Science News
clock | February 2, 2009There is some interesting stuff published in PLoS Medicine and PLoS Biology today:
What Should Be Done To Tackle Ghostwriting in the Medical Literature?:
Background to the debate: Ghostwriting occurs when someone makes substantial contributions to a manuscript without attribution or disclosure. It is considered bad publication practice in the medical sciences, and some argue it is scientific misconduct. At its extreme, medical ghostwriting involves pharmaceutical companies hiring professional writers to produce papers promoting their products but hiding those contributions and instead naming…
clock | February 2, 2009
How A Brain Chemical Changes Locusts From Harmless Grasshoppers To Swarming Pests:
Scientists have uncovered the underlying biological reason why locusts form migrating swarms. Their findings, reported in today's edition of Science, could be used in the future to prevent the plagues which devastate crops (notably in developing countries), affecting the livelihood of one in ten people across the globe.
Many New Species Discovered In Hidden Mozambique Oasis With Help Of Google Earth:
Space may be the final frontier, but scientists who recently discovered a hidden forest in Mozambique show the…
clock | February 1, 2009Bird Song Discoveries May Lead To Refinement Of Darwinian Theory:
For Williams College biology professor Heather Williams, the songs birds sing are more than a pleasant part of a spring day. They are a window into how communication works in the natural world. A birdsong is more than just an encapsulated package of information, it is "a behavior frozen in time." One of her projects is to record and map out the songs of Savannah sparrows that spend the warmer months on a small Canadian island, Kent Island, in the Bay of Fundy. With the help of microphones, binoculars, and a well-documented set…
clock | January 31, 2009
Dinosaur Fossils Fit Perfectly Into The Evolutionary Tree Of Life, Study Finds:
A recent study by researchers at the University of Bath and London's Natural History Museum has found that scientists' knowledge of the evolution of dinosaurs is remarkably complete.
Global Warming Fix? Some Of Earth's Climate Troubles Should Face Burial At Sea, Scientists Say:
Making bales with 30 percent of global crop residues - the stalks and such left after harvesting - and then sinking the bales into the deep ocean could reduce the build up of global carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by up to 15 percent a…
clock | January 30, 2009There are 14 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:
Forest Structure and Roe Deer Abundance Predict Tick-Borne Encephalitis Risk in Italy:
The Western Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus often causes devastating or lethal disease. In Europe, the number of human TBE…
clock | January 30, 2009How Does A Dog Walk? Surprisingly, Many Of Us Don't Really Know:
Despite the fact that most of us see our four-legged friends walking around every day, most of us-including many experts in natural history museums and illustrators for veterinary anatomy text books-apparently still don't know how they do it. A new study published in the January 27th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, shows that anatomists, taxidermists, and toy designers get the walking gait of horses and other quadruped animals wrong about half the time. That's despite the fact that their correct walking…
clock | January 29, 2009So, let's see what's new in PLoS Genetics, PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Pathogens and PLoS ONE this week. As always, you should rate the articles, post notes and comments and send trackbacks when you blog about the papers. Here are my own picks for the week - you go and look for your own favourites:
Microblogging the ISMB: A New Approach to Conference Reporting:
The International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) has become an important communication hub for bioinformaticians, and the core element of the Conference--presentations of peer-reviewed papers--is…
clock | January 29, 2009
Honey Bees Can Tell The Difference Between Different Numbers At A Glance:
The remarkable honey bee can tell the difference between different numbers at a glance. A fresh, astonishing revelation about the 'numeracy' of insects has emerged from new research by an international team of scientists from The Vision Centre, in Australia.
Climate Change Largely Irreversible For Next 1,000 Years, NOAA Reports:
A new scientific study led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reaches a powerful conclusion about the climate change caused by future increases of carbon dioxide: to a large…
clock | January 28, 2009There are 10 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:
Rhythmicity in Mice Selected for Extremes in Stress Reactivity: Behavioural, Endocrine and Sleep Changes Resembling Endophenotypes of Major Depression:
Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis,…
clock | January 28, 2009Ancient Wounds Reveal Triceratops Battles:
How did the dinosaur Triceratops use its three horns? A new study led by Andrew Farke, curator at the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, located on the campus of The Webb Schools, shows that the headgear was not just for looks. Battle scars on the skulls of Triceratops preserve rare evidence of Cretaceous-era combat.
