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Sleep deprivation influences drug use in teens' social networks

More than three million years ago, the ancestors of modern humans were still spending a considerable amount of their lives in trees, but something new was happening.

Source: University of Arizona
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 9:46pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 80 | Comments: 0

Video: Students discover new species of raptor dinosaur

Recent studies have shown that behaviors such as happiness, obesity, smoking and altruism are "contagious" within adult social networks. In other words, your behavior not only influences your friends, but also their friends and so on. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Harvard University have taken this a step farther and found that the spread of one behavior in social networks – in this case, poor sleep patterns – influences the spread of another behavior, adolescent drug use.

Source: University of California - San Diego
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 9:46pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 87 | Comments: 0

Paleontology

A new species of dinosaur, a relative of the famous Velociraptor, has been discovered in Inner Mongolia by two PhD students.

Source: University College London
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 6:34pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 65 | Comments: 0

Women do make men throw caution to the wind, research confirms

Songbirds provide insight into speech production

The presence of an attractive woman elevates testosterone levels and physical risk taking in young men, according to a recent study in the inaugural issue of Social Psychological and Personality Science (published by SAGE).

Source: SAGE Publications
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 5:34pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 211 | Comments: 0

With the help of a little singing bird, Penn State physicists are gaining insight into how the human brain functions, which may lead to a better understanding of complex vocal behavior, human speech production and ultimately, speech disorders and related diseases.

Source: Penn State
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 5:34pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 63 | Comments: 0

Even oysters pay taxes

Tryptophan-enriched diet reduces pig aggression

In physical, as in financial growth, it's not what you make but what you keep that counts, USC marine biologists believe.

Source: University of Southern California
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 5:34pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 34 | Comments: 0

Females shut down male-male sperm competition in leafcutter ants

Feeding the amino acid tryptophan to young female pigs as part of their regular diet makes them less aggressive and easier to manage, according to a study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and cooperators.

Source: United States Department of Agriculture-Research, Education, and Economics
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 4:04pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 102 | Comments: 0

Study probes evolution of fairness and punishment

Leafcutter ant queens can live for twenty years, fertilizing millions of eggs with sperm stored after a single day of sexual activity.

Source: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 4:04pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 76 | Comments: 0

Biologists' work with 'glow-in-the-dark' sperm sheds light on sexual selection

Researchers have long been puzzled by large societies in which strangers routinely engage in voluntary acts of kindness, respect and mutual benefit even though there is often an individual cost involved.

Source: University of California - Davis
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 4:04pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 71 | Comments: 0

Learning deficits in adolescence linked to novel brain receptor

Previously unobservable events occurring between insemination and fertilization are the subject of a groundbreaking new article in Science magazine. By genetically altering fruit flies so that the heads of their sperm were fluorescent green or red, scientists were able to observe in striking detail what happens to live sperm inside the female.

Source: Syracuse University
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 4:04pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 96 | Comments: 0

Bacteria divide like clockwork

Microbiology

A team of researchers at MIT and the University of California at San Diego has shown how cell division in a type of bacteria known as cyanobacteria is controlled by the same kind of circadian rhythms that govern human sleep patterns.

Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 1:10pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 100 | Comments: 0

What makes you unique? Not genes so much as surrounding sequences

It is well known that the onset of puberty marks the end of the optimal period for learning language and certain spatial skills, such as computer/video game operation. Recent work published in the journal Science by Sheryl Smith, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology, and colleagues at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn shows that a novel brain receptor, alpha4-beta-delta, emerges at puberty in the hippocampus, part of the brain that controls learning and memory.

Source: SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 1:10pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 70 | Comments: 0

Genetics

The key to human individuality may lie not in our genes, but in the sequences that surround and control them, according to new research by scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Yale University.

Source: Stanford University Medical Center
Posted on: Friday, Mar 19, 2010, 1:10pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 76 | Comments: 0

Advances vastly expand versatility of optogenetics brain-research technique

Neuroscience

Recently, brain researchers have gained a powerful new way to troubleshoot neural circuits associated with depression, Parkinson's disease and other conditions in small animals such as rats.

Source: Stanford University Medical Center
Posted on: Thursday, Mar 18, 2010, 9:25pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 97 | Comments: 0

Research reveals frequency and cost of copying college homework

Stem cells used to model infant birth defect

The history of students who copy homework from classmates may be as old as school itself. But in today's age of lecture-hall laptops and online coursework, how prevalent and damaging to the education of students has such academic dishonesty become?

Source: University of Kansas
Posted on: Thursday, Mar 18, 2010, 5:32pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 101 | Comments: 0

Stem cells

Hemangiomas - strawberry-like birthmarks that commonly develop in early infancy – are generally harmless, but up to 10 percent cause tissue distortion or destruction and sometimes obstruction of vision or breathing. Since the 1960s, problematic hemangiomas have been treated with corticosteroids such as dexamethasone or prednisone.

