Researchers Give Name To Ancient Mystery Creature:
For the first time, researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, have been able to put a name and a description to an ancient mammal that still defies classification.
Protein Important In Blood Clotting May Also Play A Role In Fertility:
A protein known to play a role in blood clotting and other cell functions is also critical for proper sperm formation in mice, according to researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.
Computer Scientists Go Badger Spotting:
Although an unlikely subject for computer scientists to be researching, the badger population provides an ideal testing group for a new system of data storage from micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). Recent advances in MEMS technology allow for the use of small radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices on the animals, whose behaviour can be monitored in detail with a sensor network.
New Dwarf Buffalo Discovered By Chance In The Philippines:
The fossil of a newly described species of extinct, dwarf water buffalo was found in the Philippine island of Cebu. While large domestic water buffalo stand six feet at the shoulder and weigh 2,000 pounds, B. cebuensis would have stood only two-and-one-half feet and weighed about 350 pounds. Bubalus cebuensis, which evolved from a large-sized continental ancestor to dwarf size, is the first well-supported example of 'island dwarfing' among cattle and their relatives.
Blue Eyes -- A Clue To Paternity:
Before you request a paternity test, spend a few minutes looking at your child's eye color. According to studies, published this week in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, the human eye color reflects a simple, predictable and reliable genetic pattern of inheritance. The researchers show that blue-eyed men find blue-eyed women most attractive. According to the researchers, it is because there could be an unconscious male adaptation for the detection of paternity, based on eye color.
Jonah, Shelley and Razib have more.
Our Vision Changes In The Blink Of An Eye:
A study by Scott Read of the QUT School of Optometry found the upper eyelid's pressure and shape of its opening work to change the shape of our eyes throughout the day.
Far More Than A Meteor Killed Dinos, Evidence Suggests:
There's growing evidence that the dinosaurs and most their contemporaries were not wiped out by the famed Chicxulub meteor impact, according to a paleontologist who says multiple meteor impacts, massive volcanism in India and climate changes culminated in the end of the Cretaceous Period.
High-fitness Males Produce Low-fitness Daughters, And High-fitness Mothers Produce Low-fitness Sons:
Hemiclonal analysis of Drosophila melanogaster reveals that high-fitness males produce low-fitness daughters and high-fitness mothers produce low-fitness sons, with implications for models of sexual selection.
Many Teens Lose Migraines As They Reach Adulthood:
There's good news for kids and teens with migraines. Nearly 40 percent of kids and teens with migraine no longer had headaches 10 years later, and another 20 percent developed less severe headaches, according to a new study published in the Oct. 24, 2006, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
This may be due to getting their sleep back. Sleep deprivation is a cause of migraines, among else.
Anxiety Disorders Linked To Physical Conditions:
Anxiety disorders appear to be independently associated with several physical conditions, including thyroid disease, respiratory disease, arthritis and migraine headaches, according to a report in the Oct. 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. This co-occurrence of disorders may significantly increase the risk of disability and negatively affect quality of life.
Circadian Gene Helps The Brain Predict Mealtime:
By investigating how animals can predict the timing of food availability, researchers have identified the first gene critical for anticipation of mealtime. This gene, called Period 2, is a key component of the circadian time-keeping system.
I wrote about this a couple of days ago - scroll down.
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Speaking of food-entrainable oscillators...from SFN abstracts:
Title:
Evidence for a BMAL1-based circadian oscillator in food entrainment
Location:
Georgia World Congress Center: Halls B3-B5
Presentation Start/End Time:
Monday, Oct 16, 2006, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Authors:
*P. M. FULLER, C. B. SAPER;
Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Experiments in rodents have provided evidence for a food-entrainable oscillator (FEO) in the mammalian Circadian Timing System. Operating under the assumption of functional clock gene conservation, several investigators have used circadian-clock mutants to determine if the canonical clock genes govern FEO rhythm generation. Thus far, of the circadian mutants tested (Clock (-/-), Cry1(-/-)Cry2(-/-), NPAS2 (-/-)) all have demonstrated relatively normal entrainment to a restricted feeding schedule (RFS), as indicated by RFS-induced anticipatory activity. To date, however, the ability of BMAL1/Mop3 null clock mutants to anticipate restricted windows of feeding has not been reported. The BMAL1:CLOCK heterodimer forms the transcriptionally active complex driving the positive arm of the transcriptional, translational, and post-translational autoregulatory feedback loop governing circadian rhythms. BMAL1 (-/-) mice lack detectable circadian function at the molecular and behavioral levels, thus highlighting the absolute requirement for BMAL1 in generating and maintaining circadian rhythms. Moreover, at present, there is no known functional paralog for BMAL1. We recently tested the hypothesis that mice lacking the circadian clock gene BMAL1 would not exhibit preprandial elevations in body temperature (Tb) and locomotor activity (ACT), i.e., food anticipation, during restricted feeding. In our study, BMAL1 (-/-) mice were quickly arrhythmic in constant dark (DD) and did not entrain to our light-dark schedule (LD; 12:12, L on at CT0), instead demonstrating an ultradian pattern of Tb and ACT distributed throughout the biological day and night. BMAL1 littermate controls (+/-) demonstrated robust free-running circadian rhythms in DD and entrained to the LD cycle. Following ad-lib feeding, both groups of mice were exposed to a RFS, where food was presented daily from CT 5-9. After ca. 7 days of RFS, BMAL1 (+/-) mice began to demonstrate the expected anticipatory increases in Tb and ACT, which persisted following food deprivation. In contrast, BMAL1 (-/-) mice did not demonstrate anticipatory increases in Tb and ACT. Moreover, BMAL1 (-/-) mice lost significantly more weight than controls during the RFS, apparently secondary to an inability to adapt to the restricted window of food availability. These results suggest that the FEO may contain a BMAL1-based circadian clock similar to the master circadian pacemaker, located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN).
Teen migraines: this is news?? Several decades ago I was a teen with migraines. Our old and experienced family doctor kept suggesting that onset at puberty might indicate offset at the end of adolescence, which is what happened. I've always credited that result to his wisdom in planting the thought.
I certainly wasn't getting more or better sleep in my 20s, working day jobs and suffering from DSPS.
Which, BTW, hadn't been 'invented' yet :-(