Brainfood: Host-pathogen genomics, Maize-teosinte system, Organic Europe meta-analysis, Food perceptions, Guanaco, Earthworms, Pea & powdery mildew, Pea drought tolerance, Butternut regeneration, Wild tomato salt tolerance, Germination & climate change, Medieval melons, Barley domestication, Rice origin, Livestock & wildlife, Niche modelling, Insects

7 Replies to “Brainfood: Host-pathogen genomics, Maize-teosinte system, Organic Europe meta-analysis, Food perceptions, Guanaco, Earthworms, Pea & powdery mildew, Pea drought tolerance, Butternut regeneration, Wild tomato salt tolerance, Germination & climate change, Medieval melons, Barley domestication, Rice origin, Livestock & wildlife, Niche modelling, Insects”

  1. Medieval emergence of sweet melons, Cucumis melo (Cucurbitaceae).

    Good news — to celebrate the first ever Biology Week (13-19 October 2012) we can read this article for free.
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    Shurely shum mishtake?

  2. Barley domestication: Tibet

    Part of my work is on understanding cultivated barley origins, and this is an interesting paper. It does, however, have a number of limitations in how the results are presented and it is difficult (for me at least) to draw firm conclusions from the work.

    For a fuller interpretation, the authors would really benefit from geo-referencing their samples, especially for the wild Tibet material they use. Does, for example, the genetic substructure they observe in this material correspond with the geography of Tibet?

    Geo-referencing would also allow some environmental niche modelling of potential distribution, including in past climates, and this would facilitate comparison with wild barley further west… Clearly, there is much we need to learn.

    The main point is… properly geo-referenced samples give so much more insight in a paper such as this…

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