Binocular rivalry: Fulfilling visual expectations
...show that once a walker is recognized it can cause dominance of signals from one eye and suppression of signals from the other. This is strong evidence that the brain's expectation that there should be a walking figure between the dots is somehow transmitted to the earliest level of the visual cortex, where si...Genetic map of important tree genes outlined
... and human societies," because of their ecological dominance and provision of so much energy and industrial materials for human societies. "Arabidopsis is still the plant model that will first give us the basic answers to how plants function," Strauss said. "But it is very exciting to see the knowledge it is y...Biologists deciphering complex lemur scent language
...ting who they are and their social attachments and dominance status," she said. To complicate their studies, the researchers have found that the composition of a lemur scent also appears not to be static. "We found seasonal changes in the composition and complexity of an odor," said Drea. "So, it could be tha...Gulf of Maine marine ecosystem may have entered new phase
... coastal Maine over the past 4,500 years. The long dominance of predators has given way to many species playing...s has led to the re-emergence of kelp beds and the dominance of crabs and lobsters. The report cites an experiment in which adult urchins were stocked in an area...Long-term heart damage may result from constant confrontation and defeat
...hift of sympathovagal balance toward a sympathetic dominance was gradually reduced from the first to the last acute defeat experience. As for long-term consequences on chronobiological parameters, average night and day values of heart rate rose significantly in the first days of chronic stress and were ...Call for greater involvement of developing world scientists in fight against AIDS
...gation that have yet to be explored because of the dominance of Northern scientists in the design and implementation of AIDS-related research," says Ahmed A. Azad, Director of Research at the Faulty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa. Azad and Okelo, both of whom are TWAS fellows, were t...Earth, sky tapped in unique global climate change study
...the next several decades could mean a shift in the dominance of these important plant species. And that could alter the way land is used and the types of wildlife able to survive there, Volder noted. Briske and Tjoelker spent a year designing and building the elaborate, experimental system. Volder joined th...Culture of primate non-aggression
...y, male baboons angle either to assume or maintain dominance with higher ranking males or engage in bloody battles with lower ranking males. Females are often harassed and attacked and internecine feuds are routine. However, in the mid-1980s an unexpected outbreak of TB infected and killed the most aggressive ...Biology behind homosexuality in sheep, study confirms
...partners. Scientists don't believe it's related to dominance or flock hierarchy; rather, their typical motor pattern for intercourse is merely directed at rams instead of ewes. "They're one of the few species that have been systematically studied, so we're able to do very careful and controlled experiments on ...Social stress adversely affects digestive function in subordinate cichlid fish
... slowly than the dominant ones.Cichlids have rigid dominance hierarchies, providing excellent models for the study of social stress. Previous cichlid studies have determined that the chronic stress of social subordination has other physiological consequences, including changes in body weight and hormones. CBN...Left side of brain activates speech from birth
...ge the previously held belief that left-hemisphere dominance doesn't develop fully until puberty. "Language lateralization seems to be established almost from birth," said Shantanu Sinha, associate professor of radiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where the study is ongoing. Lateralization...All sides are not created equal as babies process speech
...ge the previously held belief that left-hemisphere dominance isn't fully developed until puberty. "Language lateralization seems to be established almost from birth," said Shantanu Sinha, Ph.D., associate professor of radiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles, wh...Social mothers appear to be better mothers
...ve in large, mixed-sex groups with clearly defined dominance hierarchies, or pecking orders. In many primate groups, high rank enhances reproductive success. Nevertheless, the researchers found that strong social bonds improved infant survival, regardless of the mother's position in the pecking order. Because ...Baboons identify each other by status and family
...ain a number of adult females arranged in a linear dominance rank order. Each female's offspring acquire ranks immediately below those of their mother, with the youngest offspring holding higher ranks than their older siblings. The result is a social structure based simultaneously on rank and matrilineal kin...New principle guides memory dynamics
... that recalled memory that won the competition for dominance was re-exposed to the time window of sensitivity to memory erasers, and it is this memory that must be consolidated once again before being reinstalled in the long-term memory. In other words, the winner, in the appropriate circumstances, may lose a...Purdue scientists discover why we're all lefties deep down
...out? "We are not sure whether left-handed serine's dominance in the earliest period of life's prehistory was arbitrary," Cooks said. "But serine can switch its chirality under mild conditions. If somehow polarized light, for example, or a swirling motion in water were present at a critical moment, some of the ...Study sheds light on critical relay in visual circuit of the brain
... 4 neurons, but without it, the distinctive ocular dominance and orientation columns do not form. "Basically, taking out the subplate arrests cortical development," says Patrick Kanold, a research fellow in neurobiology at HMS and lead author of the study. Kanold showed that neurons in the visual cortex with a...Grazer diversity counteracts plant diversity effects on ecosystem functioning in seagrass beds
...ass and total community diversity, and facilitated dominance of a grazing-resistant invertebrate. In parallel with previous plant results, however, grazer diversity enhanced grazer biomass production, an important determinant of fish yield in aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, ecosystem responses at high grazer di...Graduate student Kristine Preston wins competition for A. Brazier Howell Award
...lained that ecologists have been arguing about the dominance of 'top-down' vs. 'bottom-up,' that is, predators vs. food control of populations for years, but this is the first experiment to manipulate both simultaneously. "Given the contentious nature of these arguments, it's probably not surprising that Kris...New findings help explain the dynamics between the dominant and non-dominant arm
...that transfer in the opposite direction reflects a dominance of the right hemisphere (in right-handers) for some aspects of motor control, so both directions of transfer can be explained with a single model. Little is known about the involvement of the body's subcortical structures (such as the cerebellum, a...