Science News
clock | December 22, 2008Snails And Humans Use Same Genes To Tell Right From Left:
Biologists have tracked down genes that control the handedness of snail shells, and they turn out to be similar to the genes used by humans to set up the left and right sides of the body.
Selflessness -- Core Of All Major World Religions -- Has Neuropsychological Connection:
All spiritual experiences are based in the brain. That statement is truer than ever before, according to a University of Missouri neuropsychologist. An MU study has data to support a neuropsychological model that proposes spiritual experiences associated with…
clock | December 21, 2008Say It In Song: Researcher Deciphers Meaning Within Bird Communication:
To many people, bird song can herald the coming of spring, reveal what kind of bird is perched nearby or be merely an unwelcome early morning intrusion. But to Sandra Vehrencamp, Cornell professor of neurobiology and behavior, bird song is a code from which to glean insights into avian behavior.
Pain Hurts More If Person Hurting You Means It:
Researchers at Harvard University have discovered that our experience of pain depends on whether we think someone caused the pain intentionally. In their study, participants who…
clock | December 19, 2008
Polygamy, Paternal Care In Birds Linked To Dinosaur Ancestors:
Sure, they're polygamous, but male emus and several other ground-dwelling birds also are devoted dads, serving as the sole incubators and caregivers to oversized broods from multiple mothers. It is rare behavior, but research described in the Dec. 19 Science found that it runs in this avian family, all the way back to its dinosaur ancestors.
'Hobbit' Fossils Represent A New Species, Concludes Anthropologist:
University of Minnesota anthropology professor Kieran McNulty (along with colleague Karen Baab of Stony Brook University in…
clock | December 19, 2008There are 11 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:
Home Range Utilisation and Territorial Behaviour of Lions (Panthera leo) on Karongwe Game Reserve, South Africa:
Interventionist conservation management of territorial large carnivores has increased in recent years,…
clock | December 19, 2008Urbanization: 95% Of The World's Population Lives On 10% Of The Land:
A new global map released by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and published in the World Bank's World Development Report 2009, measures urbanisation from the new perspective of Travel Time to 8,500 Major Cities. The map fills an important gap in our understanding of economic, physical and even social connectivity.
Girls Have Superior Sense Of Taste To Boys:
Girls have a better sense of taste than boys. Every third child of school age prefers soft drinks which are not sweet. Children and young people love…
clock | December 18, 2008So, 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:
Developmental Constraints on Vertebrate Genome Evolution:
Because embryonic development must proceed correctly for an animal to survive, changes in evolution are constrained according to their effects on development. Changes that disrupt development too dramatically are thus rare in evolution…
clock | December 18, 2008Starting High School One Hour Later May Reduce Teen Traffic Accidents:
A new study shows that after a one-hour delay of school start times, teens increased their average nightly hours of sleep and decreased their "catch-up sleep" on the weekends, and they were involved in fewer auto accidents.
Low Dose Of Caffeine When Pregnant May Damage Heart Of Offspring For A Lifetime:
A new study shows that the equivalent of one dose of caffeine (just two cups of coffee) ingested during pregnancy may be enough to affect fetal heart development and then reduce heart function over the entire lifespan of…
clock | December 17, 2008Hmmm so it seems that we have to abandon some old cherished beliefs:
Scientists debunk the myth that you lose most heat through your head:
When it comes to wrapping up on a cold winter's day, a cosy hat is obligatory. After all, most of our body heat is lost through our heads - or so we are led to believe.
Closer inspection of heat loss in the hatless, however, reveals the claim to be nonsense, say scientists who have dispelled this and five other modern myths.
They traced the origins of the hat-wearing advice back to a US army survival manual from 1970 which strongly recommended covering the…
clock | December 17, 2008There 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 - you go and look for your own favourites:
Perinatal Caffeine, Acting on Maternal Adenosine A1 Receptors, Causes Long-Lasting Behavioral Changes in Mouse Offspring:
There are lingering concerns about caffeine consumption during pregnancy or the early…
clock | December 17, 2008New Species Of Prehistoric Giants Discovered In The Sahara:
Dinosaur hunters on a month-long expedition to the Sahara desert have returned home in time for Christmas with more than they ever dreamed of finding. They have unearthed not one but two possible new species of extinct animals. Their success marks one of the most exciting discoveries to come out of Africa for 50 years.
Goose Eggs May Help Polar Bears Weather Climate Change:
As polar bears adapt to a warming Arctic--a frozen seascape that cleaves earlier each spring--they may find relief in an unlikely source: snow goose eggs. New…
clock | December 16, 2008There are 12 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:
An Examination of Morphometric Variations in a Neotropical Toad Population (Proceratophrys cristiceps, Amphibia, Anura, Cycloramphidae):
The species Proceratophrys cristiceps belongs to the genus Proceratophrys…
clock | December 16, 2008Predecessor of Cows, The Aurochs, Were Still Living In The Netherlands Around AD 600:
Archaeological researchers at the University of Groningen have discovered that the aurochs, the predecessor of our present-day cow, lived in the Netherlands for longer than originally assumed. Remains of bones recently retrieved from a horn core found in Holwerd (Friesland, Netherlands), show that the aurochs became extinct in around AD 600 and not in the fourth century.
Ocean Fish Farming Harms Wild Fish, Study Says:
Farming of fish in ocean cages is fundamentally harmful to wild fish, according to an essay…
clock | December 15, 2008There are a bunch of cool new articles in PLoS Medicine, PLoS Biology and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases today. Take a look:
The Dirty War Index: Statistical Issues, Feasibility, and Interpretation:
In this issue of PLoS Medicine, Madelyn Hsiao-Rei Hicks and Michael Spagat propose a new quantitative tool [1] in the emerging field of human security sciences [2]. Quantitative data about people's insecurity can lead to objective knowledge about many of the contexts of violence in the world today. Thus developing quantitative tools for use in this domain is important.
Hicks and Spagat's tool…
clock | December 15, 2008Practice As Well As Sleep May Help Birds Learn New Songs:
Practice as well as sleep may help birds learn new songs. The reorganization of neural activity during sleep helps young songbirds to develop the vocal skills they display while awake, University of Chicago researchers have found.
Snoring Or Soaring? Strength Of Fruit-fly Immune System Varies:
A fruit fly's immune system can tell time, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found, and how hard it punches back against infections depends on whether the fly is snoozing or cruising. The discovery could have…
clock | December 14, 2008More Than Just Being A Sentimental Fool: The Psychology Of Nostalgia:
In the 17th and 18th centuries, nostalgia was viewed as a medical disease, complete with symptoms including weeping, irregular heartbeat and anorexia. By the 20th century, nostalgia was regarded as a psychiatric disorder, with symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety and depression and was confined to a few groups (e.g. first year boarding students and immigrants). Only recently have psychologists begun focusing on the positive and potentially therapeutic aspects of nostalgia, report University of Southampton psychologist…
clock | December 13, 2008In The Animal World, Bigger Isn't Necessarily Better:
Shocking new research shows size isn't always an advantage in the animal world, shattering a widely-held belief that bigger is better. Michael Kasumovic, a former University of Toronto Scarborough PhD student, examined Australian Redback male spiders to determine whether the larger ones had an edge in achieving mating success and producing offspring. Surprisingly, Kasumovic found the large spiders didn't always have an advantage. Instead, because the larger males experienced a much longer maturation process, they were unable to search for…
clock | December 12, 2008There are 11 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:
Coupled Contagion Dynamics of Fear and Disease: Mathematical and Computational Explorations:
In classical mathematical epidemiology, individuals do not adapt their contact behavior during epidemics. They do not…
clock | December 12, 2008Boy Or Girl? It's In The Father's Genes:
A Newcastle University study involving thousands of families is helping prospective parents work out whether they are likely to have sons or daughters. The work by Corry Gellatly, a research scientist at the university, has shown that men inherit a tendency to have more sons or more daughters from their parents. This means that a man with many brothers is more likely to have sons, while a man with many sisters is more likely to have daughters.
The Last Neandertals? Late Neandertals And Modern Human Contact In Southeastern Iberia:
It is widely accepted…
clock | December 11, 2008There 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:
Glaucoma Alters the Circadian Timing System:
Glaucoma is a widespread ocular disease and major cause of blindness characterized by progressive, irreversible damage of the optic nerve. Although the degenerative loss…
clock | December 11, 2008Scott Derrickson, director of the new version of The Day the Earth Stood Still, talks about his take on the iconic sci-fi movie. And Nobel laureate, Richard Roberts, discusses the importance of open-access science publishing. Plus, we'll test your knowledge about some recent science in the news.
Listen here.