Meet the chic Ayam Cemani chicken: black is the color of not only its feathers but also its tongue, organs, and bones. Spooky. The pitch-black poultry, which hails from Java, Indonesia, has an inky color inside and out because of a condition called fibromelanosis, or dermal hyperpigmentation. The excessive pigment is a result of a complex mutation involving the EDN3 gene, which codes for endothelin-3, a peptide that controls the rapid reproduction of melanoblasts (PLOS One 2017, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173147). Melanoblasts are embryological cells that develop into melanocytes—the cells responsible for producing melanin, a dark pigment that colors skin, eyes, and even feathers. In the Ayam Cemani embryo, the EDN3 gene is duplicated, leading to an upregulation of endothelin-3, Leif Andersson, a professor of functional genomics at Uppsala University, tells Newscripts.
by Melissa Gilden | November 09, 2019
(June 14, 1971) From Tuesday: 20) The tail feathers of chickens appear to act as sensing organs for microwave radiation. (June 14, 1971) 21) About 1.5 teaspoons of styrene will make a 5-inch by 8-inch meat tray. (August 16, 1971) 22) The male American finfoot carries its chicks in a pouch, like a flying kangaroo.
by Bethany Halford | September 09, 2013
Feathers could be a largely untapped renewable resource, say Nebraska textiles professor Yiqi Yang and colleagues. The U.S. generates more than 2 billion lb of poultry feathers every year, most of which wind up in landfills. The idea of using lightweight, hollow feather material in composites is not new, but historically people have separated the quill and barbs and just used the barbs, which are called feather fibers. Manufacturers worked with these parts because it was difficult to use whole feathers with compression or injection molding. Yang and coworkers, however, have developed a way to layer feathers with polypropylene webs and then heat and compress the layers into a composite material. The whole-feather composites are more flexible and stronger than similar materials made with just feather fiber, but are not as elastic (J.
by Jyllian Kemsley | September 26, 2011
Larvadex is a pesticide fed to poultry to inhibit insect development in chicken feces. When fed to grazing animals, the poison kills the dung beetles that bury cow manure. The excessive accumulation of excrement on pastures supposedly stopped the use of Larvadex in some countries. Perhaps this is not true in China, where melamine-contaminated food originated.
December 10, 2007
"Meat and bone meal is an economical and nutritious source of feed that competes with soy meal, corn, and feather meal"--made from chicken litter discarded from poultry farms. Since 1997, the solution to possible prion transmission through meat and bone meal has been to ban it as a feed for cattle.
by BETTE HILEMAN, C&EN WASHINGTON | May 16, 2005
"Meat and bone meal is an economical and nutritious source of feed that competes with soy meal, corn, and feather meal"--made from chicken litter discarded from poultry farms. Since 1997, the solution to possible prion transmission through meat and bone meal has been to ban it as a feed for cattle.
by BETTE HILEMAN, C&EN WASHINGTON | May 16, 2005
C&EN: Newscripts March 21, 2005 Volume 83, Number 12 p. 68 Djerrasi honored on Austrian stamp Pokémon invades science classes Progress on the chicken-feather plastic front Djerrasi honored on Austrian stamp PHOTO: COURTESY OF ÖSTERREICHISCHE POST AG In a distinctive compliment for a living scientist, Austria has issued a postage stamp honoring chemist and author Carl Djerassi.
by David Hanson | March 21, 2005
Progress on the chicken-feather plastic front Department of Agriculture scientists have applied for a patent on a process to use chicken feathers as feedstock for plastics on a laboratory scale. Research chemists Walter F. Schmidt and Justin R. Barone developed the process at the Agricultural Research Lab's Environmental Quality Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. Using standard plastic processing equipment, the chemists use cleaned and chopped chicken feathers and other naturally derived materials to make a plastic that is said to have properties similar to polyethylene and polypropylene. USDA says that the feather-derived material can be used for packaging or other applications where high strength and biodegradability are desired. This advance follows up on earlier work by Barone and colleagues using chicken feathers to strengthen composites, previously noted by C&EN reporter Bethany Halford (C&EN, Sept. 6, 2004, page 36). Her story from the Philadelphia ACS meeting shows there is more to feathers than just pillow filling. USDA points out that approximately 4 billion lb of feathers are generated each year from poultry production, and they are a huge agricultural waste problem.
by David Hanson | March 21, 2005
C&EN: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - GOING BEYOND FEATHER DUSTERS September 6, 2004 Volume 82, Number 36 pp. 36-39 FROM THE ACS MEETING GOING BEYOND FEATHER DUSTERS Chicken feathers are being transformed into films, composites, plastics, and roofing material POULTRY PLANTER Cut to fit a flowerpot, this mulching film is made entirely of feathers. PHOTO BY BETHANY HALFORD BETHANY HALFORD, C&EN WASHINGTON For every vacuum-packed, shrink-wrapped pound of chicken in the supermarket, a handful of feathers has been left behind somewhere. Chicken feathers don't weigh much, but when you consider that the U.S. poultry industry produces more than 8 billion broiler chickens every year, those handfuls start to add up. Rough estimates put the amount of feather waste generated by the poultry industry between 2 billion and 3 billion lb per year. Getting rid of those feathers is more difficult than, say, making a few million feather dusters. The feathers are either burned, buried, or ground up into feather meal and fed to livestock--methods that are costly and controversial.
by BETHANY HALFORD, C&EN WASHINGTON | September 06, 2004