Source: Children's Hospital Boston
Posted on: Thursday, Mar 18, 2010, 1:37pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 127 | Comments: 0

Cat-calls are detrimental to everyone

New technique reduces tobacco smoke damage to lungs in mice

For every woman who is a direct target of sexism, there are others who witness the event and are also affected. The actions of one sexist man affect how female bystanders feel and behave towards men in general. Stephenie Chaudoir and Diane Quinn, from the University of Connecticut in the US, publish their work1 on the effects of bystander sexism and group-level reactions to sexism in Springer's journal Sex Roles.

Source: Springer
Posted on: Thursday, Mar 18, 2010, 1:36pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 97 | Comments: 0

Chemists influence stem-cell development with geometry

Researchers in Australia have demonstrated that blocking a certain protein can reduce or prevent cigarette smoke-induced lung inflammation in mice. Inflammation underlies the disease process of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and many other smoking-related ailments.

Source: American Thoracic Society
Posted on: Thursday, Mar 18, 2010, 12:16pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 111 | Comments: 0

Stem cells

University of Chicago scientists have successfully used geometrically patterned surfaces to influence the development of stem cells. The new approach is a departure from that of many stem-cell biologists, who focus instead on uncovering the role of proteins in controlling the fate of stem cells.

Source: University of Chicago
Posted on: Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010, 9:10pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 211 | Comments: 0

Dogs likely originated in the Middle East, new genetic data indicate

Genetics

Dogs likely originated in the Middle East, not Asia or Europe, according to a new genetic analysis by an international team of scientists led by UCLA biologists. The research, funded by the National Science Foundation and the Searle Scholars Program, appears March 17 in the advance online edition of the journal Nature.

Source: University of California - Los Angeles
Posted on: Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010, 5:48pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 159 | Comments: 0

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Articles From the Web

Scientists Still Hopeful About Gene Therapy's Promise
For 25 years, scientists have touted the promise of gene therapy to treat human diseases, but only a handful of therapies have shown progress. Nonetheless, proponents remain optimistic and say the approach may yet revolutionize medicine.

Source: NPR
Posted on: Monday, Mar 08, 2010, 1:24pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 73 | Comments: 0

Animals

'Extinct' Aussie Frog Is Alive and Well
Species of frog thought to have been extinct for 30 years has been found again.

Source: ABC News
Posted on: Monday, Mar 08, 2010, 1:23pm
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 66 | Comments: 0

Israel discovers large Byzantine-era wine press
Israeli archaeologists said Monday that they've discovered an unusually shaped 1,400-year-old wine press that was exceptionally large and advanced for its time.

Source: MSNBC
Posted on: Monday, Feb 15, 2010, 11:21am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 150 | Comments: 0

Turkeys domesticated not once, but twice
New research indicates that the birds were tamed in Mesoamerica and what is now the Southwestern United States, with the poultry we eat today descending from the former region.

Source: LA Times
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 09, 2010, 8:58am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 200 | Comments: 0

Explorers' century-old whisky found in Antarctic
This Scotch has been on the rocks for a century.

Source: USA Today
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 09, 2010, 8:57am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 165 | Comments: 0

Genetics

Horse Genome Bet Pays Off
New genetic test helps predict how race horses will perform

Source: Science
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 02, 2010, 11:51am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 189 | Comments: 0

Marine Biology

Winter chill takes toll on Florida Keys coral
Scientists begin early assessments of the damage on marine life, but initial reports are bleak.

Source: LA Times
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 02, 2010, 11:51am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 176 | Comments: 0

Marine Biology

Humboldt Squid Invade California
Fishermen Descend on Southern Calif. for Chance to Catch Sea Creatures that Weigh up to 60 Pounds

Source: CBSnews
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 02, 2010, 11:51am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 160 | Comments: 0

Foster Care for Chimps
Researchers say adoptions in wild show evidence of altruism

Source: Science
Posted on: Tuesday, Feb 02, 2010, 11:51am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 157 | Comments: 0

How Carnations Conquered Europe
Rapid diversification of flower suggests continent may have been an evolutionary hot spot

Source: Science
Posted on: Friday, Jan 29, 2010, 10:48am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 181 | Comments: 0

Religious 'Relics' Proven to be Forgeries
How did the bones of two ancient Egyptian mummies -- one human, the other feline -- end up in a bottle that supposedly contained the remains of Joan of Arc?

Source: Discovery Channel
Posted on: Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010, 9:48am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 201 | Comments: 0

Physiology

Fish May Not Have Evolved Gills to Breathe
The gills of fish may have evolved to exchange ions, not oxygen.

Source: Science
Posted on: Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010, 9:41am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 193 | Comments: 0

Microbiology

Ancient Egypt’s Toxic Makeup Fought Infection, Researchers Say
The elaborate eye makeup worn by ancient Egyptians served as a toxin that killed bacteria and helped prevent infections, according to a new report.

Source: NYT
Posted on: Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010, 9:41am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 159 | Comments: 0

Green sea slugs use plant genes to live on sunlight
The creature, which makes its own chlorophyll, incorporates algae genes into its system and retains chloroplasts for photosynthesis. The finding may have uses in genetic engineering and therapies.

Source: LA Times
Posted on: Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010, 9:41am
Rating: Not Rated | Views: 202 | Comments: 0