A Blog Around The Clock

Whales Descended From Tiny Deer-like Ancestors:

Hans Thewissen, Ph.D., Professor of the Department of Anatomy, Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM), has announced the discovery of the missing link between whales and their four-footed ancestors.

Medical Myths Even Doctors Believ:

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers explored seven commonly held medical beliefs. selected seven medical beliefs, espoused by both physicians and members of the general public, for critical review. They then searched for evidence to support or refute each of these claims.

Fruit Flies Learn and Remember Better When Lacking One Receptor:

When fruit flies lack a receptor for the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), their ability to learn or remember is enhanced, the first time scientists have been able to induce this effect in the insects, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears in the journal Neuron.

Two New Species Of Soft Coral Discovered In Caribbean:

Two new species of soft corals were discovered during an October expedition to Saba Bank, Netherlands Antilles, the largest atoll in the Caribbean. Herman Wirshing, a graduate student from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science's Biology and Fisheries Division, joined leading coral reef experts from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAM-CC), and the Universidad de los Andes in Columbia, to help identify and quantify soft coral and crustacean species on the Bank.

Wildlife Corridor Gives Endangered Elephants In India Passage Between Reserves:

More than one thousand wild elephants have been given a right of passage today, with the safeguarding of a wildlife corridor that links two reserves in Karnataka, Southern India.

Variable Light Illuminates The Distribution Of Picophytoplankton:

Tiny photosynthetic plankton less than a millionth of a millimeter in diameter numerically dominate marine phytoplankton. Their photosynthesis uses light to drive carbon dioxide uptake, fueling the marine food web over vast areas of the oceans. A new study by post-doctoral researcher Dr Christophe Six and a team of scientists from MountAllison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, illuminates how the environment regulates the distributions of these ecologically important species.

Precise Role Of Seminal Proteins In Sustaining Post-mating Responses In Fruit Flies:

Successful reproduction is critical to pass genes to the next generation. In sexually reproducing organisms, sperm enter the female with seminal proteins that are vital for fertility.

Selection Of Successful Sperms Influenced By Female Grey Mouse Lemurs:

In grey mouse lemurs from the dry deciduous forests in western Madagascar each female is receptive for a single night per year. For male mouse lemurs this is a stressful time. The main question in a research project conducted by Nina Schwensow and Simone Sommer of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Berlin and their colleague Manfred Eberle from the Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen was: What will happen during this special night?

Songbirds Offer Clues To Highly Practiced Motor Skills In Humans:

The melodious sound of a songbird may appear effortless, but his elocutions are actually the result of rigorous training undergone in youth and maintained throughout adulthood. His tune has virtually "crystallized" by maturity. The same control is seen in the motor performance of top athletes and musicians. Yet, subtle variations in highly practiced skills persist in both songbirds and humans. Now, scientists think they know why.