As the most widely distributed snake in Eurasia, the adder (Vipera berus) has been extensively investigated in Europe but poorly understood in Asia. The Southern Altay Mountains represent the adder's southern distribution limit in Central Asia, whereas its population status has never been assessed. We conducted, for the first time, field surveys for the adder at two areas of Southern Altay Moun...

A newly discovered fossil monkey (AUH 1321) from the Baynunah Formation, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is important in a number of distinct ways. At ∼ 6.5-8.0 Ma, it represents the earliest known member of the primate subfamily Cercopithecinae found outside of Africa, and it may also be the earliest cercopithecine in the fossil record. In addition, the fossil appears to represent ...

Strong international demand for natural rubber is driving expansion of industrial-scale and smallholder monoculture plantations, with >2 million ha established during the last decade. Mainland Southeast Asia and Southwest China represent the epicenter of rapid rubber expansion; here we review impacts on forest ecosystems and biodiversity. We estimate that 4.3–8.5 million ha of additional rubber...

background: dirofilariasis is a common helminthic parasitic disease in both domestic and wild animals around the world, with canines as the principal reservoir host and mosquitoes as the vector.  human dirofilariasis has been reported from many parts of the world, including africa, australia, the americas, europe, and asia. case report: a 40 year old woman from abadan city southwest of iran ref...

Knowing the extent and structure of genetic variation in germplasm collections is essential for the conservation and utilization of biodiversity in cultivated plants. Cucumber is the fourth most important vegetable crop worldwide and is a model system for other Cucurbitaceae, a family that also includes melon, watermelon, pumpkin and squash. Previous isozyme studies revealed a low genetic diver...

There are two models for the origins and timing of the Bronze Age in Southeast Asia. The first centres on the sites of Ban Chiang and Non Nok Tha in Northeast Thailand. It places the first evidence for bronze technology in about 2000 B.C., and identifies the origin by means of direct contact with specialists of the Seima Turbino metallurgical tradition of Central Eurasia. The second is based on...

China has seen a massive resurgence of rabies cases in the last 15 years with more than 25,000 human fatalities. Initial cases were reported in the southwest but are now reported in almost every province. There have been several phylogenetic investigations into the origin and spread of the virus within China but few reports investigating the impact of the epidemic on neighboring countries. We t...

This study investigates the response of large-scale atmospheric circulation over the Asian-Pacific sector and precipitation over eastern China to transient orbital changes during the Holocene summer using an intermediate-complexity climate model. Corresponding to variations in the incoming solar radiation, the eddy sea level pressure (SLP) exhibited an out-of-phase relationship between the Nort...

Zooarcheological evidence suggests that pigs were domesticated in Southwest Asia ~8,500 BC. They then spread across the Middle and Near East and westward into Europe alongside early agriculturalists. European pigs were either domesticated independently or more likely appeared so as a result of admixture between introduced pigs and European wild boar. As a result, European wild boar mtDNA lineag...

Background: In Western and Southwest Asia, literature is not documented on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) programs in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The present study is the first brief review that describes HIV programs in these three neighboring countries.Methods: Data regarding the evidence of HIV programs were gathered through a systematic literature searching. English publications were r...