Science News
clock | January 3, 2007New Species Of Lizard Found In Borneo:
Chris Austin, assistant curator of herpetology at LSU's Museum of Natural Science, or LSUMNS, and adjunct professor in biological sciences, recently discovered a new species of lizard while conducting field research in Borneo.
Sleep Disturbances, Nightmares Are Common Among Suicide Attempters:
In the first known report of its kind, a study published in the January 1st issue of the journal SLEEP finds that sleep disturbances are common among suicide attempters, and that nightmares are associated with suicidality.
Narcolepsy May Be Caused By Environmental…
clock | January 2, 2007Link Between Insomnia And Hypersomnia, Depression In Children:
According to a study published in the January 1st issue of the journal SLEEP, sleep-disturbed children are more severely depressed and have more depressive symptoms and comorbid anxiety disorders compared with children without sleep disturbance. To ensure the most effective care, parents of sleep-disturbed children are advised to first consult with the child's pediatrician, who may issue a referral to a sleep specialist for comprehensive testing and treatment.
Zebrafish Study Yield Novel Genes Critical In Organ Development:…
clock | January 1, 2007What Crawls Beneath: Ground Spider Diversity Linked To Healthy Habitats:
None of Takesha Henderson's discoveries are named Charlotte, but they are weaving a new chapter in Texas entomology. Her graduate studies at Texas A&M University have led to the discovery of 25 new spiders in Brazos County and one species found for the first time in Texas.
Do Galaxies Follow Darwinian Evolution?:
Using VIMOS on ESO's Very Large Telescope, a team of French and Italian astronomers have shown the strong influence the environment exerts on the way galaxies form and evolve. The scientists have for the…
clock | December 31, 2006To Elude Bats, A Moth Keeps Its Hearing In Tune:
Current understanding of the co-evolution of bats and moths has been thrown into question following new research reported in the journal Current Biology. Dr James Windmill from the University of Bristol, UK, has shown how the Yellow Underwing moth changes its sensitivity to a bat's calls when the moth is being chased. And in case there is another attack, the moth's ear remain tuned in for several minutes after the calls stop.
Adults Living With Children Eat More Fat Than Do Other Adults:
Adults living with children eat more saturated fat -- the…
clock | December 30, 2006Sex Ends As Seasons Shift And Kisspeptin Levels Plummet:
A hormone implicated in the onset of human puberty also appears to control reproductive activity in seasonally breeding rodents, report Indiana University Bloomington and University of California at Berkeley scientists in the March 2007 issue of Endocrinology. The paper is now accessible online via the journal's rapid electronic publication service. The researchers present evidence that kisspeptin, a recently discovered neuropeptide encoded by the KiSS-1 gene, mediates the decline of male Siberian hamsters' libido and reproduction as…
clock | December 29, 2006Zoo trumpets birth of rare African okapi :
The Brookfield Zoo announced this week the birth of a baby okapi - an endangered African animal that looks as if it were put together by committee.
With a dark brown body and striped upper hind legs, the 1-month-old female looks a bit like a zebra, but claims closer ties to a giraffe. Her name, Sauda, means "dark beauty" in Swahili.
Not yet on public display, except through a video feed from her quiet nesting area with her mother, baby Sauda will make her debut in the zoo's African forest exhibit in the spring.
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The zoo…
clock | December 29, 2006How Zebra Finches Learn Songs: Cellular Killer Also Important To Memory:
A protein known primarily for its role in killing cells also plays a part in memory formation, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report. Their work exploring how zebra finches learn songs could have implications for treatment of neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
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"Graham had this intuition that growth and memory is really a kind of remodeling," said Clayton, who is a professor of cell and structural biology. "You can't have growth without…
evolgen | December 28, 2006The editors at Scientific American are afraid of PLoS ONE, but they're more than happy to publish articles about Nature papers. Their coverage of the Komodo dragon virgin births contains the following lead in:
The "immaculate conception" of Komodo dragons at two English zoos might provide one explanation why Jesus was not a clone of Mary
And now a freakin' Jew will explain why this is wrong. You see, the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Mary, free from original sin. This allowed her to be inseminated by God and give birth to the baby Jesus -- God wouldn't boink any ol'…
clock | December 28, 2006Africa's Least-known Carnivore In Tanzania: Mongoose Is One More Rare Find:
The Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced that a camera-trap study in the mountains of Southern Tanzania has now recorded Africa's least-known and probably rarest carnivore: Jackson's mongoose, known only from a few observations and museum specimens.
