Climate change plus human pressure caused large mammal extinctions in late Pleistocene
...other. There, as in South America, the uncertainty comes from lack of data. In these fairly recent large-mammal extinctions, Barnosky sees lessons for the future. "Humans tend to impact the bigger animals, with the smaller animals as collateral damage," he said. "Climate change is just the opposite - it af...Veterinary Memorial Fund transforms grief into promise
...hat donation was made. And maybe the next dog that comes along won't die from a brain tumor." Improvements in the use of non-invasive imaging technology to diagnose brain tumors is just one of the dozens of different clinical areas that have been funded as a result of the fund. Veterinary Memorial...Far more men than women favor routine paternity testing at birth
...ons were asked was changed randomly. "It comes out pretty much the same, whether you ask it by it...finding out because there's all this mistrust that comes in," he said. "It has the potential to break up families and may not be in the male's best interest....Atacama rover helps NASA learn to search for life on Mars
... 'astronaut/astrobiology assistants' when the time comes for human missions," she added. Scientists also plan to map the habitats of the area, including its morphology, geology, mineralogy, texture, physical and elemental properties of rocks and soils; document how life modifies its environment; ch...Females may be more susceptible to overindulge 'sweet tooth' cravings than males
...uld it be that women are at a disadvantage when it comes to these obesity avoidance tactics? Is it possible that females are predisposed to succumb to the temptation to overeat? And could exercise be a less effective method of appetite suppression in women than in men? Researchers at The Florida State ...Can an old gene learn new tricks?
... evolutionary advancement. The reassignment likely comes through a shuffling of existing regulatory elements to generate new combinations that are specific to the new organ," explains Dr. Lufkin....Molecule awakens and maintains neural connections
...esses. Further evidence that Dasm1 is a receptor comes from an experiment in which Shi treated neurons with a molecule that mimicked Dasm1, but in which the portion of the molecule that extends into the cell had been replaced by a segment from another protein rendering it unable to interact with Dasm1's...Images of 'tail' of protein needed for cell multiplication suggest anticancer drug targets
...quickly," Schulman said. "That's where the E2 tail comes into play. The shape and location of E2's tail make it perfectly suited for drawing E1 close to NEDD8 so those two proteins can rapidly bind to each other and begin the process of assembling the on switch." The workshop's ability to quickly assemble ...Bacteria use 'molecular lasso' to cop copper
... billion tons per year, said Kim. About 40 percent comes from paddies and wetlands, and the methane-eating bacteria, known as methanotrophs, remove 80 to 90 percent of it. That translates to a methane diet of close to 43 billion tons a year. Playing a pivotal role in this drama is the methanobactin molecu...The birth of reproductive health: A difficult delivery
...oductive health--$429 million this year--the money comes with strings attached. For example, under the Mexico City Policy (the "Global Gag Rule"), which George W. Bush reinstated in 2001, US family planning assistance cannot be given to any non-American non-governmental group unless it certifies that it ...Viral suspect for amphibian decline traced to human spread through bait
...amatic ecological consequences. Evidence for this comes from the genetic analysis of an emerging virus that has been implicated as a cause of infectious disease in amphibian populations in the western U.S. The genetic study indicates that the virus may have been transmitted to remote locations through the...Imitative parrots just might tell you it's all in the tongue
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- When it comes to making noise, both parrots andhumans rely on extremely specialized vibrating organs in their throats.Now scientists at Indiana University and Leiden University in TheNetherlands have shown for the first time that parrots, like humans,also can use ...Environmental costs of home construction lower with wise choice, reuse of building materials
...e than half the energy required by mills currently comes from these residuals, a renewable source of energy compared to fossil fuels. Two designs of typical houses were analyzed in the study by the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials, a research group started by 15 universities and r...Review article makes case for a new source of cells in the body
...teric nervous system, which innervates the tract, comes from neural crest cells. Smooth muscle cells come ...e mesoderm. The lining of the gut, the epithelium, comes from the endoderm, another germ layer. Now the science is showing that VENT cells contribute to all ...Meteorites supplied Earth life with phosphorus
... research hasn't explained where life's phosphorus comes from, Pasek noted. Pasek began working with Dante Lauretta, UA assistant professor of planetary sciences, on the idea that meteorites are the source of living Earth's phosphorus. The work was inspired by Lauretta's earlier experiments that showed tha...Listen up! Mice may hold key to restoring human hearing loss
...ls do not easily grow back. And with the cell loss comes so-called irreversible hearing loss. The two scientists are collaborating to develop new methods to expand and maintain adult stem cells isolated from the mouse inner ear to establish long-term stable cell lines. This is the first step toward th...Length of sex act in flies dictated by genetics
...and cause them to become sterile. However, when it comes to mating behavior in fruit flies, light was not an issue. There was no change in the response in flies exposed to constant light. This demonstrates that "period" and "timeless" regulate mating behavior in a novel way unrelated to the clock. These ge...Anticancer drug zebularine specifically targets tumor cells
...ent slowdown. Much of the difference, Jones notes, comes from the way zebularine is preferentially taken up by the cancer cells. Finally, zebularine appears to bring about this change by demethylating specific genes in the cells--in particular, the p21 gene. "Our results demonstrate that zebularine can be ...Congress to fund Sequim-based coastal security research effort
...ars. The $4.2 million is for fiscal year 2005, and comes on top of a $1.7 million Congressional "earmark" secured this summer. The newly-funded research program will involve laboratory work and field testing. It will draw on the scientific and technical experience and expertise the Sequim laboratory has de...... has come full circle, note the authors. The name comes from the physicians Walter Dandy of Johns Hopkins, and Earl Walker, who was a neurosurgeon at the University of Chicago in 1942 when he described the malformation that was subsequently named after him. "Finding these genes here at the University o...