Systematics at a Crossroads: Biological and Philosophical Arguments
...those accordingly. Systematists have traditionally sought a philosophical foundation for their sometimes controversial methods. Speakers: Robert D. Martin (Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, The Field Museum): Welcome Maureen Kearney (The Field Museum): "The influence of philosophy in shap...The roots of human behavior? AAAS and The Hastings Center host a public meeting
...researchers in the United States and Great Britain sought inherited causes for all sorts of human characteristics, from a supposed propensity toward becoming naval officers (supposedly a genetic trait called thalassophilia, for "love of the sea."), to qualities like "pauperism" and "feeblemindedness." Alon...University of Georgia scientists plot key events in plants' evolution
...evolution more than 150 years ago, scientists have sought to better understand when and how the vast variety of plants today diverged from common ancestors. A new University of Georgia study, just published in Nature, demonstrates key events in plant evolution. It allows scientists to infer what the gene ...New research tool allows perimenopausal women to assess their ovulation status
...ng occurs. A New Study A team of physiologists sought to identify in a prospective fashion the characteristics of a presumably ovulatory menstrual cycle that would appear to be most robust, and to incorporate them into a step-by-step process to assess ovarian function in SWAN's sample of women. They ex...Termites repelled by catnip oil
...xicity. New, more eco-friendly compounds are being sought to fill the void. The search for new termiticidal products is active. "The USDA Forest Service routinely tests about three new termite formulations for effectiveness every year, with a new active ingredient tested about once in every two years," sai...Dinosaur, crab fossils reveal ecosystem secrets
...ed to describe a crab, Smith wanted to clarify and sought geologist Carrie E. Schweitzer, Ph.D., of the Kent State University Department of Geology. "As far as we can tell from the literature, this is the first confirmed notice of a crab associated with a dinosaur," said Schweitzer, who is the lead author o...First molecule discovered that directs nerve cells to connect with each other
...ent, the researchers say. Such molecules have been sought for decades, but this is the first discovered in a... laboratory. For almost a century, scientists have sought to identify what triggers synapse formation during development. A number of studies have suggested c...Bacterial infections alter allergic response
...d observational. The National Jewish research team sought more direct evidence using a mouse model of asthma and the bacterium M. pneumoniae, a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia. In their study, Martin and his colleagues inoculated mice with either the bacterium or with a saline solution. Then al...Squirrels' evolutionary 'family tree' reveals major influence of climate, geology
...ight be degraded or contaminated, Mercer said they sought "multiple samples wherever possible from different collectors from different museums." They also ruled out contamination from sources other than squirrels by comparing their DNA data with that available in established genetic data bases. "We worked h...Bt toxins found to kill parasitic roundworms
...f California BioSTAR program. The UCSD biologists sought to investigate the potential for Bt toxins--which attack and dissolve the intestines of their insect hosts--as an anti-roundworm agent after determining that a specific Bt crystal protein they were studying, Cry5B, destroyed the intestines of the com...Brain imaging study sheds light on inner workings of human intelligence
... important aspect of human intelligence. The study sought to better understand the process through which the mind reasons and solves novel problems, an ability known among psychologists as fluid intelligence. The results may help researchers to understand the neural basis of individual differences in cognit...New study sheds light on the responses to diuretics
... A joint effort by Korean and American researchers sought to explain the molecular basis of the adaptive mechanisms in long-term use of diuretics. They believed that a secondary increase in distal delivery of sodium may induce compensatory changes in the abundance of sodium transporters downstream from the ...Cell density determines extent of damage caused by cigarette smoke exposure
...cess is undetermined. The Study A new study has sought to determine whether the effects of cigarette smoke on the contraction of fibroblast-populated collagen gels is dependent on cell density. This research attempted to demonstrate density-dependent effects, and explore the mechanisms by which smoke ex...Taste receptor cells share common pathway
..."This was a particularly important experiment that sought to investigate another hypothesis in the taste receptor field -- that taste receptor cells are broadly tuned to all three tastes," said Zuker. "However, we reasoned that this didn't make sense, since we had found a complete non-overlap in the express...Invading weeds escaped old enemies, brought immunity
...w lands. Both the plant study and the animal study sought data for two long-standing and much-debated theories, explains Power, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who also serves as dean of the Cornell University Graduate School. "The enemy-release hypothesis argues that invaders' success resul...JCI table of contents, January 15 2003
...one of its promoters,Andrew Hoffman and colleagues sought to methylate this specific promoterregion in the hope of decreasing IGF2 levels and ultimately inhibiting tumorgrowth. As they report (pages 265-273), treatment with a methylatedoligonucleotide that is complementary to the human IGF2 P4 promoter indu...Researchers discover how embryo attaches to the uterus
... developed by Dr. Foulk, the UCSF researchers then sought to determine how long after implantation the trophoblast retains its covering of L-selectin. To learn this, they exposed isolated trophoblasts to carbohydrate-covered beads under conditions resembling those found inside the uterus. The researchers ...Researchers discover novel function of gene often associated with cancer
...f the gene has remained unclear. "In our study, we sought to determine the role of BLM in DNA repair," Sekelsky said. "We conducted our experiments in Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly, due to the ease of manipulating the animals genetically. "We found that the Drosophila BLM gene has a specific functi...Molecule helps pupils respond to light
...tem, in the latest research Yau and his colleagues sought to demonstrate that the molecule is indeed required for the light-sensing ability of this system and that the system has a true physiological function. They first developed a knockout mouse in which they completely replaced the melanopsin gene with a...A new study sheds light on how the tongue restores its ability to taste following surgery
...arative Physiology. Methodology The researchers sought to determine the period of vulnerability of CT function to dietary sodium restriction following nerve sectioning. Their first goal was to define the onset of the "sensitive period" for the regenerated and intact CT nerves by systematically varying ...