Category Archives: Science News

New Approach Sheds Light On Ways Circadian Disruption Affects Human Health:

Growing evidence indicates that exposure to irregular patterns of light and darkness can cause the human circadian system to fall out of synchrony with the 24-hour solar day, negatively affecting human health — but scientists have been unable to effectively study the relationship between circadian disruptions and human maladies.

Frogs With Disease-resistance Genes May Escape Extinction:

As frog populations die off around the world, researchers have identified certain genes that can help the amphibians develop resistance to harmful bacteria and disease. The discovery may provide new strategies to protect frog populations in the wild.

Men And Women May Need Different Diets:

Diet can strongly influence how long you live and your reproductive success, but now scientists have discovered that what works for males can be very different for females.

Gene That Regulates And Blocks Ovulation Discovered:

A group of Canadian and European researchers have unlocked the mystery of a gene with the potential to both regulate and block ovulation. The new study is a collaboration between the Université de Montréal in Canada and the Institut de génetique et biologie moléculaire et cellulaire of the Université de Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France.

From Humming Fish To Puccini: Vocal Communication Evolved With Ancient Species:

It’s a long way from the dull hums of the amorous midshipman fish to the strains of a Puccini aria — or, alas, even to the simplest Celine Dion melody. But the neural circuitry that led to the human love song — not to mention birdsongs, frog thrums and mating calls of all manner of vertebrates — was likely laid down hundreds of millions of years ago with the hums and grunts of the homely piscine.

Should We Move Species To Save Them From Climate Change?:

Many species must move to new areas to survive climate change. Often, this seems impossible. Species stranded on mountain tops in southern Europe that are becoming too hot for them, for instance, are unlikely to be able to reach northern Europe unaided. So should humans step in to help?

Fragile Antarctic Marine Life Pounded By Icebergs: Biodiversity Suffering:

Antarctic worms, sea spiders, urchins and other marine creatures living in near-shore shallow habitats are regularly pounded by icebergs. New data suggests this environment along the Antarctic Peninsula is going to get hit more frequently. This is due to an increase in the number of icebergs scouring the seabed as a result of shrinking winter sea ice.

Glimpses Of Earliest Forms Of Life On Earth: Remnant Of Ancient ‘RNA World’ Discovered:

Some bacterial cells can swim, morph into new forms and even become dangerously virulent – all without initial involvement of DNA. Yale University researchers describe July 18 in the journal Science how bacteria accomplish this amazing feat – and in doing so provide a glimpse of what the earliest forms of life on Earth may have looked like.

Birds Have A Good Sense Of Smell:

Sight and hearing are the most important senses for birds – this is at least the received wisdom. By studying bird DNA, however, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, along with a colleague at the Cawthron Institute in New Zealand, have now provided genetic evidence that many bird species have a well-developed sense of smell (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 16.07.2008).

Europe’s Ancestors: Cro-Magnon 28,000 Years Old Had DNA Like Modern Humans:

Some 40,000 years ago, Cro-Magnons — the first people who had a skeleton that looked anatomically modern — entered Europe, coming from Africa. A group of geneticists, coordinated by Guido Barbujani and David Caramelli of the Universities of Ferrara and Florence, shows that a Cro-Magnoid individual who lived in Southern Italy 28,000 years ago was a modern European, genetically as well as anatomically.

Corporations Can Profit From Being Environmentally Friendly:

Though many policymakers have argued that environmental regulations can negatively impact on an organization’s bottom line, a new study by George Mason University researcher Nicole Darnall shows that companies that develop green production processes can not only offset the costs of regulations, but can also reap further benefits.

Wasps And Bumble Bees Heat Up, Fly Faster With Protein-rich Food:

Good pollen makes bees hot, biologists at UC San Diego have found. Wasps warm up too when they find protein-rich meat, a separate experiment has shown.

Over 100 Species Of Bats Found Within Several Acres Of Rainforest In Ecuador:

Bats are a remarkable evolutionary success story representing the second largest group of mammals, outnumbered only by rodents in number of species. Now, researchers of the Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin (Germany) and Boston University (U.S.A.) have discovered the place that harbours the highest number of bat species ever recorded. In a few ha* of rainforest in the Amazon basin of eastern Ecuador, the authors have found more than 100 species of bats.

There are 74 new articles in PLoS ONE today. Browse for your own choices – these are mine:
A 28,000 Years Old Cro-Magnon mtDNA Sequence Differs from All Potentially Contaminating Modern Sequences:

DNA sequences from ancient speciments may in fact result from undetected contamination of the ancient specimens by modern DNA, and the problem is particularly challenging in studies of human fossils. Doubts on the authenticity of the available sequences have so far hampered genetic comparisons between anatomically archaic (Neandertal) and early modern (Cro-Magnoid) Europeans. We typed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable region I in a 28,000 years old Cro-Magnoid individual from the Paglicci cave, in Italy (Paglicci 23) and in all the people who had contact with the sample since its discovery in 2003. The Paglicci 23 sequence, determined through the analysis of 152 clones, is the Cambridge reference sequence, and cannot possibly reflect contamination because it differs from all potentially contaminating modern sequences. The Paglicci 23 individual carried a mtDNA sequence that is still common in Europe, and which radically differs from those of the almost contemporary Neandertals, demonstrating a genealogical continuity across 28,000 years, from Cro-Magnoid to modern Europeans. Because all potential sources of modern DNA contamination are known, the Paglicci 23 sample will offer a unique opportunity to get insight for the first time into the nuclear genes of early modern Europeans.

