 |
|
How size matters
December 13, 2007The beauty of nature explained!
The beauty of nature is partly due to the uniformity of leaf and flower size in individual plants, and scientists have discovered how plants arrive at these aesthetic proportions.
Researchers at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have discovered that cells at the margins of leaves and petals play a particularly important role in setting their size.
"The remarkable uniformity of leaves and flowers helps us to tell different species apart, such as daisies and marguerites, which look very similar otherwise. We are now uncovering how the genetic blueprint of a species tightly controls the size of leaves and flowers", says Dr. Michael Lenhard, who led the research.
The cells at the margins seem to secrete a mobile growth signal that keeps the cells throughout the leaf dividing. The more of this signal is produced, the larger the leaves and flowers get.
Surprisingly, this signal seems to be distinct from the classical and well-studied plant hormones that are known to influence growth and development.
"As the signal only seems to come in from the margins, we suggest it gets diluted as the leaf or petal grows. Once the concentration falls below a certain threshold, the cells in the leaf or petal stop dividing. This would be a simple way of measuring the size of a growing organ", says Dr. Lenhard. "It's a bit like adding more and more tonic to a gin and tonic until you can no longer taste the gin."
Strikingly, animals seem to use the same principle of dilution for measuring size, for example of the wings in a fly, although the molecules used are very different.
Efforts are under way to use this discovery to increase leaf growth in biofuel crops for the generation of sustainable energy and to boost the yield of fruits and seeds.
Norwich BioScience Institutes
"The remarkable uniformity of leaves and flowers helps us to tell different species apart, such as daisies and marguerites, which look very similar otherwise. We are now uncovering how the genetic blueprint of a species tightly controls the size of leaves and flowers", says Dr. Michael Lenhard, who led the research.
The cells at the margins seem to secrete a mobile growth signal that keeps the cells throughout the leaf dividing. The more of this signal is produced, the larger the leaves and flowers get.
Surprisingly, this signal seems to be distinct from the classical and well-studied plant hormones that are known to influence growth and development.
"As the signal only seems to come in from the margins, we suggest it gets diluted as the leaf or petal grows. Once the concentration falls below a certain threshold, the cells in the leaf or petal stop dividing. This would be a simple way of measuring the size of a growing organ", says Dr. Lenhard. "It's a bit like adding more and more tonic to a gin and tonic until you can no longer taste the gin."
Strikingly, animals seem to use the same principle of dilution for measuring size, for example of the wings in a fly, although the molecules used are very different.
Efforts are under way to use this discovery to increase leaf growth in biofuel crops for the generation of sustainable energy and to boost the yield of fruits and seeds.
Norwich BioScience Institutes
Uniformity Current Events and Uniformity News RSSElectron self-injection into an evolving plasma bubble
Particle accelerators are among the largest and most expensive scientific instruments. Thirty years ago, theorists John Dawson and Toshiki Tajima proposed an idea for making them thousands of times smaller: surf the particles on plasma waves driven by short intense laser pulses.
Mice living in sandy hills quickly evolved lighter coloration
In a vivid illustration of natural selection at work, scientists at Harvard University have found that deer mice living in Nebraska's Sand Hills quickly evolved lighter coloration after glaciers deposited sand dunes atop what had been much darker soil. The work is described this week in the journal Science.
Gene developed through conventional breeding to improve cowpea aphid resistance
The cowpea or black-eyed pea, as it is more commonly known, is a New Year's tradition for good luck. But disease and particularly aphids, which can wreck a crop within a few a days, are especially bad luck for the cowpea, according to scientists.
New map of genomic variations will enable disease research
Genetics researchers have unveiled a powerful new resource for scientists and health providers studying human illnesses--a reference standard of deletions and duplications of DNA found in the human genome.
Enabling graphene-based technology via chemical functionalization
Graphene is an atomically thin sheet of carbon that has attracted significant attention due to its potential use in high-performance electronics, sensors and alternative energy devices such as solar cells.
Researchers find snippet of RNA that helps make individuals remarkably alike
"No two people are alike." Yet when we consider the thousands of genes with frequent differences in genetic composition among different people, it is remarkable how much alike we are.
Color test enhances tomato analyzer software
When it comes to fresh vegetables and fruits, color is one of the best indicators of quality. Along with texture, size, and flavor, color plays an important role in the business of horticultural crop production and marketing.
