Word: soiled
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...have set out to look for those genes--and not just in the ocean. Venter is also sampling the air over New York City, and other scientists are looking into hot springs, digging into the ground and even testing toxic-waste sites. "You can pick up a gram of soil," says Aristides Patrinos, who oversees the Department of Energy's genome program, "and there's DNA in it. By sequencing that DNA, you can infer what's there in terms of diversity." As a rule, the more diverse a given ecosystem--the more genes present, even at the microbial level...
...water. Just this past April, scientists from the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), a Department of Energy lab in Walnut Creek, Calif., announced in the journal Science that they had for the first time identified the unique mixes of microbes that thrive in different sorts of ecosystems. In farm soil, for example, there are any number of genes that produce substances that break down plant material--rotting genes, you might call them. In seawater, by contrast, there are very few rotting genes but lots of genes that process salts. By understanding the microbial gene profile of a healthy environment, scientists will...
...American winemakers are calling on Frenchman Philippe Armenier for tutoring in the theories of biodynamics, an early 20th century method of farming and maintaining vineyards. Some of the world's greatest winemakers (such as France's Nicolas Joly and Lalou Leroy) firmly believe that using biodynamic methods healed their soil and vines after years of chemical mistreatment. But the bottom line is that they think the methods provide tastier wines...
...hyper-organic stuff. The technique includes eight different steps, using materials from cow dung to chamomile flowers, and is difficult to learn without someone like Armenier coaching. The vineyard worker must watch the calendar and the sun and moonrise for the precise times to add various supplements to the soil...
...THEY APPEAL? Because Guantánamo is on foreign soil-leased from Cuba since 1903-the U.S. has argued that the detainees are beyond the reach of U.S. law. Last June, however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prisoners have the right to challenge their captivity in federal court. Since then, some 150 detainees have filed petitions doing just that. The government has argued that the Combatant Status Review Tribunals-panels of three military officers that have been in place since last July-have given detainees all the due process to which they are entitled. Earlier this year a federal judge...