Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post Reply
Beelzebub2
Oiled Hunk
Posts: 6469
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:33 pm

Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by Beelzebub2 » Sun Apr 26, 2009 11:10 am

Members of the bovidae family now join the elite group of animals to have had their genome sequenced. Apparently that could be a starting point for major improvements in the agricultural industry... :read:

Cow genome 'to transform farming'

User avatar
Animavore
Nasty Hombre
Posts: 39234
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:26 am
Location: Ire Land.
Contact:

Re: Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by Animavore » Sun Apr 26, 2009 11:11 am

Serves it right.
Libertarianism: The belief that out of all the terrible things governments can do, helping people is the absolute worst.

User avatar
AshtonBlack
Tech Monkey
Tech Monkey
Posts: 7773
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:01 pm
Location: <insert witty joke locaction here>
Contact:

Re: Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by AshtonBlack » Sun Apr 26, 2009 11:58 am

:food: :soup: Yum.

10 Fuck Off
20 GOTO 10
Ashton Black wrote:"Dogma is the enemy, not religion, per se. Rationality, genuine empathy and intellectual integrity are anathema to dogma."

User avatar
Animavore
Nasty Hombre
Posts: 39234
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:26 am
Location: Ire Land.
Contact:

Re: Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by Animavore » Sun Apr 26, 2009 11:59 am

Maybe they'll be able to make burgers out of stem cells and less cows would have to die needlessly every year.
Libertarianism: The belief that out of all the terrible things governments can do, helping people is the absolute worst.

User avatar
AshtonBlack
Tech Monkey
Tech Monkey
Posts: 7773
Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:01 pm
Location: <insert witty joke locaction here>
Contact:

Re: Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by AshtonBlack » Sun Apr 26, 2009 12:02 pm

Animavore wrote:Maybe they'll be able to make burgers out of stem cells and less cows would have to die needlessly every year.
Vegi-Beef. (Tomato crossed with a cow mustle cell. Grown in a tank.) :food: :soup: Double yum!

10 Fuck Off
20 GOTO 10
Ashton Black wrote:"Dogma is the enemy, not religion, per se. Rationality, genuine empathy and intellectual integrity are anathema to dogma."

Beelzebub2
Oiled Hunk
Posts: 6469
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:33 pm

Re: Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by Beelzebub2 » Sun Apr 26, 2009 12:34 pm

Hopefully they will do something about bovine digestive problems as well. Each bovine produces approximately 400 liters of methane (CH4) per day which adds up to eight kg of CO2, making them one of the biggest environmental threats to the planet.

Some ingenious scientists from Ireland have come up with an idea of adding fish oil to cows diet - the gas cow's excreted contained about 79% less of the methane content after dietary change.

However, the biggest pollutants are actually termites - but it seems no plans have been made to place them on the omega 3 rich diet so far. :coffee:

For anyone interested, full article here.

User avatar
Xamonas Chegwé
Bouncer
Bouncer
Posts: 50939
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:23 pm
About me: I have prehensile eyebrows.
I speak 9 languages fluently, one of which other people can also speak.
When backed into a corner, I fit perfectly - having a right-angled arse.
Location: Nottingham UK
Contact:

Re: Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by Xamonas Chegwé » Sun Apr 26, 2009 2:43 pm

There is a lot of interest in the kangaroo's digestive tract as well. They eat comparable amounts of vegetation to sheep but produce hardly any methane. There is research into their stomach bacteria and digestive tracts going on, as well as a movement in Australia to farm them in preference to sheep.

You might find these articles interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 023371.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7551125.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 645969.stm

I reckon it's the addition of martinis to their diet that reduces the methane levels personally - what do you reckon FaithFree?
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
This is the wrong forum for bluffing :nono:
Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur

User avatar
Feck
.
.
Posts: 28391
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2009 1:25 pm
Contact:

Re: Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by Feck » Sun Apr 26, 2009 2:46 pm

would you get wool from 'roos ............................... :nono: no I 'm not going to say it sorry I will go now
:hoverdog: :hoverdog: :hoverdog: :hoverdog:
Give me the wine , I don't need the bread

Beelzebub2
Oiled Hunk
Posts: 6469
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:33 pm

Re: Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by Beelzebub2 » Sun Apr 26, 2009 4:00 pm

Xamonas Chegwé wrote:There is a lot of interest in the kangaroo's digestive tract as well. They eat comparable amounts of vegetation to sheep but produce hardly any methane. There is research into their stomach bacteria and digestive tracts going on, as well as a movement in Australia to farm them in preference to sheep.

