Internet data-mining of natural history
...ncluding schoolchildren, in the collection of bird observation data. One project resulting from that effort, eBird, an online checklist program that allows bird enthusiasts to report bird sightings anytime over the Internet from anywhere in North America, received additional NSF funding last year. eBird now reac...Flies have morning and evening clocks
...stence of dual circadian clocks in the fly was the observation that flies have two activity peaks. "It was always intriguing that flies had two peaks of activity, in the morning and evening, with a siesta during the day and not very much activity at night," he said. "There are several ways to explain that, but o...Consuming fruits and vegetables lowers risk of developing NHL
...d with selenium and zinc, and confirmation of this observation by other researchers will be an important area of future research." Although specific links between individual antioxidants such as vitamins C and E were not found with NHL in this study, vegetables and fruits contain many oth...Three years of Proba, the 'smart' satellite that runs itself
...nd these developments is intended to support a Sun observation and plasma measurement mission. A new type of solar spectrometer combined with high spacecraft performance will provide for the first time, high-data rate imaging of the Sun....Latest buzz in research: Intoxicated honey bees may clue scientists into drunken human behavior
...l 50, 75 and 100 percent spent a majority of the observation period on their backs, unable to stand. This effec...pened early on, within the first 10 minutes of the observation period. They also spent almost no time grooming or flying. "These bees had lost postural control," M...Soaking up signal: Endocytosis controls spreading and effective signaling range of Fgf8 protein
...ectoderm tissue in living zebrafish embryos. Their observation of molecularly tagged Fgf8 protein by confocal microscopy serves as one of the first examples of direct visualization of the spread of signaling molecules in an intact animal. The researchers found that spreading of Fgf8 through target tissue is cont...Emory study details dolphin brain evolution for the first time
...ontocetes." Marino and her colleagues add that the observation that there is a single remaining human lineage "pruned down from a bushier tree" has led to a popular view that several species of highly encephalized animals cannot co-exist at the same time. "However, our results show that not only do multiple high...Molecular switch provides clues to remarkable adaptability of human pathogen
... human pathogen," explains Dr. Lory. Further, the observation that a number of genes with no known function are regulated by RetS in coordination with established virulence determinants suggests that these genes may code for previously undiscovered virulence factors. Andrew Goodman, Bridget Kulasekara, Arne ...New Royal Society journal studies
...es headed by a once-mated queen. Using behavioural observation and genetic method, we evaluated the fate of eggs by workers in colonies of a paper wasp. Our results showed that the workers produced eggs according to the theory while they also removed nestmate-workers' eggs contradicting the theory. Conflict over...Declining fish supply linked to wildlife consumption in West Africa, Science study reports
...nt. When a former vice president of Ghana made the observation that political and social discontent nearly always occurred in bad fishing years, Brashares considered other phenomena that could be linked to bad fishing years. "I wondered if I could uncover a signal linking fish supply to wildlife declines and th...Order of species loss has important biodiversity consequences, grassland study reveals
...e at Stanford University. After four years of observation to understand natural patterns of species loss, 70 research plots were planted with common annual grasses, rare summer-flowering forbs, and rare native bunch grasses. Plots reflected six levels of species diversity. Half of the plots were then invade...Ubiquitination in real-time: A world first at the Universit de Montral
... with therapeutic potential. The recent results on observation and monitoring of ubiquitination in real time, in living cells, will help to better target therapeutic molecules from which new medications might be produced....Invasive sea squirt alive and well on Georges Bank
.... Video and photo transects using the USGS seabed observation and sampling system (SEABOSS) documented the distribution of the tunicate colonies in water depths of 42 to 65 meters (138 to 213 feet). The cruise was conducted aboard the NOAA Ship Delaware II. Scientists will analyze data they collected on the cr...JCI table of contents, December 1 2004
...esent antigens from the cells that they kill. This observation offers new and unexpected insight into the direct interaction between NK cells and T cells and suggests an APC-like activating function for human NK cells. TITLE: Novel APC-like properties of human NK cells directly regulate T cell activation AUTHOR ...Purdue research offers hope for canine, human spinal injuries
...al cord with only a two-minute PEG treatment. This observation led to developing the polymer as a repair agent that would mend the broken membranes of nerve cells after traumatic injury. Though PEG's action as a fusogen has been known prior to their work, the exact mechanism that occurs at the membra...Laser scalpel opens way for nerve regeneration studies in worms
...lity to move the muscle served by the neuron. This observation indicated that the regrowth of the nerve caused functional changes. Among the immediate questions raised by the new experiments is how the nerves regrow after cutting, said Jin. "We see that the proximal end, nearest the cell body, appears to beg...Desires for fatty foods and alcohol share a chemical trigger
...maintained normal eating and drinking habits. This observation helps confirm the conclusion that galanin affects alcohol consumption and also suggests the possibility of someday creating a drug that blocks galanin in order to fight alcoholism. However, Hoebel noted that such an achievement would be a long way of...JCI table of contents, 3 January 2005
...sive accumulation of triglycerides, the surprising observation that their adipose tissue mass and lipid content in their fat cells remains normal has intrigued researchers. In the January 3 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Rudolph Zechner and colleagues from the University of Graz, Austria, report...Reduced calorie and carbohydrate diet slows progression of Alzheimer's disease in mouse model
...nvestigation provides a possible rational for this observation and possible mechanisms through which caloric reduction may provide protection in Alzheimer's disease." Ongoing studies are investigating whether or not the prevention of plaque development in these mice also prevents behavioral decline and clinica...Study in Royal Society journal on sense of fairness in chimpanzees
...tterswijk Scanning electron microscopy allows for observation of biological samples at very high magnification with high resolution. Until now the chemical analytical properties of the electron microscope were limited to the analysis of single atoms in a sample of interest. We combined a custom-made high resolu...