A Blog Around The Clock

Despite 'Peacenik' Reputation, Bonobos Hunt And Eat Other Primates, Too:

Unlike the male-dominated societies of their chimpanzee relatives, bonobo society--in which females enjoy a higher social status than males--has a "make-love-not-war" kind of image. While chimpanzee males frequently band together to hunt and kill monkeys, the more peaceful bonobos were believed to restrict what meat they do eat to forest antelopes, squirrels, and rodents.

Did Termites Help Katrina Destroy New Orleans Floodwalls And Levees?:

Three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, people still speculate over causes of the destruction of the city's floodwall system. A new article in the fall issue of American Entomologist (Vol. 54, No. 3) suggests that Formosan subterranean termites played a large role.

World's Oldest Fossil Impression Of Flying Insect Discovered: Found In Suburban Strip Mall:

While paleontologists may scour remote, exotic places in search of prehistoric specimens, Tufts researchers have found what they believe to be the world's oldest whole-body fossil impression of a flying insect in a wooded field behind a strip mall in North Attleboro, Mass.

Neurons In Zebrafish May Reveal Clues To The Wiring Of The Human Ear:

Developing neurons tend to play the field, making more connections than they will ever need. Then the weakest are cut. But Rockefeller University scientists now show that neurons in young zebrafish -- vertebrates, like humans -- behave differently: They immediately find a cluster of specialized cells and make the right match. The findings may help reveal the mechanism by which analogous cells are wired in the human ear and eventually help those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Turning Freshwater Farm Ponds Into Crab Farms:

Work by researchers at North Carolina State University is leading to a new kind of crab harvest - blue crabs grown and harvested from freshwater ponds, instead of from the sea.

Time Of Day Influences Yield For Pharmacologically Stimulated Stem Cell Mobilization:

A new study uncovers a previously unrecognized, species-specific impact of circadian rhythms on the production of mobilized stem cells. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 9th issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, suggests that when it comes to collecting human stem cells for clinical transplantation, picking the right time of day to harvest cells may result in a greater yield.

How 'Sandfish' Swim: Could Help Materials Handling And Process Technology Specialists:

It moves as quickly in sand as a fish moves through water, which is why this lizard, a species of skink (Scincus scincus) that grows to about 15 cm long and lives in the deserts of North Africa and the Near East, is commonly known by the name "sandfish."