Coucou de Rennes, a French breed with the characteristic sex-linked barring phenotype. Photo Hervé Ronné, Ecomusée du pays de Rennes.

Birds show an amazing diversity in plumage colour and patterning. But what are the genetic mechanisms creating such patterns? In a new study published in PLOS Genetics, Swedish and French researchers report that two independent mutations are required to explain the development of the sex-linked barring pattern in chicken. Both mutations affect the function of CDKN2A, a tumour suppressor gene associated with melanoma in humans. Research in pigmentation biology has made major advances the last 20 years in identifying genes controlling variation in pigmentation in mammals and birds. However, the most challenging question is still how colour patterns are genetically controlled. Birds are outstanding as regards the diversity and complexity in colour patterning. The study published today has revealed the genetic basis for the striped feather characteristic of sex-linked barring. One example of this fascinating plumage colour is the French breed Coucou de Rennes. The name refers to the fact that this plumage colour resembles the barring patterns present in the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). The sex-linked barring locus is on the Z chromosome. (In chickens as well as in other birds the male has chromosomes ZZ while females have ZW).

Maria Pala's findings unlock ancestral origins of Sardinians

The University of Huddersfield’s Sardinian researcher Dr Maria Pala investigates the origins of her homeland ancestors 8,000 years ago THE island of Sardinia is remarkable for the fact that an exceptionally high proportion of the population is seemingly descended from people who have occupied it since the Neolithic and Bronze Age, between 8,000 and 2,000 years ago. For centuries after that, they had little interaction with mainland Europe. Now, University of Huddersfield researcher Dr Maria Pala has taken part in a project that has helped to unlock the genetic secrets of her Mediterranean homeland. One of the findings is that some modern Sardinians could have evolved from people who colonised the island at an even earlier period, the Mesolithic. Dr Pala - whose first degree was from the University of Sassari in her native Sardinia – is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Huddersfield and a member of its Archaeogenetics Research Group. The group is led by Professor Martin Richards and includes Dr Francesca Gandini as Research Fellow.

The photo shows an infected wooden pole that is ultimately destroyed by a copper-tolerant fungus.

The St. Gallen-based Empa biotech spin-off, MycoSolutions AG, has developed a new fungal product that improves the soil and controls pest fungi in an environmentally friendly way. Wooden poles remain in use much longer, leading to cost savings of millions for operators. A "Proof-of-Concept" is now available for the integrated wood preservation method. In Europe, some 30 million wooden poles are used by telecommunications companies and electricity utilities. Every year, hundreds of thousands of these poles have to be replaced due to the occurrence of copper-tolerant, wood-destroying fungi. This results in millions in terms of costs. The problem is likely to worsen in the future, since the copper fixation agent chromium, (which is carcinogenic in a certain chemical form), and the wood preservative boron, are restricted by law. In addition, the authorisation for Switzerland will expire in 2019. In Germany, even stricter regulations have already been put in place. Since the use of boron has largely been discontinued, in certain regions the defects appear early, after only six to eight years and the wooden poles have to be replaced for safety reasons.

Pierpaolo Battigalli

In una nota su Econometrica Battigalli, Cerreia-Vioglio, Maccheroni e Marinacci dimostrano che l'avversione all'incertezza, in una situazione di interazione strategica tra attori, ha l'effetto controintuitivo di rendere gli esiti più difficili da prevedere . In A Note on Comparative Ambiguity Aversion and Justifiability (in Econometrica, Vol 84, Issue 5, 1903-1916, DOI: 10.3982/ECTA14429), Pierpaolo Battigalli, Simone Cerreia-Vioglio, Fabio Maccheroni e Massimo Marinacci del Dipartimento di Scienze delle decisioni della Bocconi tornano ad analizzare gli effetti dell’avversione all’incertezza sui processi decisionali, come avevano già fatto di recente in un articolo sull’American Economic Review.

Girls with autism have relatively good social skills, which means that their autism is often not recognised. Autism manifests itself in girls differently from in boys. Psychologist Carolien Rieffe and colleagues from the Autism Centre and INTER-PSY (Groningen) report their findings in scientific journal Autism. Information about autism in girls is scarce. What we know about autism is mainly based on research among boys and men. That can be a problem, says Leiden Professor of Development Psychology Rieffe: ‘If we take the clinical picture for boys with autism as the standard, there's a good chance that autism in girls won't be picked up.' To change this, Rieffe and her colleagues examined how autism manifests itself in girls.

