Biotechnology applied to livestock encompasses various reproductive techniques supported by molecular biology. Technologies for the transfer of gene constructs involve microinjection into the pronucleus of fertilized oocytes or DNA mass transfer. The last one can be made through the use of sperm, which carry the incorporated gene construct into the ovum at fertilization, or through the use of r...

Gonadotropin releasing-hormone (GnRH) (also called luteinizing hormone-releasing-hormone (LHRH)) is the key hypothalamic neurohormone that is important in the control of reproduction for all vertebrates. Released from the hypothalamus, the GnRH decapeptide travels via the median eminence (neurohemal portal system) in most vertebrates to the pituitary where it binds to specific receptors on the ...

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a widely expressed and highly conserved serine/threonine protein kinase encoded in mammals by two genes that generate two related proteins: GSK-3α and GSK-3β. GSK-3 is active in cells under resting conditions and is primarily regulated through inhibition or diversion of its activity. While GSK-3 is one of the few protein kinases that can be inactivated by p...

Introduction There is signifi cant concern regarding the widespread loss of biodiversity and the destructive effects of human activity on the natural environment (Carson 1962; Wilson 2002). Over 500 extinctions of animal species have been recorded since 1600 (Frankham et al. 2002), with this rate signifi cantly increasing over the past 150 years (Primack 1998). Furthermore, the International Un...

Many social species produce specific vocalizations when threatened or startled by a predator or some other significant disturbance. These signals are usually termed ‘‘alarm calls’’ (from old Italian ‘‘all’ arme’’ meaning ‘‘to arms’’ on the approach of an enemy), but ‘‘distress,’’ ‘‘alert,’’ or ‘‘mobbing calls’’ are also common, usually in cases where the calls are given in conjunction with some...

nervous functions and of the reduction of human performance to instincts, drives, reflexes or other part processes. Forced out of his work, while he waited in Amsterdam in 1934 for a visa for the United States, he took the opportunity-by his own account, five weeks that exhausted both his typist and himself-to clarify the theoretical basis of his medical work. This book is the result, the "clas...

Tumors-on-a-Chip In article 2202609, Mengsu Yang and co-workers describe the recent advances in developing a new generation of vitro preclinical models that can recreate native tumor microenvironment, including spheroids, organoids, tumors-on-a-chip. These biomimetic 3D allow for better understanding cancer biology accelerating anticancer therapeutics development with reduced animal use.

Introduction There is signifi cant concern regarding the widespread loss of biodiversity and the destructive effects of human activity on the natural environment (Carson 1962; Wilson 2002). Over 500 extinctions of animal species have been recorded since 1600 (Frankham et al. 2002), with this rate signifi cantly increasing over the past 150 years (Primack 1998). Furthermore, the International Un...

The Cambrian appearance of fossils representing diverse phyla has long inspired hypotheses about possible genetic or environmental catalysts of early animal evolution. Only recently, however, have data begun to emerge that can resolve the sequence of genetic and morphological innovations, environmental events, and ecological interactions that collectively shaped Cambrian evolution. Assembly of ...

J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 88, E-Suppl. 2/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 93, E-Suppl. 1/Poult. Sci. Vol. 89, E-Suppl. 1 55 A novel approach to evaluate the cost-benefit of use of Johne’s disease vaccine while considering effects on the bovine tuberculosis eradication program. F. J. Zagmutt*1, L. A. Espejo2, H Groenendaal1, J. R. Lima2, E. Patton3, I. A. Gardner4, and S. Wells2, 1Vose Consulting, Boulder, CO, 2Coll...