Anemone gladiators. To the casual beachcomber, sea anemones can appear to be simple if slimy amorphous nubs. Yet these brainless bags of tentacles are teaching complex lessons about the genetic basis of behavior. "Morphologically, they're gelatinous bags of snot," summed up Rick Grosberg, a professor of evolution and ecology. So he and his Australian collaborator, David Ayre, were surprised to find a complex array of aggressive behaviors exhibited in 148 anemone bouts they set up in the lab. Last year, the researchers reported that some anemones seemed to "remember" an opponent's style and respond faster in a second match. In the wild, anemones clone themselves and live in genetically segregated neighborhoods; there, anemones living on borders become warriors. In the lab, faced with an enemy (from a different clone), a reproductive anemone begins to transform into a warrior.
Wood work. To better understand the long-term impact of air pollutants on the health of pine trees in California, researchers have developed a new method to analyze cumulative biochemical changes in tree rings. Using cell structures in tree trunks, scientists from UC Davis and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Fire Laboratory have been able to compare the woody tree tissue deposited from 1900 to 1940 with that of 1950 to the present. The new method allows the scientists to observe long-term trends consistent with historical air pollution patterns, said Teresa Fan, a researcher in the land, air and water resources department.
A cool fish finding. Certain proteins from the blood of Arctic and Antarctic fish may make it possible to store blood platelets at cold temperatures, reported UC Davis researchers. The scientists hope their discovery will extend the shelf life of stored platelets in blood banks and lower the possibility of bacterial growth during storage. The study was conducted by Fern Tablin, an associate professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine, and John Crowe, a professor of cellular and molecular biology.
Building strong bones. Foods rich in zinc eaten during the crucial teen-age years may be key to protecting women's bones from osteoporosis later in life, says a new UC Davis research report. Based on noninvasive imaging studies of primates, the findings have implications for teen-age girls' diets, said Mari Golub, adjunct professor of internal medicine. Golub and seven colleagues report that moderate zinc deficiencies during the growth spurts of 10 female rhesus monkeys resulted in slower skeletal growth and less bone density immediately after puberty than was found in 10 control monkeys.
In toxicity, sex matters. Differences in how male and female mammals respond to toxins at the cellular level appear to extend beyond differences already observed in reproductive cells. A group of UC Davis researchers has shown for the first time that male and female fat cells respond differently to toxins, specifically the chemical dioxin. They differ not only in the degree to which the cells respond, but in the actual mechanics as well. "We've shown that looking at one gender is not necessarily the way to show the effects of a toxin," said Bill Lasley, a professor of veterinary medicine. Working with guinea pigs and monkeys, the researchers found that males were more susceptible than females to dioxins. Similar gender differences are likely to be found in people, the researchers say, which has implications for chemical exposure guidelines.