Potential Effects of Oilseed Rape Expressing Oryzacystatin-1 (OC-1) and of Purified Insecticidal Proteins on Larvae of the Solitary Bee Osmia bicornis:

Despite their importance as pollinators in crops and wild plants, solitary bees have not previously been included in non-target testing of insect-resistant transgenic crop plants. Larvae of many solitary bees feed almost exclusively on pollen and thus could be highly exposed to transgene products expressed in the pollen. The potential effects of pollen from oilseed rape expressing the cysteine protease inhibitor oryzacystatin-1 (OC-1) were investigated on larvae of the solitary bee Osmia bicornis ( = O. rufa). Furthermore, recombinant OC-1 (rOC-1), the Bt toxin Cry1Ab and the snowdrop lectin Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA) were evaluated for effects on the life history parameters of this important pollinator. Pollen provisions from transgenic OC-1 oilseed rape did not affect overall development. Similarly, high doses of rOC-1 and Cry1Ab as well as a low dose of GNA failed to cause any significant effects. However, a high dose of GNA (0.1%) in the larval diet resulted in significantly increased development time and reduced efficiency in conversion of pollen food into larval body weight. Our results suggest that OC-1 and Cry1Ab expressing transgenic crops would pose a negligible risk for O. bicornis larvae, whereas GNA expressing plants could cause detrimental effects, but only if bees were exposed to high levels of the protein. The described bioassay with bee brood is not only suitable for early tier non-target tests of transgenic plants, but also has broader applicability to other crop protection products.

Molecular Characterization of the Gastrula in the Turtle Emys orbicularis: An Evolutionary Perspective on Gastrulation:

Due to the presence of a blastopore as in amphibians, the turtle has been suggested to exemplify a transition form from an amphibian- to an avian-type gastrulation pattern. In order to test this hypothesis and gain insight into the emergence of the unique characteristics of amniotes during gastrulation, we have performed the first molecular characterization of the gastrula in a reptile, the turtle Emys orbicularis. The study of Brachyury, Lim1, Otx2 and Otx5 expression patterns points to a highly conserved dynamic of expression with amniote model organisms and makes it possible to identify the site of mesoderm internalization, which is a long-standing issue in reptiles. Analysis of Brachyury expression also highlights the presence of two distinct phases, less easily recognizable in model organisms and respectively characterized by an early ring-shaped and a later bilateral symmetrical territory. Systematic comparisons with tetrapod model organisms lead to new insights into the relationships of the blastopore/blastoporal plate system shared by all reptiles, with the blastopore of amphibians and the primitive streak of birds and mammals. The biphasic Brachyury expression pattern is also consistent with recent models of emergence of bilateral symmetry, which raises the question of its evolutionary significance.

Female Dominance over Males in Primates: Self-Organisation and Sexual Dimorphism:

The processes that underlie the formation of the dominance hierarchy in a group are since long under debate. Models of self-organisation suggest that dominance hierarchies develop by the self-reinforcing effects of winning and losing fights (the so-called winner-loser effect), but according to ‘the prior attribute hypothesis’, dominance hierarchies develop from pre-existing individual differences, such as in body mass. In the present paper, we investigate the relevance of each of these two theories for the degree of female dominance over males. We investigate this in a correlative study in which we compare female dominance between groups of 22 species throughout the primate order. In our study female dominance may range from 0 (no female dominance) to 1 (complete female dominance). As regards ‘the prior attribute hypothesis’, we expected a negative correlation between female dominance over males and species-specific sexual dimorphism in body mass. However, to our surprise we found none (we use the method of independent contrasts). Instead, we confirm the self-organisation hypothesis: our model based on the winner-loser effect predicts that female dominance over males increases with the percentage of males in the group. We confirm this pattern at several levels in empirical data (among groups of a single species and between species of the same genus and of different ones). Since the winner-loser effect has been shown to work in many taxa including humans, these results may have broad implications.

Diversity and Evolution of Coral Fluorescent Proteins:

GFP-like fluorescent proteins (FPs) are the key color determinants in reef-building corals (class Anthozoa, order Scleractinia) and are of considerable interest as potential genetically encoded fluorescent labels. Here we report 40 additional members of the GFP family from corals. There are three major paralogous lineages of coral FPs. One of them is retained in all sampled coral families and is responsible for the non-fluorescent purple-blue color, while each of the other two evolved a full complement of typical coral fluorescent colors (cyan, green, and red) and underwent sorting between coral groups. Among the newly cloned proteins are a “chromo-red” color type from Echinopora forskaliana (family Faviidae) and pink chromoprotein from Stylophora pistillata (Pocilloporidae), both evolving independently from the rest of coral chromoproteins. There are several cyan FPs that possess a novel kind of excitation spectrum indicating a neutral chromophore ground state, for which the residue E167 is responsible (numeration according to GFP from A. victoria). The chromoprotein from Acropora millepora is an unusual blue instead of purple, which is due to two mutations: S64C and S183T. We applied a novel probabilistic sampling approach to recreate the common ancestor of all coral FPs as well as the more derived common ancestor of three main fluorescent colors of the Faviina suborder. Both proteins were green such as found elsewhere outside class Anthozoa. Interestingly, a substantial fraction of the all-coral ancestral protein had a chromohore apparently locked in a non-fluorescent neutral state, which may reflect the transitional stage that enabled rapid color diversification early in the history of coral FPs. Our results highlight the extent of convergent or parallel evolution of the color diversity in corals, provide the foundation for experimental studies of evolutionary processes that led to color diversification, and enable a comparative analysis of structural determinants of different colors.