Scientists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum have established a process for identifying biomarkers for the diagnosis of different types of cancer. With the aid of a specific type of infrared (IR) spectroscopy, the researchers applied an automated and label-free approach to detect tumour tissue in a biopsy or tissue sample. Unlike with label-based processes, such as are currently deployed by pathologists, the tissue remains unmodified. This, in turn, facilitates detailed protein analyses in the next step. Studying tissue samples from patients who suffered from lung or pleural cancer, the researchers identified protein biomarkers that are typical of the respective subtype of cancer. The team of the research consortium “Protein Research Unit Ruhr within Europe” (PURE) has published their report in the journal “Scientific Reports”.

Il disco di polvere che circonda la giovane stella HD 169142 ripreso da ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) dell’ESO

Un team di ricercatori guidati da Davide Fedele, dell’Istituto nazionale di astrofisica di Firenze, ha individuato la traccia della presenza di due pianeti in formazione attorno alla giovane stella HD 169142, distante da noi circa 470 anni luce. I due pianeti avrebbero masse paragonabili a quella del nostro Giove. Il disco di polvere che circonda la giovane stella HD 169142 ripreso da ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) dell’ESO. Gli anelli vividi sono ampie strisce di polvere, separate da profondi spazi vuoti. Crediti: ALMA (ESO / NAOJ / NRAO)/ Fedele et al Grazie alle dettagliate riprese del telescopio Alma (Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array) dell’Eso, un team internazionale di ricercatori guidati da Davide Fedele, dell’Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica di Firenze, ha individuato la traccia della presenza di due pianeti in formazione attorno alla giovane stella Hd 169142, distante da noi circa 470 anni luce e situata in direzione della costellazione del Sagittario. I due pianeti avrebbero masse paragonabili a quella del nostro Giove.

Aerial view from WADI first test flights

The first test phase of the WADI project has been successfully completed. During the month of February 2017 WADI partners ONERA and SCP tested the innovative airborne water leak detection surveillance service developed by the project. A Busard airplain equipped with hyper-spectral and infrared cameras flew over the facilities of Canal de Provence (SCP), in the South-East of France, and recorded images of the irrigation network including buried ductile iron pipes in three locations: Rians (close to Aix en Provence), Valtrède (Martingues) and Cabardelle (Salon de Provence). The three flights provided high quality images in the spectrum of IR (band III, between 8000 and 12000 nm), SWIR (between 1400 and 3000 nm) and VNIR (between 400 and 1400 nm). ONERA, scientific coordinator of the WADI project, is currently processing the images in order to define the most efficient wavelength among the 416 collected for the detection of soil humidity. This test will lead to the design of a measurement strategy for future campaigns. In the next few weeks, SCP will release controlled leaks in view to a second test phase (WADI -2), scheduled for the end April 2017.

http://www.waditech.eu/NewsEvents/A-New-Leak-Detection-Surveillance-System-Tested-In-France.kl

Isobio Panel discussion

The use of bio-based materials is often met with scepticism from architects, insurers and contractors in the construction industry, which has led to slow market uptake. This scepticism generally results from a lack of adequate training and support with regard to regulatory frameworks. This was the backdrop of the ISOBIO workshop, held 22 March in Brussels where the project team met with representatives from Earth Building UK and Ireland, BC architects & studies, the ECO-SEE project and the German Association for Building with Earth. The aim was to identify the levers for faster adoption of bio-based material in the construction sector.

Bloccare l’infiammazione per ridurre le disabilità cognitive

Per la prima volta uno studio pubblicato sulla prestigiosa rivista eLife dimostra la relazione diretta tra le disabilità cognitive che caratterizzano i disturbi dello sviluppo del cervello infantile e l’infiammazione che colpisce le sinapsi, cioè le strutture cerebrali di smistamento di informazioni e segnali a tutto il corpo. Questa importante scoperta potrebbe aprire la strada al trattamento con antinfiammatori E’ nota da diversi anni la relazione tra i difetti genetici nella produzione di proteine che operano a livello delle sinapsi nel cervello e i disturbi del neurosviluppo caratterizzati da deficit cognitivi. Tuttavia, una percentuale di tali patologie non ha chiare cause genetiche. Uno studio realizzato da Humanitas e Istituto di neuroscienze del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche (In-Cnr), in collaborazione con l’Universidad Miguel Hernández lnstituto de Neurociencias, per la prima volta identifica la relazione tra alti livelli di infiammazione e aumentata espressione della proteina MeCP2.