Where have all the aspen gone?

Nature News 2nd October 2006
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David Brill talks to forestry expert Wayne Shepperd, at the Rocky Mountain Research Station at Fort Collins, Colorado, about the mysterious death of these trees in the western United States.

There have long been stories about decling aspen numbers, but you've now realised things have been much worse over the past few years. What is happening?

Aspen here in the western United States regenerate by sprouting from the root system of existing trees, rather than growing from seeds.

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Mouse brain map is complete

Nature 27th September 2006
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David Brill

Gene expression database goes online

Three years, 21,000 genes and US$41 million after the Allen Brain Atlas was begun, it is finished. A three-dimensional map of gene expression in the mouse brain, the atlas is the most comprehensive study of its kind to date.

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Socialites need more sleep

Nature News 18th September 2006
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David Brill

Flies with a busy social life take longer naps.

A hectic social life makes a fruitfly take longer naps, according to a new study. This seemingly simple finding could prove important in helping to understand why we sleep, and what effect socializing has on our brain circuitry.

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First tree joins genome club

Nature News 11th September 2006
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David Brill

Poplar sequence could help to turn trees into better fuels.

The first tree genome has been published. Armed with this information about the black cottonwood poplar (Populus trichocarpa), researchers hope they will be able to make the tree a better source of renewable energy.

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Neanderthal's last stand

Nature News 11th September 2006
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David Brill

Cave in Gibraltar may be most recent home of extinct species.

Gibraltar may have been the last refuge of the Neanderthals, according to the results of a six-year archaeological dig.

The findings, which show that Neanderthals lived alongside modern humans for thousands of years, bring fresh evidence to the debate on what happened to our evolutionary cousins, and whether modern humans drove them to extinction.

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