Science News
clock | April 23, 2009There are 23 new articles in PLoS ONE today. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. You can now also easily place articles on various social services (CiteULike, Connotea, Stumbleupon, Facebook and Digg) with just one click. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Innervation of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neurons by Peptidergic Neurons Conveying Circadian or Energy Balance Information in the Mouse:
Secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) produced in neurons in…
clock | April 23, 2009Sexual Harassment From Males Prevents Female Bonding, Fish Study Shows:
The extent to which sexual harassment from males can damage relationships between females is revealed in a new study. Led by the Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour at the University of Exeter and published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the research uncovers the effect of sexual harassment on the ability of female fish to form social bonds with each other.
Fish Researcher Demonstrates First 'Non-visual Feeding' By African Cichlids:
Most fish rely primarily on their vision to find prey to feed upon, but a…
clock | April 22, 2009There are 24 new articles in PLoS ONE today. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. You can now also easily place articles on various social services (CiteULike, Connotea, Stumbleupon, Facebook and Digg) with just one click. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
When One Hemisphere Takes Control: Metacontrol in Pigeons (Columba livia):
Vertebrate brains are composed of two hemispheres that receive input, compute, and interact to form a unified response. How the partially…
clock | April 22, 2009Guam Rhino Beetles Got Rhythm:
In May 2008 the island of Guam became a living laboratory for scientists as they attached acoustic equipment to coconut trees in order to listen for rhinoceros beetles. A grant from USDA IPM allowed Richard Mankin, a recognized world-class expert on acoustic detection of insects, to travel to Guam to collaborate with island scientists on the Guam Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Eradication Project.
Secret To Night Vision Found In DNA's Unconventional 'Architecture':
Researchers have discovered an important element for making night vision possible in nocturnal mammals…
clock | April 21, 2009There are 18 new articles in PLoS ONE today. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. You can now also easily place articles on various social services (CiteULike, Connotea, Stumbleupon, Facebook and Digg) with just one click.
Also, check out the interview with our Section Editor for Aquatic and Marine Sciences, Craig McClain.
Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Rare Species Are Valued Big Time:
It has recently been postulated that the value humans place on rarity could…
clock | April 20, 2009Lizards Bask In The Sun For A Vitamin D Boost:
Keeping warm isn't the only reason lizards and other cold-blooded critters bask in the sun. According to a study published in the May/June issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, chameleons alter their sunbathing behavior based on their need for vitamin D.
Breaking The Animal Kingdom's Color Code:
Research spearheaded by the University of York has used computer models to explain the evolution of the distinctive colouring of many species of wildlife. Charles Darwin was fascinated by the colours of animals - he once wrote to his colleague…
clock | April 19, 2009Scorpion Biodiversity Seen In 'Evolution Canyon':
Scorpions possess resistance to high temperatures and the ability to conserve water for long periods of time, and as a result thrive in hot and arid parts of the world. But is this global distribution also seen at a more local level? Doctoral student Shmuel Raz and colleagues at the University of Haifa, Israel now show that this is indeed the case, even when European-like and African-like habitats were separated by no more than 100 metres.
Melatonin Is An Effective Treatment For Sleep Problems In Children With Autism, Study Suggests:
A new…
clock | April 18, 2009Scorpion Venom With Nanoparticles Slows Spread Of Brain Cancer:
By combining nanoparticles with a scorpion venom compound already being investigated for treating brain cancer, University of Washington researchers found they could cut the spread of cancerous cells by 98 percent, compared to 45 percent for the scorpion venom alone.
RNA Used To Reprogram One Cell Type Into Another:
For the past decade, researchers have tried to tweak cells at the gene and nucleus level to reprogram their identity. Now, working on the idea that the signature of a cell is defined by molecules called messenger RNAs…
clock | April 17, 2009Inbreeding Was Major Cause Of Fall Of Spanish Habsburg Dynasty:
The powerful Habsburg dynasty ruled Spain and its empire from 1516 to 1700 but when King Charles II died in 1700 without any children from his two marriages, the male line died out and the French Bourbon dynasty came to power in Spain. Gonzalo Alvarez and colleagues at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain have provided genetic evidence to support the historical evidence that the high frequency of inbreeding (mating between closely related individuals) within the dynasty was a major cause for the extinction of its male…
clock | April 16, 2009Since the last big site upgrade, the Trackbacks on PLoS ONE articles have been invisible. But our system saved them all and today, after another upgrade, they are visible again. So, if you have sent trackbacks from your blog recently, please check if they are on the paper (look under the "Related Content" tab). If not, re-send them (instructions are here). Trackbacks are an important link in the ecosystem of science publishing, connecting the inner world of the paper to the outer world of the commentary, with on-site user feedback tools forming the intermediate layer.
