Editing 2002 (section)

=== Biology ===
[[File:Sahelanthropus tchadensis - TM 266-01-060-1.jpg|thumb|The discovery of the ''Toumaï'' fossil ''(pictured)'' led to the discovery of ''[[Sahelanthropus]]''.]]
New species of animals described in 2002 include the [[rupicolous gerbil]], the [[lesser Congo shrew]], and the [[bald parrot]].<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=215}} The rediscovery of [[Bavarian pine vole]]s was announced in Austria after being thought extinct in the 1960s.<ref name=":16" />{{Rp|page=467}} Several paleological discoveries in China strong evidence supporting a relation between [[theropods]] and birds.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=241}} The hominid ancestor ''[[Sahelanthropus]]'' was identified in 2002 from fossils found in Chad.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=150}} A new genus of [[conifer]] in Vietnam, ''[[Xanthocyparis]]'', was described.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=239}}

Genome sequences were completed for [[indica rice]] and for the malaria carriers ''[[anopheles gambiae]]'' and ''[[plasmodium falciparum]]''.<ref name=":16" />{{Rp|pages=456–457}}<ref name=":14" /> Scientists at the [[San Diego Zoo]] successfully created cloned egg cells for the endangered [[banteng]] by applying its DNA to egg cells from cows.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=216}} Scientists in the United States announced in July that they had reconstructed a [[poliovirus]] specimen using its genetic sequence.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=221}}

Two experiments in 2002 were successful in producing plants from old seeds: a lotus plant was grown from a 500-year-old seed, and two other plants were grown after their seeds were bottled and laid dormant since 1879.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=239}} A new [[herbicide]] was discovered by extracting the [[catechin]] toxin of the [[Centaurea stoebe|spotted knapweed]].<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=238}} Controversy about [[genetically modified crops]] increased when it was discovered that pest-resistant genes can be transferred to [[weed]]s and that crops resistant to some pests can become more vulnerable to others.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=238}}

Other biology developments from 2002 include an understanding of [[Transient receptor potential channel|TRP channels]] in taste, the role of light in a [[circadian rhythm]], and the development of [[Electron cryotomography|3D imagery of cells]].<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=2002-12-23 |title=Science's Top Ten: Discovery Of Genes' "Control Switches" Named Top Advance Of 2002 |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/12/021223084005.htm |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=ScienceDaily |language=en |archive-date=March 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330071713/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/12/021223084005.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Major advances in the development and application of [[stem cells]] triggered an ethics debate that defined the field, in part because stem cells were commonly developed from the human [[fetus]].<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|pages=239–240}} Study of hormones led to the identification of two related to appetite: [[ghrelin]] to encourage eating and [[peptide YY]] to discourage it.<ref name=":52" />{{Rp|page=223}}