Birds Move Farther North; Climate Change Link Considered:
A study by researchers at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) has documented, for the first time in the northeastern United States, that a variety of bird species are extending their breeding ranges to the north, a pattern that adds to concerns about climate change. Focusing on 83 species of birds that have traditionally bred in New York state, the researchers compared data collected in the early 1980s with information gathered between 2000 and 2005. They discovered that many species had extended their range boundaries, some by as much as 40 miles.
How Non-stick Bugs Evade Natural Fly Paper:
There are few things more irritating than a fly buzzing around the house. South Africans have an unconventional solution to the problem. They hang up a bunch of Roridula gorgonias leaves. Attracted to the shiny adhesive droplets on the leaf's hairs, the hapless pest is soon trapped by the natural flypaper.
New Group Of Plant Hormones Discovered:
Scientists from the Wageningen University Laboratory of Plant Physiology and an international team of scientists have discovered a new group of plant hormones, the so-called strigolactones. This group of chemicals is known to be involved in the interaction between plants and their environment.
Global Warming Will Do Little To Change Hurricane Activity, According To New Model:
In a study published in the July 2008 issue of Geophysical Research Letters, Drs. David S. Nolan and Eric D. Rappin from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science describe a new method for evaluating the frequency of hurricane formation in present and future tropical climates.
Contraceptive Pill Influences Partner Choice:
The contraceptive pill may disrupt women's natural ability to choose a partner genetically dissimilar to themselves, research at the University of Liverpool has found.
Levels Of C-reactive Protein In The Blood Do Not Cause Diabetes:
Eric Brunner from the Royal Free and University College London Medical School, London, and colleagues, examine the association between levels of C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation in the blood, and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
High-Altitude Small Mammals Of The Great Basin Are Not Completely Isolated:
The term "sky islands" sounds intriguing, but it may be more lyrical than useful when discussing mammal distributions, according to new research from Eric Waltari of the Sackler Institute of Comparative Genomics at the American Museum of Natural History and Robert Guralnick from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Bumblebees choose whether to search for food according to how stocked their nests are, say scientists from Queen Mary, University of London.
Water Is No Passive Spectator Of Biological Processes: It Is An Active Participant:
Water is no passive spectator of biological processes; it is an active participant. Protein folding is thus a self-organized process in which the actions of the solvent play a key role. So far, the emphasis in studies of protein folding processes has been on observation of the protein backbone and its side chains.
With Skate Eyes, Scientists Peer Into Human Disease:
Paradoxically, the photoreceptor cells in our retinas release more of their neurotransmitter, glutamate, in the dark, when there is nothing to see, than they do in the light. This is doubly surprising since although glutamate is a major signaling molecule in the retina and throughout the central nervous system, it is also a potent cytotoxin that, in large doses, can kill nearby cells.
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