There are 12 new…
clock | April 16, 2009Climate Change Makes Migrations Longer For Birds:
A team of scientists, led by Durham University, have published findings that show that the marathon flights undertaken by birds to spring breeding grounds in Europe, are going to turn into even more epic journeys; the length of some migrations could increase by as much as 250 miles.
Diet Secrets Of Elephant Family Named 'The Royals':
Two weeks after the rains begin, an elephant family named "the Royals" usually switches to a grass diet to bulk up for pregnancy and birth. But when they wandered off their African reserve one rainy season, cattle…
clock | April 15, 2009Owls' Dawn And Dusk Concerts Promote Visual Communication:
Reporting in the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE April 8, Vincenzo Penteriani and Maria Delgado of the Estacion Biologica de Doñana, Spain, describe the evolution of white throat badges in association with dawn and dusk vocal signals in certain species of nocturnal bird, which maximise the potential for these species to communicate during hours when light is low.
Facebook Use Linked To Lower Grades In College:
College students who use Facebook spend less time studying and have lower grade point averages than students who have…
clock | April 14, 2009There are 9 new articles in PLoS ONE today. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. You can now also easily place articles on various social services (CiteULike, Connotea, Stumbleupon, Facebook and Digg) with just one click. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Genetic Evidence of Geographical Groups among Neanderthals:
The Neanderthals are a well-distinguished Middle Pleistocene population which inhabited a vast geographical area extending from Europe to western Asia and…
clock | April 14, 2009Deadly Parasite's Rare Sexual Dalliances May Help Scientists Neutralize It:
For years, microbiologist Stephen Beverley, Ph.D., has tried to get the disease-causing parasite Leishmania in the mood for love. In this week's Science, he and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health report that they may have finally found the answer: Cram enough Leishmania into the gut of an insect known as the sand fly, and the parasite will have sex.
Biochemical Buzz On Career Changes In Bees:
Adults facing unexpected career changes, take note. Scientists from Brazil and Cuba are reporting that honey bees…
clock | April 13, 2009Odor Matching: The Scent Of Internet Dating:
Dating websites will soon be able to compare partners in terms of whether the personal body odour of the other party will be pleasant to them. This has a very serious biological background.
Dance Your Way To Successful Aging:
Older people can dance their way towards improved health and happiness, according to a report from the Changing Ageing Partnership (CAP).
Prehistoric Bears Ate Everything And Anything, Just Like Modern Cousins:
By comparing the craniodental morphology of modern bear species to that of two extinct species, researchers from the…
clock | April 12, 2009Circadian Clock: Scientists Model 3D Structures Of Proteins That Control Human Clock:
Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute say they have taken a leap forward in their quest to understand the proteins that control the human circadian clock -- the 24-hour wake-sleep cycle that, when interrupted, can lead to jet lag and other sleep disturbances. Researchers report that they have been able to determine the molecular structure of a plant photolyase protein that is surprisingly similar to two cryptochrome proteins that control the "master clock" in humans and other mammals. They have also…
clock | April 11, 2009
Ants Can Learn To Forage On One-way Trails:
Ant trails fascinate children and scientists alike. With so many ants traveling in both directions, meeting and contacting one another, carrying their loads and giving the impression that they have a sense of urgency and duty, they pose the following question: how do they organize themselves? A new study may have some answers.
Bone Deformities Linked To Inbreeding In Isle Royale Wolves:
The wolves on Isle Royale are suffering from genetically deformed bones. Scientists from Michigan Technological University blame the extreme inbreeding of the small…
clock | April 11, 2009How You Feel The World Impacts How You See It:
In the classic waterfall illusion, if you stare at the downward motion of a waterfall for some period of time, stationary objects -- such as rocks -- appear to drift upward. MIT neuroscientists have found that this phenomenon, called motion aftereffect, occurs not only in our visual perception but also in our tactile perception, and that these senses actually influence one another. Put another way, how you feel the world can actually change how you see it -- and vice versa.
Dogs And 2-year-olds Share A Limited Ability To Understand Adult Pointing…
clock | April 10, 2009There are 21 new articles in PLoS ONE today. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. You can now also easily place articles on various social services (CiteULike, Connotea, Stumbleupon, Facebook and Digg) with just one click. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Heterochronic Shift in Hox-Mediated Activation of Sonic hedgehog Leads to Morphological Changes during Fin Development:
We explored the molecular mechanisms of morphological transformations of vertebrate paired fin/…
clock | April 10, 2009I love getting alumni letters from NCSU - I get reminded over and over again how cool research gets done there all the time. In this issue, for instance:
NC State Study Finds Genes Important to Sleep:
For many animals, sleep is a risk: foraging for food, mingling with mates and guarding against predators just aren't possible while snoozing. How, then, has this seemingly life-threatening behavior remained constant among various species of animals?
A new study by scientists at North Carolina State University shows that the fruit fly is genetically wired to sleep, although the sleep comes in…