Publications by authors named "J K Haywood"
Dicamba is a popular herbicide with rising use but is also notorious for volatility drift. Inspired by meclofenoxate, which we show to be highly herbicidal, we developed a derivative of dicamba with an ester-bond to 2-dimethylaminoethanol. It remained herbicidal but is non-volatile, entering plants intact and hydrolyzing inside leaves to dicamba and 2-dimethylaminoethanol.
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- Rigid spine syndrome is a rare condition in children marked by progressive scoliosis, neck and spine stiffness, muscle weakness, and breathing issues, primarily linked to genetic variations in the SELENON gene.
- Recent research identified additional genetic variants in the HMGCS1 gene in five patients, suggesting it plays a role in this syndrome, despite it not being previously linked to any diseases.
- Functional studies of the HMGCS1 variants showed altered protein stability and activity, and experiments in zebrafish indicated that these mutations severely impact development, but can be rescued by introducing healthy HMGCS1 mRNA.
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- Standard metabolic rates (SMR) in ectotherms indicate their energy expenditure for self-maintenance, providing insight into their life-history strategies; a study was conducted on 15 orthopteran species in New Zealand to assess this variation.
- The research involved measuring SMR using closed-system respirometry at two temperatures, revealing significant differences in metabolic rates among species, and showing that larger body mass correlates with higher oxygen consumption.
- Contrary to the metabolic cold adaptation (MCA) hypothesis predicting higher SMR in cold-adapted species, the study found lower SMR in insects from higher latitudes and elevations, contributing valuable physiological data for understanding species responses to climate change in New Zealand.
Current mite management strategies rely heavily on the use of pesticides, adversely affecting honey bee health and leaving toxic residues in hive products. To explore the likelihood of RNAi technology being utilised as an alternative control method for pests like , the opinions of beekeepers on the use of this new biotechnology were obtained using a mixed-methodology approach. In-person surveys and focus groups using the Q method were conducted to discover the willingness of beekeepers to utilise -targeting RNAi treatments in their hives, and to gain feedback to inform decisions before the implementation of this new technology.
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