Science News
clock | August 29, 2007Super Spiders Make Bolder Birds:
Recent research has revealed that by feeding spiders to their chicks, birds can manipulate the personality and learning ability of their young. In a report recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, University of Glasgow researchers reveal that birds preferentially feed their young spiders containing taurine.
Taurine is an amino acid which is also found in breast milk and energy drinks. The beneficial qualities of taurine include aiding the development of premature babies and reducing blood pressure in human adults, but it has not…
clock | August 28, 2007
The Molecular Anatomy of Spontaneous Germline Mutations in Human Testes:
The frequency of Apert syndrome mutations is 100-1,000 times higher than expected from average mutation rates, and it is due to positive selection in the testis increasing the frequency of germ cells carrying the defect.
Enlightening Energy Parasitism by Analysis of an ATP/ADP Transporter from Chlamydiae:
This paper explores the functional basis of how the intracellular P. amoebophila manages to effectively exploit the energy pool of its host cell by using the nucleotide transporter PamNTT1.
Emergence of Large-Scale…
clock | August 27, 2007
Echidna's Sex Life Under Study:
A University of Adelaide-led project will study the genetic makeup of one of Australia's most iconic animals, the echidna, to give an unprecedented insight into their sex life and behaviour. World echidna expert Dr Peggy Rismiller and geneticist Dr Frank Grützner will collaborate with the Monarto and Adelaide Zoos and South Australian Museum to learn more about these unique egg-laying mammals known as monotremes.
Sharks' 'Bite Force' Under The Spotlight:
While sharks instill fear in beachgoers worldwide, they instill a deep sense of curiosity in UT assistant…
clock | August 27, 2007Mouse Vision Has A Rhythm All Its Own:
In the eyes of mammals, visual information is processed on a daily schedule set within the eyes themselves--not one dictated by the brain, according to a new report in the journal Cell. The researchers found in mice that the eyes' normal rhythmic response to light requires only that a molecular "clock" inside the retina go on ticking. The retina is a layer of nerve tissue covering the back of the eyeball, which is often likened to the film in a camera; without it, images can't be captured.
How Snakes Survive Starvation:
Starving snakes employ novel…
clock | August 26, 2007
Viagra Increases Release Of Key Reproductive Hormone, Study Finds:
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison report this month that sildenafil increases the amount of oxytocin released by stimulation of the posterior pituitary gland, a small structure directly underneath the brain that regulates hormone levels in response to neural signals.
Mice Provide Important Clues To Obsessive-compulsive Disorder:
Mice born without a key brain protein compulsively groom their faces until they bleed and are afraid to venture out of the corner of their cages. When given a replacement dose of the…
clock | August 25, 2007Crested Auklet Birds Rub Tick-repelling Perfume On Their Mates During Courtship:
Hitting it off with members of the opposite sex takes chemistry. University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher Hector Douglas has found that, for crested auklets, chemistry has both amorous and practical applications. The birds rub a citrus-like scent, secreted in wick-like feathers on their backs, on each other during courtship, a behavior called alloanointing. It is well known among some mammals, such as peccaries, but until now was not documented among birds. His research also indicates that the behavior could…
clock | August 23, 2007Tracking Feline Memories On The Move:
When a cat steps over an obstacle with its front legs, how do its hind legs know what to do? A new study in Current Biology reveals that it is the foreleg stepping movement itself that leaves a lasting impression. By comparison, feline memories of having just seen an obstacle proved rather fleeting. Indeed, the researchers found that cats could remember having stepped over a hurdle for at least ten minutes. The findings suggest that cats' working memories can extend much longer than earlier studies had shown, according to the researchers.
Elephantnose…
evolgen | August 23, 2007The University of Michigan has put out a press release entitled:
Bits of 'junk' RNA aid master tumor-suppressor gene
With a title like that, how could I not blog the hell out of this bastard? I mean, they even put the scare quotes around "junk". Like that -- like I just did. Amazing!
The story is about three micro RNA genes (miRNAs) that interact with p53 -- the cancer gene -- and are not expressed properly in some lung cancer cells. Not only have these researchers cured cancer, Guido Bommer, the lead author, seems to think they've found the cure amidst piles of junk:
"In the 'junk' lies…
clock | August 22, 2007First Finding Of A Metabolite In One Sex Only:
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a chemical compound in male blue crabs that is not present in females -- the first time in any species that an entire enzyme system has been found to be activated in only one sex.
How To Share A Bat:
New research shows how different species of plants evolve unique floral adaptations in order to transfer pollen on different regions of bats' bodies, thus allowing multiple plant species to share bats as pollinators.
