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130 HUMAN DISEASE VIRUS CURATED DATABASE, (Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics). 130 out of millions of species are pathogenic. Here is the updated list of all the bad guys. https://lnkd.in/gCk2PYC View in LinkedIn

THE FLAMMARION ENGRAVING of 1888 shows a pilgrim peering under the mantle of the heavens to learn of the hidden workings of the world. Little has changed since this date. Despite all our self-congratulatory efforts, even our descriptive knowledge to simple catalogue and enumerate our world is only less than 1% of the total biological diversity, when viruses are figured into the equation. A Martian arriving at planet earth might indeed be surprised by this state of affairs. https://lnkd.in/gmMe6gB View in LinkedIn

DROP IN THE BUCKET. “An updated literature survey identified 1,407 recognized species of human pathogen, 58% of which are zoonotic. Of the total, 177 are regarded as emerging or reemerging.” A drop in the bucket compared to the millions of species of viruses estimated. https://lnkd.in/gJzt_vK View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE concerns our monumental ignorance about our universe and our planet, as exemplified by our almost non-existent documentation of the most prevalent creature on earth, the mighty virus. Humans have completely missed the boat on this tiny creature, and continue to do so. Many scientists exclude it from the tree of life and deny that it is living, but it probably had and still has more impact on life on this planet than any other single entity. Pedants and ostriches beware: professorships will be castigated when the full extent of our misreadings become widely known. https://lnkd.in/gkwpqWi View in LinkedIn

SILENT MAJORITY. “Whether they are host-associated or free-living, we now know that most viruses (like microbes in general) are not pathogenic to humans, plants, or animals.” https://lnkd.in/g35Hmrp View in LinkedIn

The Guardian view on pesticides: give bees a chance View in LinkedIn

INDEPENDENT EVOLUTION. "There seems to be little consensus on the effects of the various plant hormones on sex expression in plants, again arguing that the systems have evolved independently." https://lnkd.in/gb3zS32 View in LinkedIn

INDUCED GENDER. "Male flowers can be induced to form on genetically female plants by the application of the weak synthetic auxin, alpha (2-chlorophenylthio) propionic acid." https://lnkd.in/gb3zS32 View in LinkedIn

AUXIN AND ZEATIN. "Trans-zeatin, the specific cytokinin responsible for femaleness, accumulates to high levels in female shoot apices, but is undetectable as a free base in male shoot apices (trans-zeatin riboside accumulating instead) whilst auxin levels (IAA) are three to six times higher in male flowers than female flowers." https://lnkd.in/gb3zS32 View in LinkedIn

HORMONAL APPLICATIONS. "Sex expression in Mercurialis is sensitive to exogenously applied hormones, auxins having a masculinizing effect and cytokinins a feminizing effect." https://lnkd.in/gb3zS32 View in LinkedIn