Mid Jan 2009 papers

Some interested papers.

Begging bowls: The biotech sector needs government support, not blank checks, Nature Biotech 27(1):1 (January 2009).

Biotech sector ponders potential 'bloodbath', Peter Mitchell, Nature Biotech 27(1):3-5 (January 2009).

Plant genomics land big prizes, Emily Waltz, Nature Biotech 27(1):5 (January 2009).

Biotech's green gold? Emily Waltz, Nature Biotech 27(1):15-18 (January 2009).
Algae have long been touted as a rich and ubiquitous source of renewable fuel but thus far have failed to be economically competitive with other sources of energy. Could new advances change that? Emily Waltz investigates.

The E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes, AtUBC1 and AtUBC2, play redundant roles and are involved in activation of FLC expression and repression of flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana, Lin Xu, Rozenn Ménard, Alexandre Berr, Jörg Fuchs, Valérie Cognat, Denise Meyer, Wen-Hui Shen, The Plant Journal 57(2):279-288 (2009).

CLIMATE CHANGE: Higher Temperatures Seen Reducing Global Harvests, Science 323(5911):193 (January 2009).
In a paper appearing on page 240 of this week's issue of Science, researchers apply 23 global climate models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to estimate end-of-century temperatures. Their conclusions with regard to agriculture are sobering.

DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY: Histone Cross-Talk in Stem Cells, Edwin Smith and Ali Shilatifard, Science 323(5911):221-222 (January 2009).
Summary: Specificity of gene regulation in stem cells may occur at the level of ubiquitin signaling to chromatin.

Historical Warnings of Future Food Insecurity with Unprecedented Seasonal Heat, David. S. Battisti and Rosamond L. Naylor, Science 323(5911):240-244 (January 2009).
By analogy with past examples, higher growing season temperatures and extreme heat will cause major disruptions to global agriculture.