Editor's Notes: On May 8^(th),the Beijing Olympic torch relay team successfully reached the summit of Mt.Qomolangma. About 9:11a.m,at a spot 30 meters from the peak, Lozang Dradul ignited the first torch that had ...Editor's Notes: On May 8^(th),the Beijing Olympic torch relay team successfully reached the summit of Mt.Qomolangma. About 9:11a.m,at a spot 30 meters from the peak, Lozang Dradul ignited the first torch that had been named"Auspicious Clouds"and was held by the female Tibetan mountaineer Jiji.Then,the torch was relayed to Wang Yongfeng,Nyima Tsering,Huang Chungui。展开更多
Editor's Notes:Summer,bearing hopes while brewing the richness of autumn,is like a passionate and enthusiastic young Tibetan girl,ushering people to encounter the most vigorous and prosperous moments of their live...Editor's Notes:Summer,bearing hopes while brewing the richness of autumn,is like a passionate and enthusiastic young Tibetan girl,ushering people to encounter the most vigorous and prosperous moments of their lives.This summer,in Pharsho Village of Xichang Township in Sog County.展开更多
Whenever and wherever people bring up yaks,I am always instantly reminded of my first encounter with them.It all happened upon the grassland in Tibet,where the animals graze at around 5,000 meters above sea level.Ther...Whenever and wherever people bring up yaks,I am always instantly reminded of my first encounter with them.It all happened upon the grassland in Tibet,where the animals graze at around 5,000 meters above sea level.There I was,staring out into the distance,where herd after herd of yaks spotted the area like precious black onyxes laying atop the marvelous green and below the heavenly blue.Their horns,solid as rocks,pierced through their skin and pointed toward the skies above.展开更多
In the second half of July in 2008 I was conducting interviews on the housing project beginning in Geren Village of Kyitod Town in Riwoche County(Chamdo Prefecture).By chance Jampel Nyima,the town administrator,
Bats represent the largest dietary radiation in a single mammalian order,and have become an emerging model group for studying dietary evolution.Taste receptor genes have proven to be molecular signatures of dietary di...Bats represent the largest dietary radiation in a single mammalian order,and have become an emerging model group for studying dietary evolution.Taste receptor genes have proven to be molecular signatures of dietary diversification in bats.For example,all 3 extant species of vampire bats have lost many bitter taste receptor genes(Tas2rs)in association with their dietary shift from insectivory to sanguivory.Indeed,only 8 full-length Tas2rs were identified from the high-quality genome of the common vampire bat(Desmodus rotundus).However,it is presently unknown whether these bitter receptors are functional,since the sense of taste is less important in vampire bats,which have an extremely narrow diet and rely on other senses for acquiring food.Here,we applied a molecular evolutionary analysis of Tas2rs in the common vampire bat compared with non-vampire bats.Furthermore,we provided the first attempt to deorphanize all bitter receptors of the vampire bat using a cell-based assay.We found that all Tas2r genes in the vampire bat have a level of selective pressure similar to that in non-vampire bats,suggesting that this species must have retained some bitter taste functions.We demonstrated that 5 of the 8 bitter receptors in the vampire bat can be activated by some bitter compounds,and observed that the vampire bat generally can not detect naturally occurring bitter compounds examined in this study.Our study demonstrates functional retention of bitter taste in vampire bats as suggested by cell-based functional assays,calling for an in-depth study of extra-oral functions of bitter taste receptors.展开更多
文摘Editor's Notes: On May 8^(th),the Beijing Olympic torch relay team successfully reached the summit of Mt.Qomolangma. About 9:11a.m,at a spot 30 meters from the peak, Lozang Dradul ignited the first torch that had been named"Auspicious Clouds"and was held by the female Tibetan mountaineer Jiji.Then,the torch was relayed to Wang Yongfeng,Nyima Tsering,Huang Chungui。
文摘Editor's Notes:Summer,bearing hopes while brewing the richness of autumn,is like a passionate and enthusiastic young Tibetan girl,ushering people to encounter the most vigorous and prosperous moments of their lives.This summer,in Pharsho Village of Xichang Township in Sog County.
文摘Whenever and wherever people bring up yaks,I am always instantly reminded of my first encounter with them.It all happened upon the grassland in Tibet,where the animals graze at around 5,000 meters above sea level.There I was,staring out into the distance,where herd after herd of yaks spotted the area like precious black onyxes laying atop the marvelous green and below the heavenly blue.Their horns,solid as rocks,pierced through their skin and pointed toward the skies above.
文摘In the second half of July in 2008 I was conducting interviews on the housing project beginning in Geren Village of Kyitod Town in Riwoche County(Chamdo Prefecture).By chance Jampel Nyima,the town administrator,
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31722051)Natural Science Foundation of the Hubei Province(2019CFA075).
文摘Bats represent the largest dietary radiation in a single mammalian order,and have become an emerging model group for studying dietary evolution.Taste receptor genes have proven to be molecular signatures of dietary diversification in bats.For example,all 3 extant species of vampire bats have lost many bitter taste receptor genes(Tas2rs)in association with their dietary shift from insectivory to sanguivory.Indeed,only 8 full-length Tas2rs were identified from the high-quality genome of the common vampire bat(Desmodus rotundus).However,it is presently unknown whether these bitter receptors are functional,since the sense of taste is less important in vampire bats,which have an extremely narrow diet and rely on other senses for acquiring food.Here,we applied a molecular evolutionary analysis of Tas2rs in the common vampire bat compared with non-vampire bats.Furthermore,we provided the first attempt to deorphanize all bitter receptors of the vampire bat using a cell-based assay.We found that all Tas2r genes in the vampire bat have a level of selective pressure similar to that in non-vampire bats,suggesting that this species must have retained some bitter taste functions.We demonstrated that 5 of the 8 bitter receptors in the vampire bat can be activated by some bitter compounds,and observed that the vampire bat generally can not detect naturally occurring bitter compounds examined in this study.Our study demonstrates functional retention of bitter taste in vampire bats as suggested by cell-based functional assays,calling for an in-depth study of extra-oral functions of bitter taste receptors.