Does Sex-Selective Predation Stabilize or Destabilize Predator-Prey Dynamics?:

Little is known about the impact of prey sexual dimorphism on predator-prey dynamics and the impact of sex-selective harvesting and trophy hunting on long-term stability of exploited populations. We review the quantitative evidence for sex-selective predation and study its long-term consequences using several simple predator-prey models. These models can be also interpreted in terms of feedback between harvesting effort and population size of the harvested species under open-access exploitation. Among the 81 predator-prey pairs found in the literature, male bias in predation is 2.3 times as common as female bias. We show that long-term effects of sex-selective predation depend on the interplay of predation bias and prey mating system. Predation on the ‘less limiting’ prey sex can yield a stable predator-prey equilibrium, while predation on the other sex usually destabilizes the dynamics and promotes population collapses. For prey mating systems that we consider, males are less limiting except for polyandry and polyandrogyny, and male-biased predation alone on such prey can stabilize otherwise unstable dynamics. On the contrary, our results suggest that female-biased predation on polygynous, polygynandrous or monogamous prey requires other stabilizing mechanisms to persist. Our modelling results suggest that the observed skew towards male-biased predation might reflect, in addition to sexual selection, the evolutionary history of predator-prey interactions. More focus on these phenomena can yield additional and interesting insights as to which mechanisms maintain the persistence of predator-prey pairs over ecological and evolutionary timescales. Our results can also have implications for long-term sustainability of harvesting and trophy hunting of sexually dimorphic species.

Influenza Virus in Human Exhaled Breath: An Observational Study:

Recent studies suggest that humans exhale fine particles during tidal breathing but little is known of their composition, particularly during infection. We conducted a study of influenza infected patients to characterize influenza virus and particle concentrations in their exhaled breath. Patients presenting with influenza-like-illness, confirmed influenza A or B virus by rapid test, and onset within 3 days were recruited at three clinics in Hong Kong, China. We collected exhaled breath from each subject onto Teflon filters and measured exhaled particle concentrations using an optical particle counter. Filters were analyzed for influenza A and B viruses by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Twelve out of thirteen rapid test positive patients provided exhaled breath filter samples (7 subjects infected with influenza B virus and 5 subjects infected with influenza A virus). We detected influenza virus RNA in the exhaled breath of 4 (33%) subjects-three (60%) of the five patients infected with influenza A virus and one (14%) of the seven infected with influenza B virus. Exhaled influenza virus RNA generation rates ranged from <3.2 to 20 influenza virus RNA particles per minute. Over 87% of particles exhaled were under 1 µm in diameter. These findings regarding influenza virus RNA suggest that influenza virus may be contained in fine particles generated during tidal breathing, and add to the body of literature suggesting that fine particle aerosols may play a role in influenza transmission.

Major Histocompatibility Complex Based Resistance to a Common Bacterial Pathogen of Amphibians:

Given their well-developed systems of innate and adaptive immunity, global population declines of amphibians are particularly perplexing. To investigate the role of the major histocompatibilty complex (MHC) in conferring pathogen resistance, we challenged Xenopus laevis tadpoles bearing different combinations of four MHC haplotypes (f, g, j, and r) with the bacterial pathogen Aeromonas hydrophila in two experiments. In the first, we exposed ff, fg, gg, gj, and jj tadpoles, obtained from breeding MHC homozygous parents, to one of three doses of A. hydrophila or heat-killed bacteria as a control. In the second, we exposed ff, fg, fr, gg, rg, and rr tadpoles, obtained from breeding MHC heterozygous parents and subsequently genotyped by PCR, to A. hydrophila, heat-killed bacteria or media alone as controls. We thereby determined whether the same patterns of MHC resistance emerged within as among families, independent of non-MHC heritable differences. Tadpoles with r or g MHC haplotypes were more likely to die than were those with f or j haplotypes. Growth rates varied among MHC types, independent of exposure dose. Heterozygous individuals with both susceptible and resistant haplotypes were intermediate to either homozygous genotype in both size and survival. The effect of the MHC on growth and survival was consistent between experiments and across families. MHC alleles differentially confer resistance to, or tolerance of, the bacterial pathogen, which affects tadpoles’ growth and survival.

Evaluating the Influence of Epidemiological Parameters and Host Ecology on the Spread of Phocine Distemper Virus through Populations of Harbour Seals:

Outbreaks of phocine distemper virus (PDV) in Europe during 1988 and 2002 were responsible for the death of around 23,000 and 30,000 harbour seals, respectively. These epidemics, particularly the one in 2002, provided an unusual opportunity to estimate epidemic parameters for a wildlife disease. There were marked regional differences in the values of some parameters both within and between epidemics. We used an individual-based model of seal movement that allowed us to incorporate realistic representations of space, time and animal behaviour into a traditional epidemiological modelling framework. We explored the potential influence of a range of ecological (foraging trip duration, time of epidemic onset, population size) and epidemiological (length of infectious period, contact rate between infectious and susceptible individuals, case mortality) parameters on four readily-measurable epidemic characteristics (number of dead individuals, duration of epidemic, peak mortality date and prevalence) and on the probability that an epidemic would occur in a particular region. We analysed the outputs as if they were the results of a series of virtual experiments, using Generalised Linear Modelling. All six variables had a significant effect on the probability that an epidemic would be recognised as an unusual mortality event by human observers. Regional and temporal variation in contact rate was the most likely cause of the observed differences between the two epidemics. This variation could be a consequence of differences in the way individuals divide their time between land and sea at different times of the year.

Seventeen New Complete mtDNA Sequences Reveal Extensive Mitochondrial Genome Evolution within the Demospongiae:

Two major transitions in animal evolution-the origins of multicellularity and bilaterality-correlate with major changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) organization. Demosponges, the largest class in the phylum Porifera, underwent only the first of these transitions and their mitochondrial genomes display a peculiar combination of ancestral and animal-specific features. To get an insight into the evolution of mitochondrial genomes within the Demospongiae, we determined 17 new mtDNA sequences from this group and analyzing them with five previously published sequences. Our analysis revealed that all demosponge mtDNAs are 16- to 25-kbp circular molecules, containing 13-15 protein genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 2-27 tRNA genes. All but four pairs of sampled genomes had unique gene orders, with the number of shared gene boundaries ranging from 1 to 41. Although most demosponge species displayed low rates of mitochondrial sequence evolution, a significant acceleration in evolutionary rates occurred in the G1 group (orders Dendroceratida, Dictyoceratida, and Verticillitida). Large variation in mtDNA organization was also observed within the G0 group (order Homosclerophorida) including gene rearrangements, loss of tRNA genes, and the presence of two introns in Plakortis angulospiculatus. While introns are rare in modern-day demosponge mtDNA, we inferred that at least one intron was present in cox1 of the common ancestor of all demosponges. Our study uncovered an extensive mitochondrial genomic diversity within the Demospongiae. Although all sampled mitochondrial genomes retained some ancestral features, including a minimally modified genetic code, conserved structures of tRNA genes, and presence of multiple non-coding regions, they vary considerably in their size, gene content, gene order, and the rates of sequence evolution. Some of the changes in demosponge mtDNA, such as the loss of tRNA genes and the appearance of hairpin-containing repetitive elements, occurred in parallel in several lineages and suggest general trends in demosponge mtDNA evolution.

