The two most devastating diseases of cacao (Theobroma cacao)--the source of chocolate--in tropical America are caused by the fungi Crinipellis perniciosa (witches' broom disease) and Moniliophthora roreri (frosty pod rot or moniliasis disease). Despite the agricultural, socio-economic and environmental impact of these fungi, most aspects of their life cycles are unknown, and the phylogenetic re...

Mammalian hibernators are unique in their ability to cope with freezing temperatures. Some mammals can lower their body temperatures to as low as –2.9°C for several weeks. In the golden-mantle ground squirrel, Spermophilus lateralis, this period of low body temperature, called torpor, is interrupted by arousals during which body temperature rises as much as 30°C in a matter of hours. Squirrels ...

We have used the Hubble Space Telescope to directly measure the angular size of the large Kuiper belt object 2003 UB313. By carefully calibrating the point spread function of a nearby field star, we measure the size of 2003 UB313 to be 34.3±1.4 milliarcseconds, corresponding to a diameter of 2400±100 km or a size ∼ 5% larger than Pluto. The V band geometric albedo of 2003 UB313 is 86 ± 7%. The ...

In October 1990 East and West Germany were reunited. Economic pressures, civil unrest, and the decision of the leadership of the USSR not to back further repression brought down the East German government. With Soviet consent reunification became possible. This seemed the best of all worlds for stability in central Europe and freedom and prosperity for the East Germans. However, the path to suc...