Pet Owners Are Sick More Often And Exercise Less Than Other Working-aged People, Study Finds:
A common perception is that pet owner is a young person who is full of action, exercises a lot, and actively plays with a pet, particularly with a dog.…
clock | December 27, 2006Perhaps. But we do other stuff just like chicken (December 09, 2004):
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Fantastic news in science:
Researchers compare chicken, human genomes
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-12/nhgr-rcc120804.php
Some highlights:
Chicks have less junk DNA:
In their paper published in Nature, members of the International Chicken Genome
Sequencing Consortium report that the chicken genome contains significantly less
DNA than the human genome, but approximately the same number of genes.
Researchers estimate that the chicken has about 20,000-23,000…
clock | December 27, 2006Singing For Survival: Gibbons Scare Off Predators With 'Song':
It is well known that animals use song as a way of attracting mates, but researchers have found that gibbons have developed an unusual way of scaring off predators -- by singing to them. The primatologists at the University of St Andrews discovered that wild gibbons in Thailand have developed a unique song as a natural defence to predators. Literally singing for survival, the gibbons appear to use the song not just to warn their own group members but those in neighbouring areas.
Scanner Offers Humane Way To Look At Bird Bones:
Why…
j7uy5 | December 27, 2006NEJM has a very interesting article about the use of PET
scans to differentiate between persons with normal cognitive function,
those with mild cognitive dysfunction, and those with Alzheimer
Disease (AD). Unfortunately, you need a subscription to view
the
full article, but you can read the abstract for free, so I've taken the
liberty of copying it here, then providing some plain-language
commentary. You also can read a more extensive review on
href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/549894">Medscape
(free registration required).
href="http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract…
clock | December 26, 2006Cyberspace May Overcome Ethical Constraints In Experiments:
Psychological experiments that stopped 40 years ago because of ethical concerns could instead be conducted in cyberspace in the future. By repeating the Stanley Milgram's classic experiment from the 1960s on obedience to authority -- that found people would administer apparently lethal electrical shocks to a stranger at the behest of an authority figure -- in a virtual environment, the UCL (University College London) led study demonstrated for the first time that participants reacted as though the situation was real.
Wolves Are…
evolgen | December 22, 2006The editors at Scientific American are taking note that the review process at PLoS ONE differs from that of traditional journals:
With the burden of proof off of the reviewers, we in the science press will have to be more vigilant than ever. We can't rush to put stories out until we've focus-grouped findings with a number of experts in a study's particular field. It will force us to become better reporters and to resist the urge to sensationalize and invoke hyperbole--which, while it may not move magazine units or generate hits, will make our service more noble.
The technical quality of the…
clock | December 21, 2006Today's crop of science news is particularly fascinating and I wish I had time to devote a whole post to each item. Hopefully, some of my SciBlings or other science bloggers will write something more about these new studies:
Contrary To Common Wisdom, Scientist Discovers Some Mammals Can Smell Objects Under Water:
For some time, Kenneth Catania had noticed that the star-nosed moles he studies blow a lot of bubbles as they swim around underwater. But it wasn't until recently that he really paid attention to this behavior and, when he did, he discovered that the moles were blowing bubbles in…
clock | December 20, 2006Too Mellow For Our Predatory World: Flight Behaviour Of Marine Iguanas:
Marine iguanas on the Galápagos Islands live without predators - at least this was the case up until 150 years ago. Since then they have been confronted with cats and dogs on some islands of the Archipelago. For scientists, they are therefore a suitable model of study in order to discover if such generally tame animals are capable of adapting their behaviour and endocrine stress response to novel predation threats. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, the University of Ulm Tufts University and…
clock | December 19, 2006Shoulder Ligament A Linchpin In The Evolution Of Flight:
Brown and Harvard scientists have learned that a single ligament at the shoulder joint stabilizes the wings of birds during flight. In an advanced online publication of Nature, they explain how this tough bit of tissue evolved to become a linchpin for today's fliers.
Internal Compass Of Immune Cell Discovered:
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have discovered how neutrophils -- specialized white blood cells that play key roles in inflammation and in the body's immune defense against…
clock | December 18, 2006Squid-inspired Design Could Mean Better Handling Of Underwater Vehicles:
Inspired by the sleek and efficient propulsion of squid, jellyfish and other cephalopods, a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher has designed a new generation of compact vortex generators that could make it easier for scientists to maneuver and dock underwater vehicles at low speeds and with greater precision.
Mmmmm, jellyfish are not cephalopods...ScienceDaily can do better than this!
clock | December 18, 2006Two Central Mysteries In Genome Inheritance Solved:
The dance of the chromosomes during cell division, first described in the late 1800s and familiar to all high-school students from movies shown in biology classes, has long fascinated biologists. However, the molecular nature of a key component of cell division, the "chromosome-spindle" connection, which is critical for the inheritance of genetic information as cells divide, has remained elusive.
Many Children Discontinuing Use Of ADHD Medication:
Social stigma and feeling lifeless and/or alienated from one's peers are some of the reasons…