Chimpanzee Facial Expressions Are Helping Researchers Understand Human Communication:
Behavioral researchers led by Lisa Parr, PhD, director of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center Cognitive Testing Facility and Chimpanzee Core, have found understanding chimpanzee facial expressions requires more attention to detail than researchers initially thought. Correctly interpreting the subtleties within chimpanzees' facial expressions may be key to understanding the evolution of human emotional communication.
Ladybugs May Be Cute, But Watch Out When They Get Near Wine:
Ladybugs may look pretty but they also have a dark side. In some places, the polka-dotted insects have become a nuisance by invading homes and crops, including some vineyards. To make matters worse, the bugs produce a foul-smelling liquid that, besides irritating homeowners, can be inadvertently processed along with grapes and taint the aroma and flavor of wine.
Mother Knows Best: Plant Knowledge Key To Childhood Health In Remote Amazon:
In a remote area of the Amazon, globalization is threatening the time-honored transmission of plant knowledge from generation to generation, with adverse effects on childhood health and nutrition. In a novel study published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report that parents, and especially mothers, who know more about plants and how to use them, have healthier children, independent of other factors such as education, market participation or acculturation.
Mitochondrial Genes Move To The Nucleus: But It's Not For The Sex:
Why mitochondrial genes ditch their cushy haploid environs to take up residence in a large and chaotic nucleus has long stumped evolutionary biologists, but Indiana University Bloomington scientists report in this week's Science that they've uncovered an important clue in flowering plants. "Plants that reproduce clonally or are capable of self-pollinating have transferred more genes from the mitochondrion to the nucleus," said graduate student Yaniv Brandvain, lead author of the paper.
Women Of All Sizes Feel Badly About Their Bodies After Seeing Models:
The rail-thin blonde bombshell on the cover of a magazine makes all women feel badly about their own bodies despite the size, shape, height or age of the viewers. A new University of Missouri-Columbia study found that all women were equally and negatively affected after viewing pictures of models in magazine ads for just three minutes.
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