Willingness of Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in the United States to Be Circumcised as Adults to Reduce the Risk of HIV Infection:

Circumcision reduces HIV acquisition among heterosexual men in Africa, but it is unclear if circumcision may reduce HIV acquisition among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States, or whether MSM would be willing to be circumcised if recommended. We interviewed presumed-HIV negative MSM at gay pride events in 2006. We asked uncircumcised respondents about willingness to be circumcised if it were proven to reduce risk of HIV among MSM and perceived barriers to circumcision. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify covariates associated with willingness to be circumcised. Of 780 MSM, 133 (17%) were uncircumcised. Of these, 71 (53%) were willing to be circumcised. Willingness was associated with black race (exact odds ratio [OR]: 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3-9.8), non-injection drug use (OR: 6.1, 95% CI: 1.8-23.7) and perceived reduced risk of penile cancer (OR: 4.7, 95% CI: 2.0-11.9). The most commonly endorsed concerns about circumcision were post-surgical pain and wound infection. Over half of uncircumcised MSM, especially black MSM, expressed willingness to be circumcised. Perceived risks and benefits of circumcision should be a part of educational materials if circumcision is recommended for MSM in the United States.

Forty Years Trends in Timing of Pubertal Growth Spurt in 157,000 Danish School Children:

Entering puberty is an important milestone in reproductive life and secular changes in the timing of puberty may be an important indicator of the general reproductive health in a population. Too early puberty is associated with several psychosocial and health problems. The aim of our study was to determine if the age at onset of pubertal growth spurt (OGS) and at peak height velocity (PHV) during puberty show secular trends during four decades in a large cohort of school children. Annual measurements of height were available in all children born from 1930 to 1969 who attended primary school in the Copenhagen Municipality. 135,223 girls and 21,612 boys fulfilled the criteria for determining age at OGS and age at PHV. These physiological events were used as markers of pubertal development in our computerized method in order to evaluate any secular trends in pubertal maturation during the study period (year of birth 1930 to 1969). In this period, age at OGS declined statistically significantly by 0.2 and 0.4 years in girls and boys, respectively, whereas age at PHV declined statistically significantly by 0.5 and 0.3 years in girls and boys, respectively. The decline was non-linear with a levelling off in the children born between 1940 and 1955. The duration of puberty, as defined by the difference between age at OGS and age at PHV, increased slightly in boys, whereas it decreased in girls. Our finding of declining age at OGS and at PHV indicates a secular trend towards earlier sexual maturation of Danish children born between 1930 and 1969. Only minor changes were observed in duration of puberty assessed by the difference in ages at OGS and PHV.

Two Extinct Flying Reptiles Compared: One Was A Glider, The Other A Parachutist:

Archaeopteryx is famous as the world’s oldest bird, but reptiles were flying about some 50 million years earlier than that (225 million years ago), even before large dinosaurs roamed the Earth. A new study of extinct reptiles called kuehneosaurs, by scientists from the University of Bristol, England, shows that these early flyers used extraordinary extensions of their ribs to form large gliding surfaces on the side of the body.

Marsupials And Humans Share Same Genetic Imprinting That Evolved 150 Million Years Ago:

Research published in Nature Genetics by a team of international scientists including the University of Melbourne, Department of Zoology, has established an identical mechanism of genetic imprinting, a process involved in marsupial and human fetal development, which evolved 150 million years ago.

Men And Women Are Programmed Differently When It Comes To Temptation:

Temptation may be everywhere, but it’s how the different sexes react to flirtation that determines the effect it will have on their relationships. In a new study, psychologists determined men tend to look at their partners in a more negative light after meeting a single, attractive woman. On the other hand, women are likelier to work to strengthen their current relationships after meeting an available, attractive man.

Snake Venom Tells Tales About Geography:

Just as people give away their origins by that southern drawl or New England twang, poisonous snakes produce venom that differs distinctly from one geographic area to another, the first study of the “snake venomics” of one of the most common pit vipers in Latin America has found.

Big Predatory Mammals Such As Felines Need Between 5 And 7 Different Types Of Prey To Meet Their Dietary Needs:

Faced with earlier studies stating that the big predators such as tigers, lions, and lynxes fulfil their dietary needs by eating one or two types of prey, scientists from the University of Malaga assure us now that felines need from 5 to 7 different types of prey to fulfil their dietary needs, although they may be more specialised anatomically than the canines (wolves, dogs) who can obtain 100% ingested biomass by eating three types of prey.

Mystery Insect Found In London’s Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Garden:

An insect, not seen in the UK before, has been discovered living in the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Garden. The tiny bug is baffling insect experts at the Museum who are still trying to identify the mystery newcomer.

Understanding Hearing, Molecule By Molecule:

Berkeley Lab scientists have for the first time pieced together the three-dimensional structure of one of nature’s most exquisite pieces of machinery, a gossamer-like filament of proteins in the inner ear that enables the sense of hearing and balance.

