Tag Archives: education
Genetically Engineering Jatropha Plants for Large Scale Production
By Futurity | Thu, 18 July 2013 Benefit From the Latest Energy Trends and Investment Opportunities before the mainstream media and investing public are aware they even exist. The Free Oilprice.com Energy Intelligence Report gives you this and much more. Scientists have identified the first step toward engineering a more drought-resistant variety of Jatropha, a potential biofuel plant. Jatropha has seeds with high oil content. But the oil’s potential as a biofuel is limited because, for large-scale production, this shrub-like plant needs the same amount of care and resources as crop plants. “It is thought that Jatropha‘s future lies in further improvement of Jatropha for large-scale production on marginal, non-food croplands through breeding and/or biotechnology,” says John E. Carlson, professor of molecular genetics at Penn State. “The more that is known about the genetic basis of Jatropha‘s key attributes such as drought tolerance, the more readily Jatropha improvement will progress.” According to Carlson, Jatropha currently grows best in tropical countries and is already being cultivated as a biofuel on a small scale in India, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Breeding a strain that could do well in arid, barren conditions could enable mass cultivation, but large-scale production may still be decades away. Researchers looked at a little known gene—JcPIP1—because a similar gene in the model plant Arabidopsis is known to play a role in drought response. They also examined JcPIP2, a potential drought response gene in Jatropha identified in 2007 by researchers at Sichuan University. They reported their findings today in the Journal of Plant Physiology. The JcPIP genes code for membrane channels called aquaporins, which are responsible for transporting and balancing water throughout the plant, though exactly how each gene affects aquaporin behavior under environmental stress remains unclear. However, researchers have found that JcPIP1 and JcPIP2 are expressed at different times during a stressful situation, which hints at what roles they play in response and recovery. By growing unmodified Jatropha samples in conditions simulating high soil salinity and low water availability, the researchers showed that Jatropha was normally more vulnerable and slower to recover from high salinity than from drought conditions. Using a tobacco mosaic virus to transiently transform Jatropha, the researchers created plants in which JcPIP2 or JcPIP1 was temporarily disabled. They subjected the modified samples to six days of stress and six days of recovery. To gauge the plants’ stress responses, they noted physical changes and measured root damage, leaf growth, electrolyte leakage in the leaves, and sap flow and volume. The researchers found that these stress responses were about the same between the two variants under drought conditions. However, plants with JcPIP1 disabled were slower to recover from salt damage. Analysis of plant parts during the stress and recovery stages showed that JcPIP2 was mostly active in the early stages of stress while JcPIP1 exp ression was greater during recovery. The timing indicates that JcPIP1 may be crucial in helping Jatropha recover from damage while JcPIP2 may play a role in prevention. How the two genes affect other plant functions remains unknown, and how large a part they play in the entire network of drought resistance relies on further study. “Plants have complex genetic and biochemical pathways for environmental stress resistance, that includes (multiple) genes and pathways,” says Carlson. “This inherent redundancy in stress responses ensures survival under varying environmental conditions, and provides many possible approaches to improving resistance.” According to the research team, the next step is to find how the JcPIP genes work at the cellular level, which can provide more detailed profiles of each gene’s exact function. Other researchers on this project contributed from Chonnam National University in Korea, University of Copenhagen, and Wonkwang University in Korea. The Korea Rural Development Agency, National Research Foundation of Korea, and the Korean Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology funded this study. By. A’ndrea Elyse Messer Continue reading
RAK cuts traffic fines by 50% for 3 months
