There are about 300,000 American bison left. How many of them are genetically pure? I don’t know about you, but I would have guessed many more than the 10,000 quoted in this article. The vast majority have some cattle genes, it turns out, due to past hybridization efforts by ranchers. The largest “un-contaminated” herd is in the Yellowstone National Park. Scientists are doing DNA studies across the range of the species to develop a management strategy. There are plans to reconstitute large tracts of the prairies, and pure bison are needed to roam them. But my question is: how many cattle herds have buffalo genes?
Project Baseline
The work at UV Irvine summarized here on the genetic effects of climate change on different kinds of plants is interesting enough. But what particularly intrigued me was the reference to a Project Baseline, “a national effort to collect and preserve seeds from contemporary plant populations.” Unfortunately I was not able to find anything more about this on the internet. Anyway, sounds like they need something similar in Armenia.
Stiffing it to the Maca patent
Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is in the news again thanks to a report from Associated Press. (There’s a version here, and many others around the place.) The gist of the article is that a US patent on Maca’s libido-enhancing compounds, granted to PureWorld Botanicals in 2001, is not valid. “Peruvian officials called the patent an ’emblematic case’ of biopiracy and are preparing to challenge it in U.S. courts,” the report says. It goes on to examine other cases of biopiracy and the use by pharmaceutical companies of compounds found in nature.
Information from GFAR
The Global Forum on Agricultural Research has revamped its web site, with the addition of a new Document Repository. The Search facility may not be all that facile, but some readers may find it useful to find an elusive document. A quick look for “diversity” turned up four documents. (Hat tip to IAALD).
Olive oil tourism
National Public Radio has a nice piece on making and tasting olive oil in Italy.