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A p-value marks the type I error rate in a statistical analysis. Type I error means rejecting the null hypothesis when it is, in fact, correct. The null hypothesis is (nearly always) a statement that two groups are not different, or that there is no relationship among some variables, or another statement that what we expect to find does not, in fact, exist. So a type 1 error is saying that something is happening when, in fact, nothing is. All of this is based on the idea that we have only a sample from a population.
All life on earth is made up of proteins, DNA and RNA, the basic building blocks of living things. In cell nuclei, DNA is double-stranded blocks of base chemicals that contain code with instructions for how cells should behave and replicate. RNA is single-stranded messenger strands that encourage protein replication and transmission of genetic information. Genes and chromosomes are more complicated biological forms.
The puma, or puma concolor, is also known by other names, such as cougar and mountain lion. Pumas have inhabited a variety of regions throughout North and South America, and those that live in colder climates migrate during the winter. Pumas are territorial and mark their habitats. Although pumas may hunt either at night or during the day, they are rarely seen by humans. These skillful predators are solitary and secretive.
Chromosome banding techniques are used to distinguish between different types of chromosomes. Different banding techniques are used to highlight different regions of the chromosomes, and the dark and light bands indicate stained and unstained regions respectively. Chromosome banding techniques include: G banding, C banding, Q banding and R banding.
A cell with two of each kind of chromosome is called a diploid cell. The somatic cells of most animals are diploid cells. Diploid cell chromosomes can be replicated, or split in half to form new cells. There are 23 homologous pairs of chromosomes, making 46 total chromosomes, in a human somatic cell.
The snow leopard is one of the rarest and most interesting large carnivores on Earth. Inhabiting remote high mountains of Central Asia, including the Himalaya, these heavy-tailed cats are slate-gray in hue with a stunning mosaic of dark rosettes over their body. Muscular but with delicate features, these shy animals are endangered due to habitat loss, poaching and conflict with livestock herders. They can be classified in any number of ways.
Staining is used to distinguish the 24 different types of human chromosomes. When stained, each chromosome shows up with a distinctive banding pattern. The stained bands show up as dark bands on unstained backgrounds. Chromosomes are identified based on the banding patterns and the location of the centromeres.
The lynx is a medium-sized wildcat. There are four subspecies of lynx; the Eurasian lynx, Canadian lynx (also called the North American lynx), Iberian lynx and the bobcat. The bobcat has common features with its other lynx relatives. Lynx are nocturnal cats, so they do most of their hunting at night; they have carnivorous diets. Despite the similarities between subspecies, there are ways to tell a bobcat from the other three lynxes. Physical features, geographical location and population size are some of the indicators. If you're in the U.S. or Canada, and you spot a cat bigger than a house…
There are few animals that can compare to the grace and majesty of the big cats. Their sleek, powerful forms have inspired people for centuries. Like all cats, big cats are primarily ambush hunters. They sneak up on their prey, then make a final charge or leap in an attempt to bring it down. Not all cats that are big are considered big cats. Only the cats in the subfamily Pantherinae are considered true big cats.
Jaguars are the third largest feline species in the world, ranking behind lions and tigers. The range of these big cats, who were worshipped in ancient times, extends from central Mexico to northern Argentina. Although they resemble leopards, jaguars have a few physical characteristics that distinguish them from their cousins in the Panthera genus.
The puma is a large cat that has accumulated many names in the Americas. The puma at one time lived from northern Canada through the tip of South America. But its range today is much smaller, with the loss of undisturbed habitat the main reason, according to the Canadian Museum of Nature website.
Sabertooth cats were one of the largest predators to live during the Ice Age. They first appeared on earth about 1.6 million years ago. The sabertooth cat is the state fossil of California, and became extinct approximately 11,500 years ago.
Ringtail cats are not actually cats, nor are they related to cats. Ringtails are mammals with seven or eight rings on their tails and are usually classified in the same family as raccoons. They have been given several names over the centuries, including miner's cat, civet cat and cecomistle, an Aztec Nahuatl word translated as "half mountain lion." Their scientific name is Bassariscus astusus, meaning "cunning little fox."
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest and strongest of all species of cats found in North America, reports the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Mammals." The jaguar is also the only cat in the Americas capable of roaring. The jaguar is at home in many ecosystems and the cat once lived as far north as parts of California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and even Florida before hunting pressure caused it to disappear from these areas almost completely.
The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) is a wild cat native to Asia. These small cats, which are slightly larger than a domestic cat in most cases, are secretive and solitary. Though they hunt mostly on the ground, leopard cats are adept climbers and swimmers, making them well-suited to a number of habitats throughout Asia.
The black-footed cat is a small wild cat native to three southern nations in Africa. It can be found in the wild only in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, where it is secretive and rarely seen.
The Canadian lynx is a wild cat of the coniferous boreal forests that exist in Canada and the northern states in the United States. The Canadian lynx is a secretive animal rarely glimpsed by people. The cat is a close relative to the more common bobcat that exists throughout the two nations, but differences exist between the two that will allow you to tell one from the other.
Ring-tailed cats are small carnivorous mammals, about the size of a house cat, that inhabit western and southwestern North America from Oregon to Mexico and as far east as Kansas. Despite a resemblance to felines, ringtails belong to the same family as raccoons.
There are four subspecies of the lynx cat, with two, the Iberian lynx and Eurasian lynx, existing in Europe and parts of Asia, while the Canadian lynx and the bobcat are North American creatures.
Each cell's nucleus contains chromosomes made up of DNA strands. They contain the genetic material that determines an organism's traits and are passed on to offspring. Cats each have a set number of chromosomes that include a pair of sex chromosomes known as X and Y. Chromosomes occur in pairs, with one of each pair coming from the mother and the other from the father. Genes at corresponding locations on each pair affect the same trait, and together determine the cat's color, fur length and other characteristics.
The fisher is an aggressive predator found in the northernmost forests of North America. It is at home on the land or in the trees, being so capable of moving about in the branches that it has gained a reputation as one of the fastest animals in that environment. Fishers are also known as pekans, tree foxes, black cats and as fisher cats. These last two names cause confusion about its family roots.
When a naturalist uses the term "big cats," she is referring to the four species of cats that can roar. These cats are found in different regions of the world and vary in size. The big cats are carnivores, as are all cats, and subsist by hunting mostly at night. All four of the big cats have seen their numbers decline, with loss of habitat and persecution within their range--man being the major reason for this.
Mosquitoes can bite cats, but it is rare for a cat to have an allergic reaction or to even get heart worms from the mosquito bite. Keep an eye on a mosquito-bitten feline with information from a high school biology teacher in this free video on insects.