Birds Survived Mass Extinction That Wiped Out Dinosaurs Because Of Their Larger Brains:
The Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction 65 million years ago may have wiped out the dinosaurs, but those that survived - the ancestors of today's…
clock | January 27, 2009There are 13 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 (wow! two circadian papers, plus dinosaurs and honeybees and heterochrony! - what a week!) - you go and look for your own favourites:
Evidence of Combat in Triceratops:
The horns and frill of Triceratops and other ceratopsids (horned dinosaurs) are…
clock | January 27, 2009Here's Venom In Your Eye: Spitting Cobras Hit Their Mark:
Spitting cobras have an exceptional ability to spray venom into eyes of potential attackers. A new study published in Physiological and Biochemical Zoology reveals how these snakes maximize their chances of hitting the target. Using high-speed photography and electromyography, scientists uncover the mechanics of a cobra "spit."
New Insight Into How Bees See Could Improve Artificial Intelligence Systems:
New research from Monash University bee researcher Adrian Dyer could lead to improved artificial intelligence systems and computer…
clock | January 26, 2009Secrets Of Stradivarius' Unique Violin Sound Revealed, Professor Says:
For centuries, violin makers have tried and failed to reproduce the pristine sound of Stradivarius and Guarneri violins, but after 33 years of work put into the project, a Texas A&M University professor is confident the veil of mystery has now been lifted. Joseph Nagyvary, a professor emeritus of biochemistry, first theorized in 1976 that chemicals used on the instruments - not merely the wood and the construction - are responsible for the distinctive sound of these violins. His controversial theory has now received…
j7uy5 | January 26, 2009On 14
January, 2008, the US FDA
href="http://www.frx.com/news/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1244788">approved
milnacipran for use in treatment of
href="http://www.med.umich.edu/painresearch/pro/fibromyalgia.htm">fibromyalgia.
It is ( or soon will be) available in tablets of 12.5, 25, 50, and
100mg. It has been marketed as an antidepressant in Europe for
years, but has not been available in the USA until now.
Milnacipran is a drug that inhibits reuptake of serotonin and
norepinephrine. The effect on norepinephrine is stronger than the
effect on serotonin. It can be thought of as an SNRI,…
clock | January 25, 2009Infidelity Produces Faster Sperm, Swedish Fish Study Finds:
Until now, it has been difficult to prove that fast-swimming sperm have an advantage when it comes to fertilizing an egg. But now a research team at Uppsala University can demonstrate that unfaithful females of the cichlid fish species influence the males' sperm. Increased competition leads to both faster and larger sperm, and the research findings now being published in the scientific journal PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, thus show that the much mythologized size factor does indeed count.
The Un-favorite…
clock | January 24, 2009Scientists Unlock Possible Aging Secret In Genetically Altered Fruit Fly:
Brown University researchers have identified a cellular mechanism that could someday help fight the aging process. The finding by Stephen Helfand and Nicola Neretti and others adds another piece to the puzzle that Helfand, a professor of biology, molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry, first discovered in 2000. Back then, he identified a mutation in the Indy ("I'm Not Dead Yet") gene that can extend the life span of fruit flies.
'Warrior Gene' Predicts Aggressive Behavior After Provocation:
Individuals with…
clock | January 23, 2009New Sperm Shaker Set To Improve IVF Success Rates:
Scientists have developed a ground-breaking method for testing the quality of a sperm before it is used in IVF and increase the chances of conception.
Racial Bias Can Be Reduced By Teaching People To Differentiate Facial Features Better In Individuals Of A Different Race:
There may be a simple way to address racial bias: Help people improve their ability to distinguish between faces of individuals of a different race. Brown University and University of Victoria researchers learned this through a new measurement system and protocol they…
clock | January 22, 2009
Frogs Are Being Eaten To Extinction, Experts Say:
The global trade in frog legs for human consumption is threatening their extinction, according to a new study by an international team including University of Adelaide researchers.
'Hobbit' Skull Study Finds Hobbit Is Not Human:
In a an analysis of the size, shape and asymmetry of the cranium of Homo floresiensis, Karen Baab, Ph.D., a researcher in the Department of Anatomical Scienes at Stony Brook University, and colleagues conclude that the fossil, found in Indonesia in 2003 and known as the "Hobbit," is not human.
New Imaging Method Lets…
clock | January 21, 2009There are 10 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:
Mineral Preservatives in the Wood of Stradivari and Guarneri:
Following the futile efforts of generations to reach the high standard of excellence achieved by the luthiers in Cremona, Italy, by variations of design…
clock | January 21, 2009Rethinking The Genetic Theory Of Inheritance: Heritability May Not Be Limited To DNA:
Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have detected evidence that DNA may not be the only carrier of heritable information; a secondary molecular mechanism called epigenetics may also account for some inherited traits and diseases. These findings challenge the fundamental principles of genetics and inheritance, and potentially provide a new insight into the primary causes of human diseases.
This wasn't new 50 years ago...
Adaptation Plays Significant Role In Human Evolution:
For…