Marine Worm’s Jaws Say ‘Cutting-edge New Aerospace Materials’:

Researchers in California and New Hampshire report the first detailed characterization of the protein composition of the hard, fang-like jaws of a common marine worm. Their work could lead to the design of a new class of super-strong, lightweight materials for use as construction and repair materials for spacecraft, airplanes, and other applications.

Apples And Pears Contain Pathways To ‘Breathe’:

Pears and apples contain air pathways to “breathe”. The pathways are microscopically small structures for oxygen supply and are key elements in determining the fruit’s health. Researchers from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) have visualized them for the first time, therefore proving their hypothesized existence.

Scientists Discover Key Patterns In The Packaging Of Genes:

Although every cell of our bodies contains the same genetic instructions, specific genes typically act only in specific cells at particular times. Other genes are “silenced” in a variety of ways. One mode of gene silencing depends upon the way DNA, the genetic material, is packed in the nucleus of cells.

Monday – the day when PLoS Medicine and PLoS Biology publish new articles, among others, these:
Persistent Leatherback Turtle Migrations Present Opportunities for Conservation :

Highly migratory marine animals routinely cross international borders during extensive migrations over thousands of kilometers, thus requiring conservation strategies with information about habitat use and movement patterns. Critically endangered leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the eastern Pacific have suffered a severe population decline in recent years. In this study, we present the largest multi-year satellite tracking data set for leatherback turtles (n = 46 turtles, 12,095 days) to describe the migrations, habitats, and dispersal of female leatherbacks tagged at Playa Grande, Costa Rica. Leatherbacks followed a migration corridor southward from Costa Rica into the South Pacific Gyre in each year of our study. In the equatorial region, leatherbacks experienced strong ocean currents that influenced the direction of their movements; leatherbacks responded to current deflection with rapid, directed movements to maintain their southward heading. After passing through this equatorial current field, turtles dispersed broadly within a low-energy, low-productivity region of the South Pacific. Our analyses revealed that ocean currents shaped the migration corridor and influenced the scope of turtle dispersal in the South Pacific–results that provide a biological rationale for the development of multi-scale conservation strategies. These strategies could involve improved and enhanced monitoring of leatherback-fisheries interactions as well as dynamic time-area fisheries closures and protected area designations within the high seas of the South Pacific.

Next Stop, Don’t Block the Doors: Opening Up Access to Clinical Trials Results:

2008 has been a good year for access to research. Effective New Year’s Day, both the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [1] and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute [2] require publicly accessible archiving of papers published by their grantees. Also in January, the European Research Council announced its European Union-wide open-access mandate [3]. In February, the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted to give the University a worldwide license to exercise copyright in each faculty member’s scholarly articles for the purpose of making these articles freely available [4]; Harvard Law School committed to mandatory free access in May [5]. In March, the European University Association endorsed open-access repositories [6], and in April the United States National Institutes of Health Public Access Policy [7] took effect, bringing America’s leading sponsor of biomedical research into the impressive circle of agencies that require archiving of papers resulting from the research they fund. Judging by the ever-increasing number of submissions to PLoS journals, authors appear to be voting with their manuscripts for open access to research.

Controlling Size in Multicellular Organs: Focus on the Leaf:

Leaf size depends on cell number and size. However, leaves are not simply the sum of cell size and number; rather, they are under the control of an unknown, organ-wide integration system. The existence of such a system is strongly suggested by two mysterious phenomena: compensation and high-ploidy syndrome. Compensation is characterized by cell enlargement triggered by a significant decrease in cellular proliferation, while plants with high-ploidy syndrome have more than eight sets of homologous chromosomes (8C), resulting in an increase in cell volume, but smaller leaves. Determining the mechanisms underlying these phenomena will provide important insight into the mechanism of multicellular organogenesis.

Considering the First Steps toward a Stable and Orderly Way of Bacterial Life:

Bacteria are small unicellular organisms who could well enjoy a bohemian life–moving independently wherever and whenever they want to and existing with no regard for conventional rules of behavior. In spite of this apparent freedom, most bacteria abandon their footloose lifestyle as soon as they come into contact with a surface. Irrespective of whether the surface is of biotic or abiotic origin, they clinch to it, forgoing independence in favor of settling down. Similar to animals that gather in flocks and people who live in societies, surface-attached microbes can form networks as multicellular communities called biofilms. Bacterial biofilms are heterogeneous structures of increasing complexity that consist of differently specialized cells enclosed in a self-produced polymeric matrix associated with the surface.

Who Dares Sings, And Who Sings Wins: Bold Birds Get The Girl:

Humans often choose partners based on behavioural keys that are displayed during social interactions. The way we behave in different social contexts can reflect personality traits or temperament that may inspire long-term love. Behavioural norms that we perceive as sexually attractive are not culturally or evolutionarily arbitrary.

Disproving Conventional Wisdom On Diversity Of Marine Fossils And Extinction Rates:

It took a decade of painstaking study, the cooperation of hundreds of researchers, and a database of more than 200,000 fossil records, but John Alroy thinks he’s disproved much of the conventional wisdom about the diversity of marine fossils and extinction rates.

New Mode Of Gene Regulation Discovered In Mammals:

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have discovered a type of gene regulation never before observed in mammals — a “ribozyme” that controls the activity of an important family of genes in several different species.

RNA Emerges From DNA’s Shadow:

RNA, the transporter of genetic information within the cell, has emerged from the shadow of DNA to become one of the hottest research areas of molecular biology, with implications for many diseases as well as understanding of evolution. But the field is complex, requiring access to the latest equipment and techniques of imaging, gene expression analysis and bioinformatics, as well as cross-pollination between multiple scientific disciplines.

Biodiversity Defensing Against Climate Change:

Climate change is happening, and we must develop ways for all life to be able to cope, environmental advocates urge. WWF Vietnam Programme is looking at this through the development of resilient multifunctional landscapes that also work as forest corridors, assisting with species dispersal and adaptation, by changes in land-use practices.