Erosion Doubles Along Part of Alaska's Arctic Coast: Cultural and Historical Sites Lost
Coastal erosion has more than doubled in Alaska - up to 45 feet per year - in a 5-year period between 2002 and 2007 along a 40-mile stretch of the Beaufort Sea.
Insights into polymer film instability could aid high tech industries
While exploring the properties of polymer formation, a team of scientists at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has made a fundamental discovery about these materials that could improve methods of creating the stable crystalline films that are widely used in electronics applications-and also offer insight into a range of other phenomena.
Dancing atoms now understood
In developing a model to explain the motion of atoms in a magnetic field, scientists have overcome a decades-old obstacle to understanding a key component of magnetic resonance.
More Uniformity Current Events and Uniformity News Articles
 |
Uniformity With God's Will by St. Alphonsus de Liguori (Author) The subject of God's will was for Alphonsus a theme of predilection, a theme dearest to his heart. Just as St. Ignatius stressed 'the greater glory of God,' St. Alphonsus in all his works, gave prominence to 'the greater good pleasure of God.' The death of a friend deeply affected the Saint and he expressed his sentiments in a poem on God's will. The wide acclaim it received may have suggested to him the thought that a tract on the same subject would be helpful to the souls of others. His surmise proved correct, for the appearance of his subsequent pamphlet was greeted with instant favor. "Perfection is founded entirely on the love of God: 'Charity is the bond of perfection;' and perfect love of God means the complete union of our will with God's."--St. Alphonsus. Lamp Post and the... |
 |
2006 07 Fleer Ultra Hockey Cards Unopened Hobby Pack (8 cards/pack) - Look for Multi-Color "Ultra Uniformity Memorabilia" Jersey Cards Plus Hot New Rookies for the 06/7 Season plus gold medallion cards in every pack! by Fleer Ultra |
 |
Uniformity Rich Man's Burden (Primary Contributor) |
 |
The Other F Word Also With: Warner Bros. (Producer) |
 |
The mission and extension of the Church at home, 8 lects by Old Classics Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: every Sunday at St. Mary's. Nor can the value of the religious instructions there imparted be easily overrated. But then, unhappily, as is well known, numbers of the under-graduates habitually absent themselves from the University sermons: and it seems impossible to enforce their attendance. Under these circumstances, I would ask with all humility, whether it would not be well to send the message to those who will not seek it; and to afford, at least occasionally, to every under-graduate, in his own college chapel, the all-important lessons which otherwise would never reach him ? Such privilege has been... |
 |
ABC News Nightline Jose Bove Jose Bove, sheep farmer, cheese maker, national hero. But don't be fooled by the sheep. As much as he might relish the image of French peasant, Jose Bove is a seasoned political agent provocateur. The son of biochemists, raised in Paris and California, now determined to stop what he sees as the growing threat to French national identity from the American-led global economy. Bovemania, it's called in France. His particular struggle to defend small farmers has grown to reflect a larger global battle. The message is aimed at stopping a cultural tidal wave to the French, embodied by American pervasiveness, Blockbuster movies, chain store clothing and, worst of all, fast food. So when Jose Bove organized an attack, or dismantling, as he calls it, of a McDonald's under construction in a... |
 |
Weathered Uniformity Canvas Print - Canvas Art by FineArtAmerica.com This is a beautiful stretched-canvas art print wrapped on 2.5" thick stretcher bars. The print is professionally printed, assembled, and shipped within 2 - 3 business days from our production facility in North Carolina and arrives ready-to-hang on your wall. FineArtAmerica.com is home to more than 20,000 artists from all over the world who entrust us to fulfill their print orders online. We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on every print that we sell and look forward to helping you select your next piece. |
|
Language and living things: Uniformities in folk classification and naming by Cecil H Brown (Author) | |
|
Natural law and divine miracle;: The principle of uniformity in geology, biology and theology, by R Hooykaas (Author) | |
 |
6 each: Minwax Water-Based Pre- Stain Wood Conditioner (21850) by Minwax Sold as one unit. (1 unit = 6 each.) 8 oz. Assures color uniformity of water-based stains. For use on all types of wood. Soap and water clean-up. 1-5 minute dry time. Coverage: approximately 25-30 sq. ft. per 8 oz. Can. Manufacturer number: 21850. SKU #: 1383371. Country of origin: (TBA). Distributed by Minwax. |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |