Tag: Birds

Natural World

Discovery of a Paleolithic bird carving at Lingjing Henan, China

Panayiota Siskos ’23 Modernity’s understanding about the history of symbolic behavior has increased during the past two decades, and a gradualist scenario has taken shape from the idea of a symbolic explosion occurring 40,000 years ago in Europe with the appearance of anatomically modern human populations. However, there is evidence that such behaviors are older and emerged from African Middle Stone Age and archaic Europe … Continue reading Discovery of a Paleolithic bird carving at Lingjing Henan, China

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Biology, Ecology, Natural World

Ecological Dynamics of Coastal Plants, Birds, and Herbivores

Fatin Chowdhury ’20 In a recent paper, scientists from the University of Irvine examined the resistance of shrub plants to herbivory, as enabled by plant morphology or the presence of avian species. The scientists studied both direct and indirect defenses in nature and assessed these mechanisms in the context of energetic trade-offs. Characteristics that were already known to directly lower the success rate of herbivory … Continue reading Ecological Dynamics of Coastal Plants, Birds, and Herbivores

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2017-18

Arsenic and Copper May Affect Reproductive Health in Chickens

By Matthew Lee ‘21 Arsenic and copper are trace elements that can have deleterious health effects when present in the body in large quantities. Their toxicity in certain body parts such as the liver, nervous system, and lungs is well documented. However, the effects of arsenic and copper on testicular tissues are not as studied. A recent study led by Yizhi Shao of Northeast Forestry … Continue reading Arsenic and Copper May Affect Reproductive Health in Chickens

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Figure 1. Brood of chickens frolicking in a pen house
2017-18

Fighting the Avian Leukosis Virus through Genome Modification

By Matthew Lee ’21 The avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) has plagued the poultry industry since being recognized about 30 years ago. The economic hardships caused by decreases in poultry yield makes developing resistance mechanisms a topic of interest. Recently, a team led by Hong Jo Lee from Seoul National University decided to take the novel approach of editing the chicken genome in order … Continue reading Fighting the Avian Leukosis Virus through Genome Modification

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