Yearly Archives: 2007

Sleep Apnea Patients Have Greatly Increased Risk Of Severe Car Crashes:

People with obstructive sleep apnea have a markedly increased risk of severe motor vehicle crashes involving personal injury, according to a new study. The study of 800 people with sleep apnea and 800 without the nighttime breathing disorder found that patients with sleep apnea were twice as likely as people without sleep apnea to have a car crash, and three to five times as likely to have a serious crash involving personal injury. Overall, the sleep apnea group had a total of 250 crashes over three years, compared with 123 crashes in the group without sleep apnea.

How Rabies Spreads In A Raccoon Outbreak:

Analyzing 30 years of data detailing a large rabies virus outbreak among North American raccoons, researchers at Emory University have revealed how initial demographic, ecological and genetic processes simultaneously shaped the virus’s geographic spread over time.

Prehistoric Behavior And Ecology Of Northern Fur Seals Reconstructed:

A team of researchers has documented major changes in the behavior, ecology, and geographic range of the northern fur seal over the past 1,500 years using a combination of techniques from archaeology, biochemistry, and ecology. Among their findings is evidence of reproductive behavior in the past that is not seen in modern populations of northern fur seals.

Biologist Hopes Mosquito Can Break Viral Chain:

Most people do their best to avoid mosquitoes. But this summer Rollie Clem will play the wary host to his own homegrown swarm of Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito. He’s made a room ready for them, and even a menu.

Fused Nasal Bones Helped Tyrannosaurids Dismember Prey:

New evidence may help explain the brute strength of the tyrannosaurid, says a University of Alberta researcher whose finding demonstrates how a fused nasal bone helped turn the animal into a “zoological superweapon.”

Jet Lag, Circadian Clocks Explained:

Circadian clocks regulate the timing of biological functions in almost all higher organisms. Anyone who has flown through several time zones knows the jet lag that can result when this timing is disrupted. Now, new research by Cornell and Dartmouth scientists explains the biological mechanism behind how circadian clocks sense light through a process that transfers energy from light to chemical reactions in cells. Circadian clocks in cells respond to differences in light between night and day and thereby allow organisms to anticipate changes in the environment by pacing their metabolism to this daily cycle.

OK, one more little piece of the puzzle is in – it does not mean that everything is “explained” as the title suggests….
Bigger Is Smarter: Overall, Not Relative, Brain Size Predicts Intelligence:

When it comes to estimating the intelligence of various animal species, it may be as simple measuring overall brain size. In fact, making corrections for a species’ body size may be a mistake. The findings were reported by researchers at Grand Valley State University and the Anthropological Institute and Museum at the University of Zürich, Switzerland. “It’s long been known that species with larger body sizes generally have larger brains,” said Robert Deaner, assistant professor of psychology at Grand Valley and the first author on the study. “Scientists have generally assumed that this pattern occurs because larger animals require larger nervous systems to coordinate their larger bodies. But our results suggest a simpler reason: larger species are typically smarter.”

Afarensis has more….

Clock Gene Plays Role In Weight Gain, Study Finds:

Scientists at the University of Virginia and the Medical College of Wisconsin have discovered that a gene that participates in the regulation of the body’s biological rhythms may also be a major control in regulating metabolism. Their finding shows that mice lacking the gene Nocturnin, which is regulated by the circadian clock in the organs and tissues of mammals, are resistant to weight gain when put on a high fat diet and also are resistant to the accumulation of fat in the liver. This new understanding of weight gain could potentially lead to therapies for inhibiting obesity and for treating its effects on health.

Rare Soft-Shell Turtle, Nesting Ground Found In Cambodia:

One of the world’s largest and least studied freshwater turtles has been found in Cambodia’s Mekong River, raising hopes that the threatened species can be saved from extinction. Scientists from World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, the Cambodian Fisheries Administration, and the Cambodian Turtle Conservation Team captured and released a 24.2 pound female Cantor’s giant softshell turtle (Pelochelys cantorii) during a survey in March.

New Species Of Sea Anemone Found In Deepest Pacific:

Researchers cruising for creatures that live in the deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean found a new species of sea anemone living in the unlikeliest of habitats – the carcass of a dead whale.

Revealing The Origins Of Morality — Good And Evil, Liberal And Conservative:

How much money would it take to get you to stick a pin into your palm? How much to stick a pin into the palm of a child you don’t know? How much to slap a friend in the face (with his or her permission) as part of a comedy skit? Well, what about slapping you father (with his permission) as part of a skit? How you answer questions such as these may reveal something about your morality, and even your politics–conservatives, for example, tend to care more about issues of hierarchy and respect, while liberals concentrate on caring and fairness.

Scientists Discover New Life In Antarctic Deep Sea:

Scientists have found hundreds of new marine creatures in the vast, dark deep-sea surrounding Antarctica. Carnivorous sponges, free-swimming worms, crustaceans, and molluscs living in the Weddell Sea provide new insights into the evolution of ocean life.

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Reproductive Speed Protects Large Animals From Being Hunted To Extinction:

The slower their reproductive cycle, the higher the risk of extinction for large grazing animals such as deer and antelope that are hunted by humans.

Bites From Mosquitoes Not Infected With Malaria May Protect Against Future Infection:

A new study suggests that bites from mosquitoes not infected with malaria may trigger an immune response limiting parasite development following bites from infected mosquitoes.

Molecular Biologists Convert Protein Sequences Into Classical Music:

UCLA molecular biologists have turned protein sequences into original compositions of classical music.

Light Pulses Can Adjust The Brain’s Clock For A Longer Day, Sufficient For Adaptation To The 24.65 Hour Day Found On Mars:

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s (BWH) Division of Sleep Medicine and colleagues, have found that by giving individuals two 45 minute exposures to bright light pulses in the evening they could entrain (synchronize) a persons circadian system to function properly in days longer than the usual 24 hour light/dark cycle. The study was conducted for NASA’s National Space Biomedical Research Institute and the findings can be applied to the planned year-and-a-half visit to Mars, where the Martian day is 24.65 hours long. Without the ability to reset the internal clock to endure the longer day, an individual would feel as if they were in a perpetual state of jet lag.

Childhood Environment Influences Reproductive Function:

A study led by researchers at UCL (University College London) demonstrates that female reproductive function is influenced by childhood environment. This suggests there is a critical window of time from about 0-8 years of age that determines the rate at which girls physically mature and how high their reproductive hormone levels reach as adults.

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