The root-knot nematode (RKN), Meloidogyne incognita, is an obligate, sedentary endoparasite that infects a large number of crops and severely affects productivity. The commonly used nematode control strategies have their own limitations. Of late, RNA interference (RNAi) has become a popular approach for the development of nematode resistance in plants. Transgenic crops capable of expressing dsR...

Seasonal multiplication and overwinter survival are density-dependent in Heterodera glycines. At low to moderate population densities, the nematode is capable of large population increases on susceptible soybean cultivars and high rates of oversummer or overwinter survival in the absence of a host. To improve estimates of H. glycines multiplication and survival rates, egg densities were monitor...

The membrane pacemaker hypothesis predicts that long-living species will have more peroxidation-resistant membrane lipids than shorter living species. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the fatty acid composition of heart phospholipids from long-living Procellariiformes (petrels and albatrosses) to those of shorter living Galliformes (fowl). The seabirds were obtained from by-catch of comme...

The recent soaring cost of many basic foods worldwide has forced a new focus on many areas of policy and in Europe the issue of genetically modified crops has attracted renewed media and wider interest. The reason is that the European Union has proved resistant to almost all perceived or promoted advantages of GM crops. Environmental groups opposed to the technology gained early advantage becau...

Vancomycin, the prototypical member of the glycopeptide family of antibiotics, is a clinically used antibiotic employed against a variety of drug-resistant bacterial strains including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The recent emergence of vancomycin resistance, viewed as a growing threat to public health, prompted us to initiate a program aimed at restoring the potency of t...