Will Our Future Brains Be Smaller?:

The speed at which we react to threatening situations can have life or death implications. In the more primitive past, it could have meant escaping a wild animal; today it might mean swerving to avoid a head-on car crash. It has been thought for some years that mammals have two decision-making systems in their brains which operate at different speeds to cope with different situations. New research from the University of Bristol supports this theory and has shown that the evolutionary pressures arising from the older, faster, but less accurate, part of the brain may have shaped the more recent development of the slower-acting but more precise cortex, found in humans and higher animals.

I was busy, so I did not have time to take a look until now at what is new this week in PLoS Genetics, Computational Biology, Pathogens and Neglected Tropical Diseases. Go take a look at these papers and others:
Evolution of Evolvability in Gene Regulatory Networks:

A cell receives signals both from its internal and external environment and responds by changing the expression of genes. In this manner the cell adjusts to heat, osmotic pressures and other circumstances during its lifetime. Over long timescales, the network of interacting genes and its regulatory actions also undergo evolutionary adaptation. Yet how do such networks evolve and become adapted?
In this paper we describe the study of a simple model of gene regulatory networks, focusing solely on evolutionary adaptation. We let a population of individuals evolve, while the external environment changes through time. To ensure evolution is the only source of adaptation, we do not provide the individuals with a sensor to the environment. We show that the interplay between the long-term process of evolution and short-term gene regulation dynamics leads to a striking increase in the efficiency of creating well-adapted offspring. Beneficial mutations become more frequent, nevertheless robustness to the majority of mutations is maintained. Thus we demonstrate a clear example of the evolution of evolvability.

Domestic Pigs Have Low Susceptibility to H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses:

Highly pathogenic avian influenza A viruses of H5N1 subtype have spread through Eurasia and Africa with continuing cases of human infection, suggesting the potential to become a pandemic influenza virus. Pigs which are susceptible to infection with both human and avian influenza A viruses are one of the natural hosts where a pandemic virus could be produced. In this study, we characterized in a pig model the infection caused by four H5N1 virus strains isolated from humans, poultry and wild birds. We demonstrated that exposure of pigs through the nose with H5N1 viruses or consumption of meat from infected chickens resulted in infection with mild weight loss. In contrast to mouse and ferret animal models where some of viruses were highly pathogenic and replicated in multiple organs, replication of H5N1 viruses in pigs was restricted to the respiratory tract, mainly to the lungs, and tonsils. Mild to moderate bronchiolitis and pneumonia were observed in the lungs of infected animals. Our results demonstrated that domestic pigs had low susceptibility to infection and disease with highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza A viruses.

Zebrafish Whole-Adult-Organism Chemogenomics for Large-Scale Predictive and Discovery Chemical Biology:

To understand chemical-induced biological responses/effects, it is important to have large-scale and rapid capacity to investigate gene expression changes caused by chemical compounds at genome-wide scale in an adult vertebrate model; this capability is essential for drug development and toxicology. Small aquarium fish with vast genomic resources, such as zebrafish, will probably be the only vertebrate models that allow for cost-effective, large-scale, genome-wide determination of gene expression net changes in the entire adult organism in response to a chemical compound. Presently, such a whole adult organism approach is only feasible in invertebrate models such as the worm and fly, and not in rodent models, hence the usefulness of such an approach has not been demonstrated in a vertebrate. By using two classes of chemicals with wide implications to human health, we showed that capturing net changes of gene expression at a genome-wide scale in an entire adult zebrafish is useful for predicting toxicity and chemical classes, for discovering biomarkers and major signaling pathways, as well as for inferring human health risk and new biological insights. Our study provides a new approach for genome-wide investigation of chemical-induced biological responses/effects in a whole adult vertebrate that can benefit the drug discovery process and chemical toxicity testing for environmental health risk inference.

Unraveling Protein Networks with Power Graph Analysis:

Networks play a crucial role in biology and are often used as a way to represent experimental results. Yet, their analysis and representation is still an open problem. Recent experimental and computational progress yields networks of increased size and complexity. There are, for example, small- and large-scale interaction networks, regulatory networks, genetic networks, protein-ligand interaction networks, and homology networks analyzed and published regularly. A common way to access the information in a network is though direct visualization, but this fails as it often just results in “fur balls” from which little insight can be gathered. On the other hand, clustering techniques manage to avoid the problems caused by the large number of nodes and even larger number of edges by coarse-graining the networks and thus abstracting details. But these also fail, since, in fact, much of the biology lies in the details. This work presents a novel methodology for analyzing and representing networks. Power Graphs are a lossless representation of networks, which reduces network complexity by explicitly representing re-occurring network motifs. Moreover, power graphs can be clearly visualized: they compress up to 90% of the edges in biological networks and are applicable to all types of networks such as protein interaction, regulatory networks, or homology networks.

Children Are Naturally Prone To Be Empathic And Moral:

Children between the ages of seven and 12 appear to be naturally inclined to feel empathy for others in pain, according to researchers at the University of Chicago, who used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans to study responses in children.

Scientists Identify Genetic Basis For The Black Sheep Of The Family:

Coat color of wild and domestic animals is a critical trait that has significant biological and economic impact. Researchers have now identified the genetic basis for black coat color, and white, in a breed of domestic sheep.

Insect Warning Colors Aid Cancer And Tropical Disease Drug Discovery:

Brightly colored beetles or butterfly larvae nibbling on a plant may signal the presence of chemical compounds active against cancer cell lines and tropical parasitic diseases, according to researchers at Smithsonian’s Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Such clues could speed drug discovery and provide insight into the ecological relationships between tropical-forest plants and insects that feed on them.

Molecular Motor Works By Detecting Minute Changes In Force:

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that the activity of a specific family of nanometer-sized molecular motors called myosin-I is regulated by force. The motor puts tension on cellular springs that allow vibrations to be detected within the body. This finely tuned regulation has important implications for understanding a wide variety of basic cellular processes, including hearing and balance and glucose uptake in response to insulin. The findings appear in the most recent issue of Science.

