Detection of a red supergiant progenitor star of a type II-plateau supernova

We present the discovery of a red supergiant star that exploded as supernova 2003gd in the nearby spiral galaxy M74. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Gemini Telescope imaged this galaxy 6 to 9 months before the supernova explosion, and subsequent HST images confirm the positional coincidence of the supernova with a single resolved star that is a red supergiant of 8(+4)(-2) solar masses. This confirms both stellar evolution models and supernova theories predicting that cool red supergiants are the immediate progenitor stars of type II-plateau supernovae.     

Paucity of genes on the Drosophila X chromosome showing male-biased expression

Sex chromosomes are primary determinants of sexual dimorphism in many organisms. These chromosomes are thought to arise via the divergence of an ancestral autosome pair and are almost certainly influenced by differing selection in males and females. Exploring how sex chromosomes differ from autosomes is highly amenable to genomic analysis. We examined global gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster and report a dramatic underrepresentation of X-chromosome genes showing high relative expression in males. Using comparative genomics, we find that these same X-chromosome genes are exceptionally poorly conserved in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. These data indicate that the X chromosome is a disfavored location for genes selectively expressed in males.     

A critical role for eosinophils in allergic airways remodeling

Features of chronic asthma include airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammatory infiltrates, and structural changes in the airways, termed remodeling. The contribution of eosinophils, cells associated with asthma and allergy, remains to be established. We show that in mice with a total ablation of the eosinophil lineage, increases in airway hyperresponsiveness and mucus secretion were similar to those observed in wild-type mice, but eosinophil-deficient mice were significantly protected from peribronchiolar collagen deposition and increases in airway smooth muscle. These data suggest that eosinophils contribute substantially to airway remodeling but are not obligatory for allergen-induced lung dysfunction, and support an important role for eosinophil-targeted therapies in chronic asthma.     

Use of time-activity budgets to measure early progress of a social attraction restoration project

Social attraction is a useful technique for re-establishing or relocating waterbird colonies and other species groups. However, little information exists regarding how newly attending individuals behave when the social environment is influenced predominantly by artificial stimuli. To help assess early progress of colony re-establishment, we compared time-activity budgets of common murres (Uria aalge) at a social attraction site (Devil’s Slide Rock; DSR) in central California with two nearby reference colonies during the first 3 years (1996–1998) of efforts. Murres at all colonies spent over 95% of their time engaged in resting, comfort, courtship, and alert activities during the pre-breeding period and over 88% of their time in similar activities during the breeding period. Although patterns were similar overall, comparisons of pooled and year-specific time budget data revealed significant differences between all three colonies, especially during pre-breeding. Murres at DSR typically engaged in comfort behaviors less frequently and in alert and courtship behaviors more frequently than reference colonies. Differences likely were due to recent re-establishment, including lower bird densities and higher proportions of non-breeders and first-time breeders at DSR, along with other factors such as disturbance. Results indicate that newly attracted birds at DSR behaved “normally” even though the social environment was influenced predominantly by artificial stimuli. Furthermore, re-established breeding in the first year of efforts, subsequent colony growth, and high productivity reflected successful restoration efforts. Thus, time-activity budgets can provide important measures of early progress of social attraction efforts and as such can be used to inform adaptive management decisions.