An international team of researchers last Friday said they had sequenced the first genome of a kangaroo, a project aimed at pinpointing the genes that give the marsupial its remarkable abilities to hop and smell.
The DNA code of the tammar wallaby is presented in Genome Biology, published by British-based open-access science publishers BioMed Central.
The pint-sized ‘roo measures only 45cm from head to tailtip and has long intrigued biologists.
Photo: Reuters 照片:路透
It has a 12-month gestation of which 11 months is a period of suspended animation in the womb. At birth, the young weigh only half a gram, and spend nine months in the mother’s pouch for protection as they grow.
The wallaby joins more than 130 other organisms to have its genome unraveled.
They include humans, the chimpanzee, dog, rat, mouse and rabbit, as well as valuable crops, fungi and the fruit fly, a standard model for lab research.
Photo: EPA 照片:歐新社
(AFP)
一群國際研究團隊上週五表示,他們已完成測定袋鼠基因序列的一組基因,該計畫主要是要找出使有袋動物擁有卓越跳躍與嗅覺能力的基因。
關於塔馬爾沙袋鼠的DNA基因碼的研究報告,刊登於所在地在英國的生物醫學中心出版社出版的《基因生物學》期刊。該出版社以開放網路存取為主。
Photo: EPA 照片:歐新社
這種體型比標準小的袋鼠,從頭到尾雖僅四十五公分長,但長久以來一直激起生物學家對牠的好奇心。
袋鼠有十二個月的懷孕期,其中有十一個月呈子宮假死狀態。出生時,幼袋鼠只有半克重,並且有九個月的期間,被保護在媽媽的育兒袋內繼續發育。
沙袋鼠與其他一百三十種生物的基因組已被破解。
他們包括人類、黑猩猩、狗、鼠、鼷鼠、兔子,以及經濟作物、真菌與果蠅,這些都是實驗室研究的標準樣本。
(法新社/翻譯:林亞蒂)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
A: As well as Eid al-Fitr, Southeast Asia is celebrating the Water Festival this week. B: And this year, Thailand is expanding the celebration between April 12 and 16 for the event, officially known as the Songkran Festival, expecting to make 24.3 billion Thai baht in tourism revenue. A: Does Taiwan celebrate the Water Festival? B: Some local cities and counties do have similar activities. A: Let’s go experience the festival then. A: 除了「開齋節」外,東南亞「潑水節」本週也盛大登場! B: 泰國今年從4月12日到16日擴大「宋干節」連假,預估觀光收入可高達243億泰銖。 A: 台灣會慶祝「潑水節」嗎? B: 有些縣市會舉辦類似活動。 A: 那我們也去體驗一下吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)