A Blog Around The Clock

Fastest Flights In Nature: High-speed Spore Discharge Mechanisms Among Fungi:

Microscopic coprophilous or dung-loving fungi help make our planet habitable by degrading the billions of tons of feces produced by herbivores. But the fungi have a problem: survival depends upon the consumption of their spores by herbivores and few animals will graze on grass next to their own dung.

Also check this, this, this, this and this.

Watch And Learn: Time Teaches Us How To Recognize Visual Objects:

In work that could aid efforts to develop more brain-like computer vision systems, MIT neuroscientists have tricked the visual brain into confusing one object with another, thereby demonstrating that time teaches us how to recognize objects.

Photosynthesizing Bacteria With A Day-night Cycle Contain Rare Chromosome:

Researchers sequencing the DNA of blue-green algae found a linear chromosome harboring genes important for producing biofuels. Simultaneously analyzing the complement of proteins revealed more genes on the linear and the typical circular chromosomes then they'd have found with DNA sequencing alone.

Replacing The Coach Doesn't Solve Problems:

Bringing in a new coach rarely solves problems, regardless of when it is done. This is the conclusion of a study from Mid Sweden University about hiring and firing coaches in the Swedish Elite Series ice-hockey league during the period 1975/76-2005/06. Despite this fact, coaches are nevertheless very publicly fired. The study shows that it is a mistake to replace the coach.

Consumers Think Differently About Close And Distant Purchases:

If you are deciding on a major vacation for next year, you'll use different criteria than if you are planning a trip this weekend, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

New Insights Into Teenagers And Anxiety Disorders:

Can scientists predict who will develop anxiety disorders years in advance? UCLA psychology professor Michelle Craske thinks so. She is four years into an eight-year study evaluating 650 students, who were 16 when the study began, to identify risk factors for the development of anxiety and depression -- the most comprehensive study of its kind.

Seize The Day! New Research Helps Tightwads 'Live A Little':

Some people have trouble indulging, and they regret it later. There's hope for those people, according to a new study.

New Music Software Can Create Accompaniment To Any Melody, In Style Of Any Artist:

It's an archetypal exchange in musical performance. A vocalist stands poised to perform. The guitarist alongside is ready to add depth and harmony to the melody.