Bird brains show how trial and error may contribute to learning
The adult male zebra finch knows only one scratchy tune learned in its youth, which it performs repeatedly... stimulating the LMAN had an immediate impact. The tune and rhythm of the basic song did not change, but a tiny burst of electricity would show up a few not...Singers (and parents) take note: Worst songbird rehearsals precede best debuts
...through practice, develop their own version of the tune by comparing their vocalizations to a memory template of the song that they "hear in their heads." Interestingly, researchers have previously found that zebra finch brain neurons involved in vocal learning display patterns of activity while the birds...Researchers call for expanding the repertoire in studying birdsong
... the burgeoning field to begin singing a different tune and study a wider variety of species. Michael Beecher and Eliot Brenowitz, University of Washington professors of psychology and biology, say that while a great deal of knowledge has been gleaned by studying songbirds over the past three decades, a ...Depression gene may weaken mood-regulating circuit
... 'Are the violin and the clarinet playing the same tune and to what extent might this gene account for it?'" In this case, it turned out that the amygdala, a fear processing hub deep in the brain and the cingulate, an emotion-dampening center located near the front of the brain, were playing a duet under ...For young canaries learning their song, freedom in youth gives way to rules in adulthood
...imitate, practice, and in time are able to chirp a tune characteristic of their species that will help attract a mate. Now Rockefeller University scientists have found that young canaries can learn to accurately imitate a computer-generated song that sounds nothing like a canary. But as the birds mature, ...MicroRNA tweaks protein that controls early heart development
...led microRNA a chemical cousin of DNA helps fine tune the production of a key protein involved in the early development of heart muscle. The findings, available in the online edition of the journal Nature, may aid scientists in their understanding of how a progenitor cell, or stem cell, decides to beco...Grasshopper love songs give insight into sensory tuning
...t. A major question in neurobiology is how neurons tune the strength of their interconnections to optimally respond to such inputs. Neuronal circuitry consists of a web of neurons, each triggering others by launching bursts of neurotransmitters at targets on receiving neurons to produce nerve impulses in ...Corn grain mould used as pesticide
...e BMZ) is supporting the project until 2006 to the tune of a total of 1.2 million euros. The researchers have made an important advance: "We have examined 3,000 isolates in all and have come across several promising strains," Sebastian Kiewnick states. "Now we'll soon be conducting the first field trials....University of Oregon scientists reveal how coral reefs got the blues
...scent proteins. "Understanding how these organisms tune their coloration to meet specific biological requirements will lead to new tools for molecular and cell biology research," Remington said. Remington's latest research on the cyan protein (known scientifically as amFP486) is part of a large project u...University of Kentucky awarded $6 million for GDNF and related research
...otential negative effects of GDNF, and how to fine tune dosing and administration techniques to make the therapy a safer and more viable alternative. The $6 million funding from NIH represents a vote of confidence for the UK Udall Center and its work to date on GDNF and related molecules. At the end of t...Multiple genes permit closely related fish species to mix and match their color vision
...nsitivity. The researchers showed that in order to tune its color vision, each cichlid species primarily expresses three of the seven cone pigment genes encoded by their genomes. It is not clear why such closely related cichlid species have evolved such different visual sensitivities, but the sensitivitie...Color perception is not in the eye of the beholder: It's in the brain
...ried retinal structure. Each subject was asked to tune the color of a disk of light to produce a pure yellow light that was neither reddish yellow nor greenish yellow. Everyone selected nearly the same wavelength of yellow, showing an obvious consensus over what color they perceived yellow to be. Once Wi...PET imaging reveals the immune system at work
...e results of experiments that enabled the group to tune in to the cellular battles waged by the immune system deep in the body. Using positron emission tomography or PET, Witte and his colleagues were able to observe key cells of the immune system as they responded to tumors in mice. "We know we can use ...Sperm stem cells closer to being like embryonic stem cells
...nd physiology studies, and its behavior is more in tune with that of humans in many cases. It's also important to be able to produce pluripotent rat cells, because we would then have another animal model to test stem cell-based therapies, such as correcting diabetes." One of the next steps is to determine...Tropical dry forests receive international recognition
...Change Research has just funded the network to the tune of US$2.7 million for the U of A and all the contributing Latin American partners. The U of A will receive $1.1 million of the grant. TROPI-DRY members come from the United States, Cuba, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada. "T...The closest look ever at the cell's machines
...may only need to produce few parts to switch on or tune the machine. On the other hand, if something shouldn't happen, it may only need to block the production of a few molecules. Patrick Aloy and Rob Russell at EMBL used sophisticated computer techniques to reveal the modular organisation of these cellul...Miniature synchrotron produces first light
...totype after Lyncean scientists finish their final tune up. Describing the business prospects, Ruth commented, "Our biggest surprise at Lyncean has not been technical; it has been the international demand for the CLS. There has been a flood of interest, and several institutes world wide are already plan...New groundbreaking findings in taste, smell and chemical irritation
...tified. Obesity's vicious cycle: High fat diets tune down your taste bud's fat sensors -- Eating a high fat diet leads to a peripheral insensitivity to fats both in terms of expression of fat receptors and how taste cells respond to fats. This insensitivity to fats leads to a greater intake of fat in ...'Uniquely human' component of language found in gregarious birds
...micry. One starling famously copied an unpublished tune that Mozart whistled in a pet store; the composer purchased the bird and kept it as a pet. The starling is mentioned only once in all of Shakespeare, but in that passage an angry warrior, forbidden by the King to speak of a rival, Mortimer, decides h...