains how disturbed Carter was in his later life.
I’m unable to draw a distinct line here. But Carter can be pardoned, given the fact that the images he captured did make the world open its eyes. The world is still suffering, but at least we are not blind to that. And Carter made us realise that the harsher realities of life are indeed the repercussions of our apathy and negligence.
Can Kevin Carter be pardoned? Was he a brilliant photographer or just another wounded soul chained by the haunting thoughts of endless misery? Tell us
As you look at the picture, what comes to your mind? Shock, disbelief, pain, anguish…and eventually you will be left behind with a disturbed mind stifled by numerous thoughts. I’m not denying that some of us will be left with a disdain for the man who captured this image on frame. I don’t remember when exactly I saw this picture for the first time. This photograph first appeared in NY Times in 1993. Carter was in Sudan to photograph the rebel movement in famine-stricken Sudan. While taking the shots of famine victims, he saw this little girl crawling all the way to the feeding centre. As he adjusted the frame for her, a vulture approached. Carter himself later said that he waited for the vulture to spread its wings, but it didn’t happen, and so he chased the vulture away after taking the shot. Funds came pouring in to Sudan and people from all over the world wanted to know what eventually happened to the little girl, something Carter did not have any answer for. Though the photograph earned Carter a Pulitzer Prize, he came under severe criticism for abandoning the child. A Florida-based news paper described him as:
“The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering, might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene.”
Carter’s colleague had another version to tell. He said the child was just a few steps behind her parents who were waiting for the supplies. He remembers Carter breaking down after taking the snap. He was depressed afterward, and kept saying he wanted to hug his daughter. Who would have known the emotions that he underwent then? He too was a human being, but the same time it was his job to let people know about what was happening around them.
A year after that, Carter committed suicide unable to cope with depression. Even after his death, the picture continued creating ripples, featuring in newspapers across the world and that’s how I stumbled upon it. Let me admit that even my immediate reaction was anger at the person who took the snap. I was vexed, boiling with ire over the photographer. Though I felt bad over his death, I was too young then to understand depression. I left it there, or did I? It kept recurring, reminding me of Carter. But then, the wrath gave way to doubts, and subsequently to guilt as I realised I have no right to blame someone for not doing the right thing when I fail to justify myself often.
Kevin Carter was raised in Johannesburg witnessing the brutal apartheid regime. In spite of being white, he always questioned it, and an angry Kevin used to have arguments with his parents asking why they couldn’t do something about all the atrocities blacks had to face in his homeland. May be he found the answer in photography. For Carter, photography was a calling, and that was his medium to let the world know about the atrocities happening in Africa where he grew up. As the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words” – and no art can be as effective as photography when it comes to evoking human sympathy.
Was Carter doing the right thing while he took that snap? At times it’s difficult to define things from a ‘black & white’ perspective as there is no such thing as absolute right or wrong. Of course he could have helped that little girl, but Carter was a disturbed man. He was not taking pictures with the same mentality of a fashion photographer. The things which he witnessed were unpleasant truths, and those images kept haunting him like a bitter nightmare. As a man, he too was plagued by self-doubts and fears. The amount of suffering he’d seen was bitter and turbulent unlike a fairytale. This made him a depressed boy and at 16, he tried to kill himself by swallowing pills. All this explains how disturbed Carter was in his later life.
I’m unable to draw a distinct line here. But Carter can be pardoned, given the fact that the images he captured did make the world open its eyes. The world is still suffering, but at least we are not blind to that. And Carter made us realise that the harsher realities of life are indeed the repercussions of our apathy and negligence.
Can Kevin Carter be pardoned? Was he a brilliant photographer or just another wounded soul chained by the haunting thoughts of endless misery? Tell us
Monday, July 19, 2010
Indian Forest Service Examination -2010
Hai Frnz,
This is your Frn Jo, I have seenIFS Exam 2010 question papers. This is such an exam one can eadily score a good rank with a little bit of subkect knowledge and most beautiful writing skills..First of all planning is very must and should for this examination..question paper was such a easiest paper with just intermidiate knowledge...so every one can attempt it for the next upcoming year....so my deaers all the best for u all who ever tries for this examination......
This is your Frn Jo, I have seenIFS Exam 2010 question papers. This is such an exam one can eadily score a good rank with a little bit of subkect knowledge and most beautiful writing skills..First of all planning is very must and should for this examination..question paper was such a easiest paper with just intermidiate knowledge...so every one can attempt it for the next upcoming year....so my deaers all the best for u all who ever tries for this examination......
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