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BETHESDA, MD – MARCH 20, 2014 – The massive genome of the loblolly pine—around seven times bigger than the human genome—is the largest genome sequenced to date and the most complete conifer genome sequence ever published. This achievement marks the first big test of a new analysis method that can speed up genome assembly by compressing the raw sequence data 100-fold.

The draft genome is described in the March 2014 issue of GENETICS and the journal Genome Biology.

Rutting stags and clawing bears are but two examples of male animals fighting over a mate, but research in New Phytologist has uncovered the first evidence of similar male struggles leading to the evolution of weaponry in plants.

Infections caused by a concerning type of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise in U.S. children, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and available online. Although still uncommon, the bacteria are increasingly found in children of all ages, especially those 1-5 years old, raising concerns about dwindling treatment options.

The massive genome sequence of the loblolly pine — the most commercially important tree species in the United States and the source of most American paper products — has been completed by a nationwide research team, led by a UC Davis scientist.

The global burden of breast cancer remains immense in 2013, with over 1.6 million new cases being diagnosed annually. This burden has been increasing at a rate of 3.1% per year, and while the majority of new cases are diagnosed among women in developed countries, the 450,000 deaths per year from the disease are now equally divided between the developing and developed world, the 9th European Breast Cancer conference (EBCC-9) will hear tomorrow (Friday).

A new study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, provides the first ever reliable data on antibiotic use in non-European Union (EU) southern and eastern European countries and newly independent states.

The research, which was led by Dr Herman Goossens, of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO) at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, is a critical first step in identifying targets for improvements in the way antibiotics are used in these countries.

An ancient stick insect species may have mimicked plant leaves for defense, according to a paper published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on March 19, 2014 by Maomin Wang, from Capital Normal University, China and colleagues.

Fossils found in western North America reveal a new species of large-bodied, feathered oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaur from the latest Cretaceous Period, according to a paper published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on March 19, 2014 by Matthew Lamanna from Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pennsylvania and colleagues.

Genetic analysis of ancient poop found off the coast of Mexico suggests bighorn sheep may be native to the island, according to a paper published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on March 19, 2014 by Benjamin Wilder from University of California Riverside and colleagues.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Using ancient DNA analysis and other techniques, a research team led by conservation biologists at the University of California, Riverside has determined that bighorn sheep, so named for their massive spiral horns, became extinct on Tiburón Island, a large and mostly uninhabited island just off Sonora, Mexico, in the Gulf of California, sometime in the last millennium — specifically between the 6th and 19th centuries.

SALT LAKE CITY, March 19, 2014 – Scientists from Carnegie and Smithsonian museums and the University of Utah today unveiled the discovery, naming and description of a sharp-clawed, 500-pound, bird-like dinosaur that roamed the Dakotas with T. rex 66 million years ago and looked like an 11 ½-foot-long "chicken from hell."

A team of scientists from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the University of Utah has described an unusual bird-like dinosaur previously unknown to science, resembling a cross between a modern emu and a reptile. The new species, Anzu wyliei, lived 68 to 66 million years ago and was identified from three partial skeletons collected from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation in North and South Dakota.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…A team of researchers has announced the discovery of a bizarre, bird-like dinosaur, named Anzu wyliei, that provides paleontologists with their first good look at a dinosaur group that has been shrouded in mystery for almost a century. Anzu was described from three specimens that collectively preserve almost the entire skeleton, giving scientists a remarkable opportunity to study the anatomy and evolutionary relationships of Caenagnathidae (pronounced SEE-nuh-NAY-thih-DAY)—the long-mysterious group of theropod dinosaurs to which Anzu belongs.

A new study led by researchers at King's College London has found that premature babies supported immediately after birth by high-frequency oscillation - a type of breathing support - had better lung function as adolescents than those who received conventional ventilation. The children ventilated with the high frequency method also showed higher academic achievement in three of eight school subjects.

Expanding on earlier research, Johns Hopkins researchers report that people with balance disorders or dizziness traceable to an inner-ear disturbance show distinctive abnormal eye movements when the affected ear is exposed to the strong pull of an MRI's magnetic field.

The researchers first reported in 2011 in the journal Current Biology that an MRI's magnetic field pushes on the inner ear fluid responsible for maintaining balance, causing subjects undergoing MRI scans to have jerky eye movements and dizziness.