Weight Gain In Adolescent Girls: Role Of Internet, Alcohol And Sleep:

Girls moving through adolescence may experience unhealthy levels of weight gain, but the reasons for this are not always clear. In fact, many potential causes of weight gain are easily overlooked. A new study analyzes the effect of Internet usage, sleep, and alcohol and coffee consumption on weight gain in adolescent girls.

Verbally Aggressive Mothers Direct Their Children’s Behavior:

A new study reveals that verbally aggressive (VA) mothers tend to control their children’s choice of activities as well as use physical negative touch, along with directives, when trying to alter their child’s actions.

Report Calls For Expansion Of Professional Science Master’s Degree Programs:

Policymakers, universities, and employers should work together to speed the development of professionally oriented master’s degree programs in the natural sciences, says a new report from the National Research Council. Graduates of these programs — which build both scientific knowledge and practical workplace skills — can make a strong contribution to the nation’s competitiveness, said the committee that wrote the report.

Decadent, Convenient Banana Dessert Débuted At Food Expo:

Who doesn’t like a banana split? Fresh fruit, three flavors of ice cream and chocolate syrup. Yum. That vision was the subjective basis for a new product developed by a team of Virginia Tech students – frozen bite-sized slices of banana filled with creamy chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry non-fat frozen yogurt and enrobed in dark chocolate. Called “Banana Splitters,” the new confection is packaged as nine individual pieces – three of each flavor – in a sleeve, six sleeves in a package to be available next to the ice cream and other frozen goodies. And, get this, an entire sleeve is a serving.

Superfast Vocal Muscles In Songbirds: Hundred Times Faster Than Blink Of An Eye:

Certain songbirds can contract their vocal muscles 100 times faster than humans can blink an eye — placing the birds with a handful of animals that have evolved superfast muscles, University of Utah researchers found.

Reducing Global Warming And Working For Common Good: What Inspires Collective Cooperation?:

No one enjoys paying taxes. Even so, we need taxes if we want our streets clean, a proper public health care system, an educated population or the maintenance of Earth’s climate within habitable boundaries. This is what scientists commonly refer as public goods — benefits that everyone receives whether or not they contribute to them. The missing link between paying and benefiting from a public good creates an obvious dilemma and temptation to cheat (not to cooperate): Why shouldn’t I let the others pay for it?

Avatars As Communicators Of Emotions:

Current interactive systems enable users to communicate with computers in many ways, but not taking into account emotional communication. A PhD thesis presented at the University of the Basque Country puts forward the use of avatars or virtual Internet personages as an efficient form of non-verbal communication, principally focusing on emotional aspects.

Why Musicians Make Us Weep And Computers Don’t:

Music can soothe the savage breast much better if played by musicians rather than clever computers, according to a new University of Sussex-led study.

Scientists Generally Happy With Their Media Interaction:

Scientists and journalists get along much better than the anecdotal ‘horror stories’ would lead us to believe, according to new research published today in the journal Science, which has found that 57% of researchers were ‘mostly pleased’ with their media interaction, while only 6% percent were ‘mostly dissatisfied’.

Learning To Talk To Teens About Sex — While At Work:

Sex is one of the most difficult topics a parent can bring up with an adolescent, but a new study finds that parents who are taught specific communication skills can more readily tackle these conversations and sustain them over time.

Gender, Time Of Day Affect Response To Vaccination:

A new study reveals that men, but not women, vaccinated in the morning produced a better peak antibody response to both hepatitis A and the influenza strain. ———- Men vaccinated in the morning showed the strongest immune response. Almost twice as many men showed a twofold increase in antibody response when vaccinated in the morning as opposed to the afternoon.

Do We Think That Machines Can Think?:

When our PC goes on strike again we tend to curse it as if it was a human. The question of why and under what circumstances we attribute human-like properties to machines and how such processes manifest on a cortical level was investigated in a project led by Dr. Sören Krach and Prof. Tilo Kircher from the RWTH Aachen University (Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy) in cooperation with the Department of “Social Robotics” (Bielefeld University) and the Neuroimage Nord (Hamburg).

Surveying German Subs Sunk Off North Carolina During World War II:

NOAA will lead a research expedition July 7-26 to study the wrecks of three German submarines sunk by U.S. forces in 1942 off the coast of North Carolina during the Battle of the Atlantic.

Popular Fish, Tilapia, Contains Potentially Dangerous Fatty Acid Combination:

Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Scientists Integrate Data In Three Dimensions To Study Climate Effects On Young Fish:

From the surface, the two areas of ocean off the coasts of northern New Jersey and Long Island, New York look the same. But to NOAA scientists, the four-square-mile patches could not be more different as they view real-time underwater images and environmental data to try to figure out what lives there and how climate change is affecting marine life, especially very young fish.

Revolutionary Chefs? Not Likely, Shows Physics Research:

However much the likes of Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay might want to shake up our diets, culinary evolution dictates that our cultural cuisines remain little changed as generations move on, shows new research.

Big Brains Arose Twice In Higher Primates:

After taking a fresh look at an old fossil, John Flynn, Frick Curator of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, and colleagues determined that the brains of the ancestors of modern Neotropical primates were as small as those of their early fossil simian counterparts in the Old World. This means one of the hallmarks of primate biology, increased brain size, arose independently in isolated groups–the platyrrhines of the Americas and the catarrhines of Africa and Eurasia.

Fossil Feathers Preserve Evidence Of Color, Say Scientists:

The traces of organic material found in fossil feathers are remnants of pigments that once gave birds their color, according to Yale scientists whose paper in Biology Letters opens up the potential to depict the original coloration of fossilized birds and their ancestors, the dinosaurs.

