A Blog Around The Clock

Glia Play An Important Role In Circadian Timing:

Glial cells of the nervous system, once thought to function strictly as support cells for neurons, are now thought to actively modulate them. Providing further evidence in support of this theory, researchers at the Department of Neuroscience and the Center for Neuroscience Research (CNR) at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) recently identified a specific population of glial cells that is required for the control of circadian behavior in Drosophila (the fruit fly). Their findings, which confirm and extend their earlier work, are published in the August 2, 2007, issue of Neuron.

Why Were Prehistoric Insects Huge?:

Alexander Kaiser, Ph.D., of Midwestern University's Department of Physiology, Division of Basic Sciences, was the lead author in a recent study to help determine why insects, once dramatically larger than they are today, have seen such a remarkable reduction in size over the course of history.

Old McDonald's Has A Hold On Kids' Taste Buds, Study Finds:

Asked to sample two identical foods from the fast-food giant McDonald's, children preferred the taste of the version branded with the restaurant's familiar "Golden Arches" to one extracted from unmarked paper packaging, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

Lost Forest Yields Several New Species:

An expedition led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to a remote corner of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has uncovered unique forests which, so far, have been found to contain six animal species new to science: a bat, a rodent, two shrews, and two frogs.

First Giant Anteater Born At The National Zoo:

A giant anteater was born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo the morning of Tuesday, July 24--a first in the Zoo's 118-year history.

Immunity In Social Amoeba Suggests Ancient Beginnings:

Finding an immune system in the social amoeba (Dictyostelium discoideum) is not only surprising but it also may prove a clue as to what is necessary for an organism to become multicellular, said the Baylor College of Medicine researcher who led the research that appears in the journal Science.

Penguin Guano Shows Problem Of Pollution:

Penguin guano in the Antarctic is adding to organic pollutant problems there, according to a report to be featured in a Royal Society of Chemistry publication.

Tipping Points: Exploring How Agriculture Contributes To Global Change:

Growing food and fiber entails the use of fertilizer and irrigation systems and results in land clearing. These 'side effects' of agriculture can lead to regime shifts--or 'tipping points' which include desertification, salinisation, water degradation, and changes in climate due to altered water flows from land to atmosphere.

Source Of Fever Identified:

With the finding that fever is produced by the action of a hormone on a specific site in the brain, scientists have answered a key question as to how this adaptive function helps to protect the body during bacterial infection and other types of illness.

Fruit Bats Discovered To Have Menstrual Cycles:

Scientists have discovered that a type of fruit bat menstruate in a similar way to women.

Community-supported Agriculture Serves As Counterexample To Market Demands Of Globalization:

A compelling new paper from the August issue of the Journal of Consumer Research explores the community-supported agriculture movement and its survival in the face of economic globalization. Organic food was once an economic haven for small farms who distributed their goods predominantly through local channels such as farmers' markets and food co-ops. In the contemporary marketplace, however, the vast majority of organic food production occurs on large-scale, industrial farms whose goods flow through global supply chains. In the United States, more than eighty percent of all sales in the organic category hail from brands owned by corporate conglomerates.

Secret Life Of Elephant Seals Not Secret Anymore!:

The measurements reveal in detail where the seals go on their winter feeding trips, where they find food and where they don't, and help explain why some populations have remained stable since 1950 while others have declined.

Sensory Organ, Not Brain, Differentiates Male And Female Behavior In Some Mammals:

For years, scientists have searched in vain for slivers of the brain that might drive the dramatic differences between male and female behavior. Now biologists at Harvard University say these efforts may have fallen flat because such differences may not arise in the brain at all.

'Convenience' Foods Save Little Time For Working Families At Dinner:

Two-income families in Los Angeles don't live so much in a fast food nation as they do in a Hamburger Helper hamlet on the edge of a packaged lettuce greenbelt, according to the first academic study to track American families moment by moment as they make dinner.