Science News
clock | June 22, 2007
Prey Not Hard-wired To Fear Predators:
Are Asian elk hard-wired to fear the Siberian tigers who stalk them" When wolves disappear from the forest, are moose still afraid of them? No, according to a study by Wildlife Conservation Society scientist Dr. Joel Berger, who says that several large prey species, including moose, caribou and elk, only fear predators they regularly encounter. If you take away wolves, you take away fear. That is a critical piece of knowledge as biologists and public agencies increase efforts to re-introduce large carnivores to places where they have been exterminated…
clock | June 21, 2007Why Female Deer Like A Stag To Be A Big Noise In The Forest:
Impressive antlers may be the most eye-catching attribute of the male red deer, but it's the quality of a stag's mating call that attracts the female of the species, a new study from the University of Sussex has discovered.
Surprising Origin Of Cell's Internal Highways:
Scientists have long thought that microtubules, part of the microscopic scaffolding that the cell uses to move things around in order to hold its shape and divide, originated from a tiny structure near the nucleus, called the centrosome. Now, researchers at…
clock | June 20, 2007A gazzillion new papers got published on PLoS-ONE today. Some of the titles that caught my attention and I intend to read tonight are:
The Role of the Substantia Nigra Pars Compacta in Regulating Sleep Patterns in Rats
Climate and Dispersal: Black-Winged Stilts Disperse Further in Dry Springs
The Adaptive Significance of Sensory Bias in a Foraging Context: Floral Colour Preferences in the Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Assortative Mating between European Corn Borer Pheromone Races: Beyond Assortative Meeting
As always, do the Science 2.0 thing and post your (intelligent) questions and comments…
clock | June 20, 2007Are Rattlesnakes Entering Suburbia?:
A researcher for Washington University in St. Louis, along with colleagues at the Saint Louis Zoo and Saint Louis University are tracking timber rattlesnakes in west St. Louis County and neighboring Jefferson County. They are investigating how developing subdivisions invade the snakes' turf and affect the reptiles.
Reconstructing The Biology Of Extinct Species: A New Approach:
An international research team has documented the link between the way an animal moves and the dimensions of an important part of its organ of balance, the three semicircular canals…
clock | June 16, 2007Science Student Gender Gap: A Continuing Challenge:
Interactive classes don't necessarily solve the performance imbalance between the genders in physics classes, according to a new study that stands in stark contrast to previous physics education research. In fact, while students as a rule benefit from interactive classrooms, the teaching technique may even increase the imbalance in some cases.
Chad has more on this study.
Paying Taxes, According To The Brain, Can Bring Satisfaction:
Want to light up the pleasure center in your brain? Just pay your taxes, and then give a little extra…
j7uy5 | June 16, 2007Problem:
Flyaway cat hair.
Backgound: Cats require brushing. If the
cat has long hair, and the humidity is low, brushing the cat will
release cat hair into the lower layer of the atmosphere. This
hair will get on your clothes, the sofa, the carpet, and it will go
places it is not wanted, such as in your nose. You may
sneeze. Repeatedly.
The solution...
Solution:
Put cat in a suitable cardboard box with an open top. Brush
cat. The cat will writhe around in the box. This
will generate a static electrical charge in the cardboard.
Flyaway hairs will be attracted to the sides of the box…
clock | June 16, 2007Fruit Bats Are Not 'Blind As A Bat':
The retinas of most mammals contain two types of photoreceptor cells, the cones for daylight vision and colour vision, and the more sensitive rods for night vision. Nocturnal bats were traditionally believed to possess only rods. Now scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt and at The Field Museum for Natural History in Chicago have discovered that nocturnal fruit bats (flying foxes) possess cones in addition to rods. Hence, fruit bats are also equipped for daylight vision. The researchers conclude that cone photoreceptors…
clock | June 14, 2007Why Was The Racehorse Eclipse So Good?:
Scientists from the Royal Veterinary College and the University of Cambridge are researching what made the undefeated 18th Century horse, Eclipse, such a great champion. The genetics research is giving insights into the origins of the world's thoroughbred racing stock, including the sensational 1867 Derby winner, Hermit.
'Divorce' Among Galapagos Seabirds Investigated:
Being a devoted husband and father is not enough to keep an avian marriage together for the Nazca booby, a long-lived seabird found in the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador.…
clock | June 12, 2007
Lizard Moms Dress Their Children For Success:
Mothers know best when it comes to dressing their children, at least among side-blotched lizards, a common species in the western United States. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have found that female side-blotched lizards are able to induce different color patterns in their offspring in response to social cues, "dressing" their progeny in patterns they will wear for the rest of their lives. The mother's influence gives her progeny the patterns most likely to ensure success under the conditions they will encounter as…
clock | June 11, 2007Ancient DNA Traces Woolly Mammoth's Disappearance:
Some ancient-DNA evidence has offered new clues to a very cold case: the disappearance of the last woolly mammoths, one of the most iconic of all Ice Age giants, according to a recent article. DNA lifted from the bones, teeth, and tusks of the extinct mammoths revealed a "genetic signature" of a range expansion after the last interglacial period. After the mammoths' migration, the population apparently leveled off, and one of two lineages died out.
For more, see this and this.
Scientists Propose The Kind Of Chemistry That Led To Life:
Before…
clock | June 9, 2007Origins Of Nervous System Found In Genes Of Sea Sponge:
Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered significant clues to the evolutionary origins of the nervous system by studying the genome of a sea sponge, a member of a group considered to be among the most ancient of all animals.
[PZ Myers explains it better]
Hives Ferment A Yeasty Brew, Attract Beetle Pest:
The honeybee's alarm signal may not only bring help, but also attract the small hive beetle. Now, an international team of researchers has found that small hive beetles can detect some alarm pheromones at…
clock | June 6, 2007What Did Dinosaurs Hear?:
What did dinosaurs hear? Probably a lot of low frequency sounds, like the heavy footsteps of another dinosaur, if University of Maryland professor Robert Dooling and his colleagues are right. What they likely couldn't hear were the high pitched sounds that birds make.
Scientists Join Fight To Save Tasmanian Devil From Deadly Cancer:
CSIRO scientists have joined the battle to save Australia's iconic Tasmanian devils from the deadly cancer currently devastating devil populations.
Stray Penguins Probably Reached Northern Waters By Fishing Boat:
Guy Demmert got quite a…
clock | June 5, 2007Duetting Birds With Rhythm Present A Greater Threat:
Birds that sing duets with incredible rhythmic precision present a greater threat to other members of their species than those that whistle a sloppier tune, according to a study of Australian magpie-larks reported in the June 5th issue of Current Biology, published by Cell Press.
Going Fishing? Only Some Catch And Release Methods Let The Fish Live:
NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) fisheries scientists are investigating ways to boost the survival rates of several more species of fish caught and then released by anglers. Some…
clock | June 3, 2007
Threats To Wild Tigers Growing:
The wild tiger now occupies a mere 7 percent of its historic range, and the area known to be inhabited by tigers has declined by 41 percent over the past decade, according to a recent article. Growing trade in folk medicines made from tiger parts and tiger skins, along with habitat loss and fragmentation, is believed to be the chief reason for the losses. The assessment, by Eric Dinerstein of the World Wildlife Fund and 15 coauthors, describes the wild tiger's population trajectory as "catastrophic" and urges international cooperation to ensure the animal's…
evolgen | June 3, 2007Let's go through the basics again. Cracking the genetic code refers to figuring out how DNA encodes the information to make proteins -- that was done decades ago. Sequencing a genome does not mean that you have decoded the genome; presumably, decoding a genome would mean you've figured out the function of every part of a sequenced genome, but there really isn't a proper definition. In genetics, mapping refers to determining the location of genetic elements, which is different than sequencing. And deciphering has no real meaning.
With that said, check out the newest New York Times article on…
clock | June 2, 2007
Want To Save Polar Bears? Follow The Ice:
In the wake of the U.S. government's watershed decision to propose listing the polar bear as "Threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is launching a bold initiative to save the Earth's largest terrestrial predator, not by following the bears themselves, but the receding sea ice habitat that may drastically shrink as a result of global warming. In a project named "Warm Waters for Cool Bears," WCS will use both current and historical satellite imagery to predict where sea ice is likely to persist and where…
evolgen | June 1, 2007Last year, New York Times science writer Nicholas Wade wrote a few articles in which he referred to genome sequencing as "decoding". I chastised him for his poor use of terminology, was pleasantly surprised when he began to correct himself, and then realized that he would never overcome his inability to communicate science clearly.
It appears that Wade has found a new, yet still incorrect, term for genome sequencing. In an article published today, Wade reports on the 454 sequencing of Jim Watson's genome. Only he reports the Dr. Watson's genome was "deciphered". At least he isn't writing…
clock | June 1, 2007Blind Dogs Can See After New Treatment For A Sudden Onset Blinding Disease:
If two dogs are any indication, Iowa State University veterinary researchers may have found a cure for a previously incurable disease that causes dogs to go blind suddenly.
Five New Species Of Sea Slugs Discovered In The Tropical Eastern Pacific:
The Tropical Eastern Pacific, a discrete biogeographic region that has an extremely high rate of endemism among its marine organisms, continues to yield a wealth of never-before-described marine animals to visiting scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in…
clock | May 31, 2007Evolution Of Animal Personalities:
Animals differ strikingly in character and temperament. Yet only recently has it become evident that personalities are a widespread phenomenon in the animal kingdom. Animals as diverse as spiders, mice and squids appear to have personalities. Personality differences have been described in more than 60 species, including primates, rodents, birds, fish, insects and mollusks.
Eavesdropping Comes Naturally To Young Song Sparrows:
Long before the National Security Agency began eavesdropping on the phone calls of Americans, young song sparrows were listening to…
clock | May 30, 2007Is natural selection omnipotent or are there developmental constraints to what is possible and it is only from a limited range of possibilities that natural selection has to choose? The tension betwen two schools of thought (sometimes thought of in terms of pro-Gould and anti-Gould, as he has written much about developmental constraints and against vulgar adaptationism) is still alive and well. It is nice to see someone actually do an experimental test of the thesis:
Why Are There No Unicorns?:
Why are there no unicorns? Perhaps horses develop in a way that cannot be easily modified to…