News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...the binaural frequencyand times of the echoes into spatial location,thus directing a flight plan. Ghoseand Moss examined such sensorimotorintegration in the big brown bat, Eptesicusfuscus . Infrared cameras and microphonestracked a bat in a dark, empty room as itlocated and retrieved a suspended mealworm.Th...MNI researchers find that sense of smell is dependent on body position
...gatively affects other senses, such as hearing and spatial perception. "This was an important finding for us, as many of our studies involve test subjects lying in an imaging machine such as MRI or PET (positron emission tomography) scanners. If perceptual ratings differ depending on whether the subject is ...Airborne and satellite radars record Frascati grape harvest
...f nearby Ciampino Airport. The E-SAR has a maximum spatial resolution of four metres and operates at five different radar signal wavelengths with selectable polarisations, a means of increasing signal sensitivity to different environmental variables. Such a performance is superior to the current generation o...Patterns in genome organization may partially explain how microbial cells work
...e signal-processing methods to identify long-range spatial patterns in the arrangement of most sequenced microbial genomes. They related the degree of organization in each genome they studied to various characteristics specific to each species. "Bacterial chromosomes may have something like ZIP codes that fi...Cracking the genetic code for control of gene expression
...ent that genes are expressed in tightly controlled spatial and temporal patterns but we do not know the code by which the expression is regulated. In this post-genomic era, the next big goal is to decipher the genetic code of regulation of gene expression. At the University of Helsinki the researchers have b...Losing sleep undoes the rejuvenating effects new learning has on the brain
... getting less sleep. But sleep deprivation impairs spatial learning -- including remembering how to get to a ...beginning to understand how that happens: Learning spatial tasks increases the production of new cells in an area of the brain involved with spatial memory cal...Chemical signaling helps regulate sensory map formation in the brain
...t connections in a way that can consistently relay spatial information. In the January 5, 2006, issue of the ...ed pattern of nerve connections required to convey spatial information in the correct order from the eye to the brain. "This is the first biological validation...Researchers explain why badger culling fails to control cattle TB
...sess the impact of culling on badger behaviour and spatial organisation. The study was based on 13 of the 30 trial areas enrolled in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, including Devon, Cornwall, Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Somerset. By placing bait (peanuts mixed with treacle) containing c...Men and women differ in brain use during same tasks
...s who performed memory tasks, verbal tasks, visual spatial tasks and simple motor tasks while their brain activity was monitored with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) technology. "The results jumped out at us," said Emily Bell, a U of A PhD student in psychiatry and lead author of the paper "Some...Study links progressive aphasia syndrome to prion gene
...nges, such as problems with memory, reasoning, and spatial abilities. While PPA sometimes runs in families, it has never before been linked to variations in a specific gene. Unlike the abnormal disease-causing prions linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and other so-called "prion diseases", the normal...Dragon over water: Envisat monitors China's largest lake, rivers flooding
...ound mission. GMM images have a comparatively low spatial resolution of one kilometre, but with a swath of 400 kilometres they have very wide coverage and a frequent revisit time, useful for tracking dynamic features. Up until now GMM has mainly been utilised for monitoring icebergs but Strasbourg-based ra...Gene controls whether fear is a factor
...depleted of stathmin perform normally in a test of spatial learning. Fear reactions represent a spectrum of b... normally on a water maze test, an indication that spatial learning and memory--controlled outside of the amygdala--were unaltered. "The findings provide genet...Brain memory area modifies its 'wiring diagram' during the female cycle
...ased estrogen may facilitate processing of complex spatial environments to enhance reproductive success, for example, selecting a mate or, as a mother, finding food, water and shelter while avoiding predators. "Beyond the findings relative to estrogen, and its regulation of female cognition, the results of ...Team led by Carnegie Mellon University scientist finds first evidence of a living memory trace
...on and inhibition within glomeruli. He retrieved a spatial pattern of synchronized, correlated activity the memory trace from what appeared to be random fluctuations of neural activity. "The trace is like a fingerprint that disappears over time. It's strongest after the honeybee's initial exposure to an od......es of this complex disorder, including deficits in spatial learning, attention, and motor coordination. Studies of these mutant mice showed that the learning deficits are caused by the overactivity of a molecule called Ras, causing an imbalance between signals that activate brain cells and those that inhibit...Recreating 'Flowers for Algernon' with a happy ending
...l mice. Second, he trained the mice to memorize spatial clues in order to navigate a water maze and swim to a platform. The normal animals learned to find the platform in seven days; the NF1 mice took 10. After receiving statins, the NF1 mice outraced the normal mice. Third, Lee tested coordination...Study uses stream fish as indicators of water quality
...nding region," said Hitt. The researchers will use spatial analysis techniques to explore different scenarios of fish movement....RIT partners with leader in remote sensing to enhance homeland security
...chnology and expertise, which leverage image-based spatial data. The workflows and case studies developed using the Leica Geosystems products in class settings, demonstrations and projects will provide new research and development in the field and prepare the nation's next generation of imaging scientists....Study sheds light on signaling mechanism in stem cells, cancer
...cting development of the early embryo's growth and spatial plan, as well as its later organ and limb development. Defects in Hedgehog signaling are a significant cause of some birth defects and cancers. Secreted from one cell, a Hedgehog signal shoots to the surface receptor of a second cell, and then, in a ...Study provides insight into cellular defenses against genetic mutation
...5-prime end) of an exon-exon junction. If these spatial requirements are met, CBP80 interacts with human up-frameshift proteins, factors that come together at exon-exon junction complexes to drive NMD review. The three up-frameshift proteins work together to trigger decay once an early nonsense codon is d...