My picks from ScienceDaily

Gene Expression In Alligators Suggests Birds Have 'Thumbs':

The latest breakthrough in a 120 year-old debate on the evolution of the bird wing was published in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, October 3, by Alexander Vargas and colleagues at Yale University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Galloping And Breathing At High Speed:

The coordination of two systems are key for any horse to walk, trot, gallop or win a race. The first are the lower limbs, which allow the animal to move along on a "spring-like" tendon. The second is a complicated respiratory system, which allows a horse to take in one breadth for every stride they make while racing.

Singing To Females Makes Male Birds' Brains Happy:

The melodious singing of birds has been long appreciated by humans, and has often been thought to reflect a particularly positive emotional state of the singer. Researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have now demonstrated that this can be true. When male birds sang to attract females, specific "reward" areas of their brain were strongly activated. Such strong brain activation resulted in a similar change in brain reward function to that which is caused by addictive drugs.

Genetic Damage In Minibacteria In Aphids And Ants Repaired By Faulty Copying:

Aphids (plant lice) and ants carry minibacteria that produce essential amino acids and vitamins. These minibacteria have very limited genetic material and many broken genes. Now, in an article in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Uppsala researchers are presenting experimental findings that show that repeated errors in the conversion of DNA to protein save the function of the damaged genes.

Television Viewing And Aggression: Some Alternative Perspectives:

Psychologists investigated the effect that exposure to violent TV programs has on negative behavior in children from different ethnic backgrounds. The results showed a positive relationship between the amount of violent TV watched and negative personality attributes among white males and females and African-American females.

New Device Aims To Give Sleep Apnea Sufferers Relief And Rest:

For some, a full night's rest can be anything but restful. That's because they have sleep apnea, which causes them to struggle for breath in bouts throughout the night. Six percent of the population is affected by the condition--but many don't even know they have it.

Reading Novel Can Help Obese Kids Lose Weight, Study Shows:

It's no secret that reading is beneficial. But can it help kids lose weight? In the first study to look at the impact of literature on obese adolescents, researchers at Duke Children's Hospital discovered that reading the right type of novel may make a difference.

Traits Produced By Melanin May Signal The Bearer's Capacity To Combat Free Radicals:

Some animal species have developed conspicuous traits produced by melanin pigments (for instance, dark manes in lions, black stripes in some birds and fishes). These traits are used as signals during contests for resources and/or contribute to increase the mating opportunities.

Field Of The Future: Ecological Experiment Simulates Conditions In 2100:

A new experiment to find out how British plant ecosystems may be affected by future changes to climate and biodiversity is underway at Imperial College London.