Global Warming Threatens Moose, Wolves:
Global warming is…
clock | August 22, 2007There are 30 new papers published in PLoS ONE this week. Here are a couple of my picks (under the fold). You know the drill, go read, rate, annotate and comment:
Marburg Virus Infection Detected in a Common African Bat by Jonathan S. Towner, Xavier Pourrut, César G. Albariño, Chimène Nze Nkogue, Brian H. Bird, Gilda Grard, Thomas G. Ksiazek, Jean-Paul Gonzalez, Stuart T. Nichol and Eric M. Leroy:
Identification of the natural reservoirs of Marburg and Ebola viruses is essential in combating the hemorrhagic fever outbreaks that they cause. This study reports Marburg virus-specific RNA and…
clock | August 21, 2007The Scent of the Waggle Dance by Corinna Thom, David C. Gilley, Judith Hooper, and Harald E. Esch:
A honey bee colony consists of many thousands of individuals, all of which help to perform the work that allows their colony to thrive. To coordinate their efforts, honey bees have evolved a complex communication system, no part of which is more sophisticated than the waggle dance. The waggle dance is unique, because it exhibits several properties of true language, through which a forager communicates the location and profitability of a food source to other bees in the darkness of the hive. The…
j7uy5 | August 20, 2007I just love things like this. An open-access
article in
title="Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences">PNAS
reports on a previously-unknown method of signaling employed by
squirrels.
The squirrels have a way of enhancing a tail-flagging movement with an
IR signal. The IR enhancement is optional. It turns
out they use it when confronted by rattlesnakes that are sensitive to
infrared.
When confronted by snakes that are not IR-sensitive, they do not use
the IR trick.
The rattlesnakes that see the IR signal are more likely to adopt a
defensive, as opposed to a predatory,…
clock | August 17, 2007
Male Elephants Get 'Photo IDs' From Scientists:
Asian elephants don't carry photo identification, so scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and India's Nature Conservation Foundation are providing the service free of charge by creating a photographic archive of individual elephants, which can help save them as well.
Cat Disease Linked To Flame Retardants In Furniture And To Pet Food:
A mysterious epidemic of thyroid disease among pet cats in the United States may be linked to exposure to dust shed from flame retardants in household carpeting, furniture, fabrics and pet food,…
clock | August 15, 2007There are 29 new papers on PLoS ONE this week, and it is difficult to narrow down to just a few of my own 'choices':
An Inhibitory Sex Pheromone Tastes Bitter for Drosophila Males:
For animals to breed successfully they must avoid trying to mate with individuals of the same sex. Lacaille and colleagues show that an organic compound, Z-7-tricosene, is carried on the cuticular surface of the fruit fly Drosophila. This compound tastes bitter to flies and acts as a pheromone that prevents male-male courtship.
Protistan Diversity in the Arctic: A Case of Paleoclimate Shaping Modern Biodiversity?:…
clock | August 15, 2007Interaction Of Just Two Genes Governs Coloration Patterns In Mice:
Biologists at Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego, have found that a simple interaction between just two genes determines the patterns of fur coloration that camouflage mice against their background, protecting them from many predators. The work, published recently in the journal PLoS Biology, marks one of the few instances in which specific genetic changes have been linked to an organism's ability to survive in the wild.
More...
Birds Learn To Fly With A Little Help From Their Ancestors:
A…
clock | August 14, 2007A nice integration over several levels of analysis:
Adaptive Variation in Beach Mice Produced by Two Interacting Pigmentation Genes by Cynthia C. Steiner, Jesse N. Weber, and Hopi E. Hoekstra:
The tremendous amount of variation in color patterns among organisms helps individuals survive and reproduce in the wild, yet we know surprisingly little about the genes that produce these adaptive patterns. Here we used a genomic analysis to uncover the molecular basis of a pale color pattern that camouflages beach mice inhabiting the sandy dunes of Florida's coast from predators. We identified two…
clock | August 14, 2007Navigation: Using Geometry To Navigate Is Innate, At Least For Fish:
Many animals, including humans, frequently face the task of getting from one place to another. Although many navigational strategies exist, all vertebrate species readily use geometric cues; things such as walls and corners to determine direction within an enclosed space. Moreover, some species such as rats and human children are so influenced by these geometric cues that they often ignore more reliable features such as a distinctive object or colored wall.
This surprising reliance on geometry has led researchers to suggest…
clock | August 8, 2007There are 27 new papers appearing on PLoS ONE today. A quick scan of the titles makes me want to read the following more carefully:
Plasticity of the Intrinsic Period of the Human Circadian Timing System by Frank A. J. L. Scheer, Kenneth P. Wright, Richard E. Kronauer and Charles A. Czeisler:
Human expeditions to Mars will require adaptation to the 24.65-h Martian solar day-night cycle (sol), which is outside the range of entrainment of the human circadian pacemaker under lighting intensities to which astronauts are typically exposed. Failure to entrain the circadian time-keeping system to…
clock | August 7, 2007The Circadian Clock Regulates Auxin Signaling and Responses in Arabidopsis by Michael F. Covington and Stacey L. Harmer:
Most higher organisms, including plants and animals, have developed a time-keeping mechanism that allows them to anticipate daily fluctuations of environmental parameters such as light and temperature. This circadian clock efficiently coordinates plant growth and metabolism with respect to time of day by producing self-sustained rhythms of gene expression with an approximately 24-h period. One of the major contributors in specifying spatial patterns of plant growth and…