RAK cuts traffic fines by 50% for 3 months Ahmed Shaaban (ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com) / 14 August 2013 For three months from August 18, fines imposed for traffic law offences on Ras Al Khaimah’s roads will be cut by half. Brigadier Mohammed Al Noobi, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the RAK Police, on Tuesday said the grace period will be valid till November 18. “Only the erring drivers caught on the emirate’s roads shall be eligible for the fine discount. The unpaid fines for speeding and other traffic offences must be paid at the 50 per cent discounted rate at the RAK Traffic and Patrols Department.” Brigadier Al Noobi noted that the only exception to this was impoundment. “In this case, the erring motorist must appear in person at the department and hand over his/her vehicle for impoundment or pay the set fine.” The move was meant to cut the financial burden on errant drivers and encourage the motorists to pay the pending fines, but exercise more caution on the road in the future. “The move is also aimed to help motorists renew their expired registration cards.” The traffic and patrols departments in all emirates ordered a 25-50 per cent discount on the traffic fines recorded in the respective emirates. “The decision encouraged many motorists to renew their expired registration cards and settle the accumulated fines.” As per a tougher unified traffic law with higher fines and a black points system enacted in 2008 all over the country, the erring motorists penalised with 24 black points would lose their driving licences. Driving callously costs an erring driver Dh2,000, 12 black points, as well as the impoundment of the vehicle for 30 days. Not carrying a driving licence or using a horn in a disturbing way attracts a fine of Dh100. Pedestrian knocked down Meanwhile, a 30-year-old Asian man, identified only as M.A., suffered serious head injuries after a vehicle driven by an Emirati motorist, named H.A., knocked him down while crossing the road near the Emarat petrol station in the Khor Khuweir area, according to the RAK Civil Defence Department. “The mishap is to be blamed on the motorist who was speeding and driving inattentively that he did not notice the pedestrian who was crossing the road. The victim, who was given first aid, was shifted to Saqr Hospital.” Continue reading
It’s a pricey affair
It’s a pricey affair Staff Reporter / 13 August 2013 Students in the UAE continue to opt for engineering and business programmes, new research confirms — though the UAE is the most expensive place to attend university in emerging economies. According to the research by HSBC Bank, business and engineering are the two most popular degrees amongst university students in the UAE. The research was done in eight key markets around the world and it examined the most popular university courses, the cost of studying and comparisons between different social and economic factors driving these choices. It revealed that students in new or emerging markets were much more likely to study vocational subjects at university than their counterparts in developed countries. The UAE, in particular, has among the highest proportions of individuals choosing vocational subjects, with 84 per cent of students in the country’s top ten courses selecting Business, Engineering, Law, Medical & Health Sciences and IT to study. In the UK, USA and Canada, the trend is opposite with more students opting for non-vocational courses, including humanities and social sciences with fewer than 60 per cent choosing vocational courses. Economic activities in each country appeared to affect the choice of programmes opted for. Students in the UAE tend to enroll in courses that lead to specific in-demand jobs in the country, which is seen as an important route to good careers and financial prosperity over the course of a lifetime. With infrastructure and construction spending to reach more than Dh480 billion by 2016, nearly double the amount in 2011, students are looking to be part of the UAE’s ongoing growth, which is driving interest in Business and Engineering courses. One of the key insights highlighted by the research is that while the cost of Higher Education is higher in developed countries, notably 81 per cent of GDP per person in countries such as Canada, there is less emphasis on studying courses that lead to a greater “return on investment” in terms of long-term job prospects. Students in economies such as the UK, USA and Canada are being drawn to courses that support their ageing demographic populations, such as Medicine, Nursing and Social Sciences. In contrast, students in emerging economies such as the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong are more interested in courses that develop skills to meet the growing needs of boom sectors such as Engineering. In the UAE, the cost of studying is equivalent to 51 per cent of GDP per person and an average of $27,375 per year including university fees and living expenses — the highest amongst the emerging economies. When considering the costs of education in the country, students look to reap the benefits of a degree that provides a greater “return on investment” in terms of graduate employment. HSBC Bank Middle East Limited’s head of retail banking and wealth management in the UAE Rick Crossman said: “As higher education increasingly becomes one of the most important investments people can make in their lifetimes, either for themselves or their children, they have to realise the importance of being financially prepared for this goal. This is particularly pertinent in the UAE where we see a greater focus on vocational degrees, which require significant investment.” – muaz@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
