Archive by date | August 2011

Genomics reveals cholera’s travel history

Next-generation sequencing means bacteria no longer have an option when it comes to location privacy. In the latest example of the use of genomics to track infections, a team of scientists have sequenced the genomes of 154 strains of Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera, to map its movement around the globe over the past 40 years.

Earthquake shakes eastern United States

Earthquake shakes eastern United States

Vibrations from a major earthquake in rural Virginia rattled residents across much of the Eastern United States today, prompting evacuations of many buildings in Washington DC, New York and Boston. Ivan Semeniuk, from Nature’s Washington DC bureau, snapped this image of evacuees on Pennsylvania Avenue, within sight of the Capitol building.

Iberian Lynx proves that low genetic diversity is no barrier to survival

Iberian Lynx proves that low genetic diversity is no barrier to survival

A recent paper in Nature Climate Change suggests that global warming will cause substantial loss of genetic diversity amongst species (see ‘Climate change will hit genetic diversity‘). This is generally considered to be a bad thing – genetic variation is the heartbeat of evolution and without it species are less able to adapt to new conditions.

Agriculture drains global water resources

Agriculture drains global water resources

The depletion of water resources including ground water and wetlands for agriculture will leave many food producing areas, such as northern China, and India’s Punjab increasingly vulnerable to drought and crop failures in future, warns a report out today. The recent droughts in Kenya and Somalia have played a key role in the crop failures that have left thousands starving.