You might find these articles interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 023371.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7551125.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 645969.stm
Very interesting, thanks. :cheers:

In fact there is a whole science on farts.

Apparently, only sponges, cnidaria and Pogonophoran worms don't fart simply because they lack intestines and anus.

Second category of animals that probably don't fart are animals that live very deep underwater. At high pressures, gas remains in solution rather than forming bubbles. So there is a good chance that all those clams, echinoderms, fish and other animals living near the seafloor don't fart because their farts stay in solution and never emerge as bubbles, even though the animals possess perfectly good intestines and anuses.

Beelzebub2
Oiled Hunk
Posts: 6469
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:33 pm

Re: Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by Beelzebub2 » Sun Apr 26, 2009 4:01 pm

It is interesting to know that many reptiles use farts as a weapon, because they smell so bad - turtles and snakes, for instance. The sonoran coral snake and the western hook-nosed snake fart with an audible popping sound when disturbed.

A dog's or cat's farts are rarely audible, but the odor is overwhelming: a carnivore's protein-rich diet produces relatively small amounts of intensely stinky gas because proteins contain lots of sulfur. Dogs and cats generally fart silently, because:

(1) the amount of gas produced is small, but potent,
(2) the horizontal orientation of their gastrointestinal system puts less pressure on the anal opening, so the gas is expelled more slowly,
(3) their anal sphincters don't close as tightly as humans' because it takes less force to hold in the contents of the colon -- again because of the horizontal orientation of the gastrointestinal system -- and a loose anus makes less sound, and,
(4) dogs and cats don't feel embarrassed about farting, so their sphincters are more relaxed, leading to less noisy flatulence. If a cat farts audibly, it could be a sign of pathology.

Large herbivorous animals such as cows, horses and elephants, on the other hand, produce vast quantities of relatively non-stinky fart gas. The farts of these animals are noisy and can go on for astoundingly long periods of time. Cows in particular are productive, in part because they swallow huge amounts of air. They need oxygen in their guts for the various protozoa employed there as digestive aids.

Horses are renown for their overwhelming farts - the volume of the gas can be overwhelming if one is unfortunate enough to be near a farting horse indoors.

User avatar
Xamonas Chegwé
Bouncer
Bouncer
Posts: 50939
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:23 pm
About me: I have prehensile eyebrows.
I speak 9 languages fluently, one of which other people can also speak.
When backed into a corner, I fit perfectly - having a right-angled arse.
Location: Nottingham UK
Contact:

Re: Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by Xamonas Chegwé » Sun Apr 26, 2009 4:15 pm

It is actually the cow's burps which produce the largest quantities of methane. They burp pretty much constantly as they swallow and regurgitate their 'cud'.
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
Salman Rushdie
You talk to God, you're religious. God talks to you, you're psychotic.
House MD
Who needs a meaning anyway, I'd settle anyday for a very fine view.
Sandy Denny
This is the wrong forum for bluffing :nono:
Paco
Yes, yes. But first I need to show you this venomous fish!
Calilasseia
I think we should do whatever Pawiz wants.
Twoflower
Bella squats momentarily then waddles on still peeing, like a horse
Millefleur

Beelzebub2
Oiled Hunk
Posts: 6469
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:33 pm

Re: Cow's genome has been sequenced...

Post by Beelzebub2 » Sun Apr 26, 2009 4:28 pm

There's actually an article about it - Cow burps help Argentines study climate change

Apparently Argentina's scientists have come up with an unique way of measuring the amount of methane in cow burps - they attach a red plastic tank to a cow's back and connect it through a tube to the animal's stomach. :tea:

It seems that a cow weighing approximately 550 kg (1,210 lb) can produce about 800 to 1,000 liters (28 to 35 cubic feet) of emissions per day.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests