Science News
clock | May 22, 2008Inferring Human Colonization History Using a Copying Model:
Humans like to tell stories. Amongst the most captivating is the story of the global spread of modern humans from their original homeland in Africa. Traditionally this has been the preserve of anthropologists, but geneticists are starting to make an important contribution. However, genetic evidence is typically analyzed in the context of anthropological preconceptions. For genetics to provide an accurate and detailed history without reference to anthropology, methods are required that translate DNA sequence data into histories. We…
clock | May 22, 2008Some Like It Hot! Structure Of Receptor For Hot Chili Pepper And Pain Revealed:
You can now not only feel the spicy kick of a jalapeno pepper, you can also see it in full 3D, thanks to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
Early Life Exposure To Cats May Reduce Risk Of Childhood Allergies And Asthma Symptoms:
A study released by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, shows that cat ownership may have a protective effect against the development of asthma symptoms in young children…
clock | May 21, 2008There are 61 articles published in PLoS ONE this week. Here are some of the highlights, look around for more and please comment, rate, and send trackbacks:
Adaptive Evolution and Functional Redesign of Core Metabolic Proteins in Snakes:
Adaptive evolutionary episodes in core metabolic proteins are uncommon, and are even more rarely linked to major macroevolutionary shifts. We conducted extensive molecular evolutionary analyses on snake mitochondrial proteins and discovered multiple lines of evidence suggesting that the proteins at the core of aerobic metabolism in snakes have undergone…
clock | May 19, 2008Evolution and Creationism in America's Classrooms: A National Portrait:
We advance this long tradition of surveying teachers with reports from the first nationally representative survey of teachers concerning the teaching of evolution. The survey permits a statistically valid and current portrait of US science teachers that complements US and international surveys of the general public on evolution and scientific literacy [2,24] and on evolution in the classroom [3,25]. Between March 5 and May 1, 2007, 939 teachers participated in the study, either by mail or by completing an identical…
clock | May 16, 2008'Mitochondrial Eve' Research: Humanity Was Genetically Divided For 100,000 Years:
The human race was divided into two separate groups within Africa for as much as half of its existence, says a Tel Aviv University mathematician. Climate change, reduction in populations and harsh conditions may have caused and maintained the separation.
Simple Artificial Cell Created From Scratch To Study Cell Complexity:
A team of Penn State researchers has developed a simple artificial cell with which to investigate the organization and function of two of the most basic cell components: the cell membrane and…
clock | May 15, 2008Monarch Butterflies Help Explain Why Parasites Harm Hosts:
It's a paradox that has confounded evolutionary biologists since Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859: Since parasites depend on their hosts for survival, why do they harm them? A new University of Georgia and Emory University study of monarch butterflies and the microscopic parasites that hitch a ride on them finds that the parasites strike a middle ground between the benefits gained by reproducing rapidly and the costs to their hosts. The study, published in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of…
clock | May 14, 2008Wild Three-Toed Sloths Sleep 6 Hours Less Per Day Than Captive Sloths, First Electrophysical Recording Shows:
In the first experiment to record the electrophysiology of sleep in a wild animal, three-toed sloths carrying miniature electroencephalogram recorders slept 9.63 hours per day--6 hours less than captive sloths did, reports an international team of researchers working on the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's Barro Colorado Island in Panama.
Educated People In US Living Longer, Less Educated Have Unchanged Death Rate:
A new study finds a gap in overall death rates between…
clock | May 13, 2008There are 57 articles this week in PLoS ONE - look around for yourself, these are my own picks:
The Secret World of Shrimps: Polarisation Vision at Its Best:
Animal vision spans a great range of complexity, with systems evolving to detect variations in light intensity, distribution, colour, and polarisation. Polarisation vision systems studied to date detect one to four channels of linear polarisation, combining them in opponent pairs to provide intensity-independent operation. Circular polarisation vision has never been seen, and is widely believed to play no part in animal vision.…
clock | May 13, 2008College Student Sleep Patterns Could Be Detrimental:
A Central Michigan University study has determined that many college students have sleep patterns that could have detrimental effects on their daily performance.
When Following The Leader Can Lead Into The Jaws Of Death:
For animals that live in social groups, and that includes humans, blindly following a leader could place them in danger. To avoid this, animals have developed simple but effective behaviour to follow where at least a few of them dare to tread -- rather than follow a single group member. This pattern of behaviour reduces the…
clock | May 12, 2008Female Concave-eared Frogs Draw Mates With Ultrasonic Calls:
Most female frogs don't call; most lack or have only rudimentary vocal cords. A typical female selects a mate from a chorus of males and then --silently -- signals her beau. But the female concave-eared torrent frog, Odorrana tormota, has a more direct method of declaring her interest: She emits a high-pitched chirp that to the human ear sounds like that of a bird.
Math Plus 'Geeky' Images Equals Deterred Students:
Images of maths 'geeks' stop people from studying mathematics or using it in later life, shows new research.
Kids Think…
clock | May 12, 2008The Case of Deborah Rice: Who Is the Environmental Protection Agency Protecting?:
For researchers who operate at the intersection of basic biology and toxicology, following the data where they take you--as any good scientist would--carries the risk that you will be publicly attacked as a crank, charged with scientific misconduct, or removed from a government scientific review panel. Such a fate may seem unthinkable to those involved in primary research, but it has increasingly become the norm for toxicologists and environmental investigators. If you find evidence that a compound worth…
clock | May 11, 2008Dying Bats In The Northeast U.S. Remain A Mystery:
Investigations continue into the cause of a mysterious illness that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of bats since March 2008. At more than 25 caves and mines in the northeastern U.S., bats exhibiting a condition now referred to as "white-nosed syndrome" have been dying.
'Early Birds' Adapt To Climate Change:
Individual birds can adjust their behaviour to take climate change in their stride, according to a study by scientists from the University of Oxford. A study of the great tit (Parus major) population in Wytham Woods, near Oxford,…
clock | May 10, 2008
Young People Are Intentionally Drinking And Taking Drugs For Better Sex, European Survey Finds:
Teenagers and young adults across Europe drink and take drugs as part of deliberate sexual strategies. New findings reveal that a third of 16-35 year old males and a quarter of females surveyed are drinking alcohol to increase their chances of sex, while cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis are intentionally used to enhance sexual arousal or prolong sex.
How 'Horse Tranquilizer' Stops Depression:
Researchers have shown exactly how the anaesthetic ketamine helps depression with images that show the…
clock | May 8, 2008PLoS ONE paper The Herbicide Atrazine Activates Endocrine Gene Networks via Non-Steroidal NR5A Nuclear Receptors in Fish and Mammalian Cells will be one of the topics covered by Science Friday on NPR tomorrow - tune in if you can, or wait until the podcast is posted on the site later tomorrow night:
Researchers report that the common weedkiller atrazine may be able to disrupt hormonal signaling in humans. The herbicide is the second-most-applied weedkiller in the United States, with uses from suburban lawns to agricultural production of corn and sorghum.
In recent years, atrazine has been…
clock | May 8, 2008Why Face Symmetry Is Sexy Across Cultures And Species:
In humans, faces are an important source of social information. One property of faces that is rapidly noticed is attractiveness. Research has highlighted symmetry and sexual dimorphism (how masculine or feminine a face is) as important variables that determine a face's attractiveness.
Platypus Genome Explains Animal's Peculiar Features; Holds Clues To Evolution Of Mammals:
The duck-billed platypus: part bird, part reptile, part mammal -- and the genome to prove it.
Biodiversity: It's In The Water:
What if hydrology is more important for…
clock | May 7, 2008There are 56 new articles published in PLoS ONE this week and it was hard to make the picks as this seems to be a very, very good week with lots of cool papers. Here are some of the highlights - please post ratings, notes and comments on the papers, write blog posts and send trackbacks:
Seed Dispersal and Establishment of Endangered Plants on Oceanic Islands: The Janzen-Connell Model, and the Use of Ecological Analogues:
The Janzen-Connell model states that plant-specific natural enemies may have a disproportionately large negative effect on progeny close to maternal trees. The majority of…
clock | May 6, 2008Dinosaur Bones Reveal Ancient Bug Bites:
Paleontologists have long been perplexed by dinosaur fossils with missing pieces - sets of teeth without a jaw bone, bones that are pitted and grooved, even bones that are half gone. Now a Brigham Young University study identifies a culprit: ancient insects that munched on dinosaur bones.
Saving Frogs Before It's Too Late:
With nearly one-third of amphibian species threatened with extinction worldwide, fueled in part by the widespread emergence of the deadly chytrid fungus, effective conservation efforts could not be more urgent. In a new article,…
clock | May 5, 2008Birds Do It, Bees Do It, but Candida albicans Does It Differently:
The yeast Candida albicans lives an unnoticed and mostly harmless life as a member of our gut flora. However, mainly in an immunocompromised host, it can proliferate and cause severe, life-threatening infections. Within this normally mild-mannered, single-celled fungus beats the heart of a reproductive adventurer. For while it appears to be incapable of meiosis and therefore true sex, it engages in an unusual and offbeat alternative--after it mates, its progeny randomly cast off chromosomes to restore the diploid number, or…
clock | May 5, 2008Roaring Bats: New Scientific Results Show Bats Emitting More Decibels Than A Rock Concert:
Researchers studying the echolocation behavior in bats have discovered that the diminutive flying mammals emit exceptionally loud sounds -- louder than any known animal in air.
Young Songbirds Babble Before They Learn To Sing:
Young songbirds babble before they can mimic an adult's song, much like their human counterparts. Now, in work that offers insights into how birds--and perhaps people--learn new behaviors, MIT scientists have found that immature and adult birdsongs are driven by two separate brain…
j7uy5 | May 1, 2008In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, it was noticed that
there were cuts in the budget to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The rationale was that we needed to shift more funds to the
global and perpetual war on terror.
At the time, I said that "the terrorists" won't have to bother trying
to poison us. Our own companies would do it for them.
Yup.
href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/green/chi-epa-official-resigns_webmay02,0,4655733.story">TRIBUNE
EXCLUSIVE: EPA's top Midwest regulator forced out
Mary Gade, based in Chicago, says Bush…