Baby songbirds and human infants learn sounds in similar ways
...parallel between what they do and the way in which humans acquire the sounds of language." To learn to sing, a young male zebra finch (only the males sing) first has to hear and memorize the song of a nearby adult male. This begins to happen about 20 days after the bird hatches. By 35 days of age, he begin...Vaccinating wildlife can reduce human risk for Lyme disease
Direct field evidence shows that Lyme disease in humans can be prevented by vaccinating wildlife, research...ewer ticks carrying infection reduced the risk for humans getting Lyme disease from a tick bite. "Vaccinating wildlife increases our prevention options," s...Research points to new theory driving evolutionary changes
... subtle variations between people. In addition, in humans and in other animals, tandem repeat sequences are ...nsible for neurological development, an area where humans have evolved rapidly. "We have demonstrated that the tandem repeat sequences found in many genes a...In wake of Lyme disease vaccine for people, mice may be next in line for shots
... yards where wildlife treads. A vaccine for humans was developed to prevent Lyme disease, but has been withdrawn from the market due to complaints of potentially vaccine-caused arthritis. Reducing the deer population has proven difficult in many areas for practical and political reasons. Targ...Mutant gene linked to treatment-resistant depression
...ested that such a variant gene might also exist in humans and might be involved in mood and anxiety disorders, which often respond to serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) antidepressants that block the re-absorption of serotonin, enhancing its availability to neurons. In the current study, a...Europe's fishermen should have marine 'stewardship' role, says study
...management plan which recognises the importance of humans and their interaction with the marine environment, or ecosystem. The scientists, who are funded by the European Union, have produced the North Sea Fisheries Ecosystem Plan (FEP), which shows how an 'ecosystem approach' could be introduced to manage ...UCSB makes important advances in studies of retinal detachment
...elayed, suggesting that it should be successful in humans as well. In the January 2005 issue of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, the international team of scientists describes changes that occur in detached human retinas. In this study, Steven K. Fisher, professor of molecular, cellular and...Study in Royal Society journal on first evidence for magnetic field detection in sharks
...d The navigational feats of birds have fascinated humans for centuries. Much has now been discovered about the mechanisms birds use to navigate over unknown territory. How birds develop a map of their familiar environment however, remains unsolved. We investigated local navigation by homing pigeons, by u...Alcohol vulnerability linked to action of insulin
...termine susceptibility to alcohol. If confirmed in humans -- and the two species share about two-thirds of t...rlier research has demonstrated that the flies and humans display many of the same vulnerabilities and behavioral responses to alcohol. "This finding open...Research led by UGA professor reports first routine tool use by wild capuchin monkeys
...ols was considered an important difference between humans and other primates, but scientists some time ago discovered that chimpanzees in the wild use tools in several ways. "What we found is that these capuchins are extremely skilled weightlifters," said Fragaszy. "The video we took of them cracking stone...Researchers improve predictions of cloud formation for better global climate modeling
... formation accurately if we want to understand how humans are affecting climate." To address the lack of computer power and shortcomings of existing parameterization, Nenes and his research team have developed simple, physics-based equations that link aerosol particles and cloud droplets. Then these equati...Gene vaccine for Alzheimer's disease shows promising results
...When we get to human studies, we hope to show that humans can make human antibodies against the amyloid as well." Current treatments for Alzheimer's disease focus on the symptoms since no therapies have been clinically proven to slow or prevent progression of the disease. Amyloid protein deposits are prese...UT Southwestern researchers locate gene family involved in determining potential for acquiring lupus
...d analysis of these genes and their functions into humans with SLE, as well as individuals who may be at increased risk for developing the disease so they can be identified earlier. "The way the disease is treated now is through a broad spectrum of drug therapies that basically suppress the entire imm...Genes tied to abnormal immune response in mice with lupus
...of polymorphisms in the SLAM/CD2 cluster to SLE in humans is clearly warranted," says Dr. Wakeland....Loss of fruit fly retina protein delays blinding light damage
...the overall death of cells in the retina, which in humans is a light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. The research, reported in the Dec. 14 issue of Current Biology, overturns the long-standing belief that blindness from chronic light exposure is a direct result of overall retinal degeneration and c...Science's Breakthrough of the Year: Salty, acidic soup could have supported life on Mars
...e Indonesian island of Flores suggests that modern humans and these small "hominids" shared the Earth just 1...ight these fossils simply be the remains of modern humans with small heads due to a condition called "microcephaly"? The debate is sure to continue into 2005.......der collies--known for their herding skills--or by humans making noise. The third group of animals served as...o measure the responses. It was determined that humans and dogs were both effective in increasing the distance in the elk's flight response, but humans wer...UCSD bioinformatics researcher studies tumor genome architectures with career award
...earrangements that account for the different paths humans and rodents have taken since splitting off from a common ancestor roughly 87 million years ago. These rearrangements "happen in cancer naturally," Raphael notes, adding that "by studying the rearrangements we can identify genes that are important for...Solving the mechanism of Rett Syndrome
... Dlx5 gene in mice was highly suggestive, since in humans the DLX5 protein plays an important role in the synthesis of GABA, gamma-aminobutyric acid, an important neurotransmitter. The researchers sought similar effects in cells from Rett Syndrome patients, substituting cultured lymphoblasts (imm...Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology
...omising herpes vaccine may be ready for testing in humans say researchers from the National Institutes of He...7 among animals, their food supply and potentially humans say researchers from Kansas. Their findings appear in the December 2004 issue of the journal Applie...