A Blog Around The Clock

Seeing A Brain As It Learns To See:

A brain isn't born fully organized. It builds its abilities through experience, making physical connections between neurons and organizing circuits to store and retrieve information in milliseconds for years afterwards.

Looming Ecological Credit Crunch?:

The world is heading for an ecological credit crunch as human demands on the world's natural capital reach nearly a third more than earth can sustain.

Extreme Weather Postpones Flowering Time Of Plants:

Extreme weather events have a greater effect on flora than previously presumed. A one-month drought postpones the time of flowering of grassland and heathland plants in Central Europe by an average of 4 days. With this a so-called 100-year drought event equates to approx. a decade of global warming.

DNA Chunks, Chimps And Humans: Marks Of Differences Between Human And Chimp Genomes:

Researchers have carried out the largest study of differences between human and chimpanzee genomes, identifying regions that have been duplicated or lost during evolution of the two lineages. The study, published in Genome Research, is the first to compare many human and chimpanzee genomes in the same fashion.

Conclusive Proof That Polar Warming Is Being Caused By Humans:

New research by the University of East Anglia (UEA) has demonstrated for the first time that human activity is responsible for significant warming in both polar regions.

Coping And Copulation Behavior May Help Calculate Diabetes Risk, Mouse Study Suggests:

Discussion of a man's background, attitude, and sexual history isn't just the fodder of Sex and The City episodes - in the future, it could also be a way of evaluating his risk of diabetes. Risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome is determined by an individual's genetic background. Since this background has in turn been influenced by environment and behavior, it's important to consider these factors when assessing disease risk. While scientists have learned a lot about human disease through research in traditional laboratory mice, there are limits in studying genetic variation since controlled breeding and diet introduces artificially influences.

Grandmothers As Caregivers Can Cut Risk Of Childhood Injury In Half:

For working parents, having grandparents as caregivers can cut the risk of childhood injury roughly in half, according to a new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Compared to organized daycare or care by the mother or other relatives, having a grandmother watch a child was associated with a decreased risk of injury for the child.

Being Unique Has Advantages: 'Rareness' Key To Some Insects Being Favored By Evolution:

As the saying goes- blondes have more fun, but in the world of insects it may actually be the rare 'redheads' that have the last laugh....at least in terms of evolution. A new study at the University of Melbourne has discovered that genetic variation in an asexual insect - insects that reproduce by cloning themselves - is maintained by rare clones being chosen for the next generation, a phenomenon known as frequency-dependent selection.

Social Interactions Can Alter Gene Expression In Brain, And Vice Versa:

Our DNA determines a lot about who we are and how we play with others, but recent studies of social animals (birds and bees, among others) show that the interaction between genes and behavior is more of a two-way street than most of us realize.