New Coral Reefs Teeming With Marine Life Discovered In Brazil:

Scientists have announced the discovery of reef structures they believe doubles the size of the Southern Atlantic Ocean’s largest and richest reef system, the Abrolhos Bank, off the southern coast of Brazil’s Bahia state. The newly discovered area is also far more abundant in marine life than the previously known Abrolhos reef system, one of the world’s most unique and important reefs.

Half Of US Coral Reefs In ‘Poor’ Or ‘Fair’ Condition, NOAA Report States:

Nearly half of U.S. coral reef ecosystems are considered to be in “poor” or “fair” condition according to a new NOAA analysis of the health of coral reefs under U.S. jurisdiction.

Male Cyclists Risk Sexual Problems If They Don’t Choose The Right Bike:

Men who take up cycling in an effort to stay fit, do their bit for the environment or avoid spiralling motoring costs, could be harming their health if they don’t choose the right bicycle. That’s the stark warning from consultant urological surgeon Mr Vinod Nargund from St Bartholomew’s and Homerton Hospitals, London.

Sex Really Does Get Better With Age (Just Ask A 70 Year Old):

An increasing number of 70 year olds are having good sex and more often, and women in this age group are particularly satisfied with their sex lives, according to a study published on the British Medical Journal website.

Some Plants Can Adapt To Widespread Climate Change:

While many plant species move to a new location or go extinct as a result of climate change, grasslands clinging to a steep, rocky dale-side in Northern England seem to defy the odds and adapt to long-term changes in temperature and rainfall, according to a new study by scientists from Syracuse University and the University of Sheffield (United Kingdom) published online in the July 7 issue of the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Seasonal Programmed Brain Cell Death Foiled In Living Birds:

Neurons in brains of one songbird species equipped with a built-in suicide program that kicks in at the end of the breeding season have been kept alive for seven days in live birds by researchers trying to understand the role that steroid hormones play in the growth and maintenance of the neural song system.

Flatfish Fossils Fill In Evolutionary Missing Link:

Hidden away in museums for more that 100 years, some recently rediscovered flatfish fossils have filled a puzzling gap in the story of evolution and answered a question that initially stumped even Charles Darwin.

There are 57 new articles in PLoS ONE this week, and it is hard to choose which ones to highlight!
Superfast Vocal Muscles Control Song Production in Songbirds:

Birdsong is a widely used model for vocal learning and human speech, which exhibits high temporal and acoustic diversity. Rapid acoustic modulations are thought to arise from the vocal organ, the syrinx, by passive interactions between the two independent sound generators or intrinsic nonlinear dynamics of sound generating structures. Additionally, direct neuromuscular control could produce such rapid and precisely timed acoustic features if syringeal muscles exhibit rare superfast muscle contractile kinetics. However, no direct evidence exists that avian vocal muscles can produce modulations at such high rates. Here, we show that 1) syringeal muscles are active in phase with sound modulations during song over 200 Hz, 2) direct stimulation of the muscles in situ produces sound modulations at the frequency observed during singing, and that 3) syringeal muscles produce mechanical work at the required frequencies and up to 250 Hz in vitro. The twitch kinematics of these so-called superfast muscles are the fastest measured in any vertebrate muscle. Superfast vocal muscles enable birds to directly control the generation of many observed rapid acoustic changes and to actuate the millisecond precision of neural activity into precise temporal vocal control. Furthermore, birds now join the list of vertebrate classes in which superfast muscle kinetics evolved independently for acoustic communication.

Birds Reveal their Personality when Singing:

Individual differences in social behaviour may have consequences for mate choice and sexual signalling, because partners should develop preferences for personalities that maximize reproductive output. Here we propose that behavioural traits involved in sexual advertisement may serve as good indicators of personality, which is fundamental for sexual selection to operate on temperament. Bird song has a prominent and well-established role in sexual selection, and it displays considerable variation among individuals with a potentially strong personality component. Therefore, we predicted that features of song would correlate with estimates of personality. In a field study of free-living male collared flycatchers, Ficedula albicollis, we characterised personality based on the exploration of an altered breeding environment, and based on the risk taken when a potential predator was approaching during a simulated territorial interaction. We found that explorative and risk-taker individuals consistently sang at lower song posts than shy individuals in the presence of a human observer. Moreover, males from lower posts established pair-bonds relatively faster than males from higher posts. Our results may demonstrate that risk taking during singing correlates with risk taking during aggression and with exploration, thus personality may be manifested in different contexts involving sexual advertisement. These findings are in accordance with the hypothesis that the male’s balance between investment in reproduction and risk taking is reflected in sexual displays, and it may be important information for choosy females that seek partners with personality traits enhancing breeding success.

Can Machines Think? Interaction and Perspective Taking with Robots Investigated via fMRI:

When our PC goes on strike again we tend to curse it as if it were a human being. Why and under which circumstances do we attribute human-like properties to machines? Although humans increasingly interact directly with machines it remains unclear whether humans implicitly attribute intentions to them and, if so, whether such interactions resemble human-human interactions on a neural level. In social cognitive neuroscience the ability to attribute intentions and desires to others is being referred to as having a Theory of Mind (ToM). With the present study we investigated whether an increase of human-likeness of interaction partners modulates the participants’ ToM associated cortical activity. By means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (subjects n = 20) we investigated cortical activity modulation during highly interactive human-robot game. Increasing degrees of human-likeness for the game partner were introduced by means of a computer partner, a functional robot, an anthropomorphic robot and a human partner. The classical iterated prisoner’s dilemma game was applied as experimental task which allowed for an implicit detection of ToM associated cortical activity. During the experiment participants always played against a random sequence unknowingly to them. Irrespective of the surmised interaction partners’ responses participants indicated having experienced more fun and competition in the interaction with increasing human-like features of their partners. Parametric modulation of the functional imaging data revealed a highly significant linear increase of cortical activity in the medial frontal cortex as well as in the right temporo-parietal junction in correspondence with the increase of human-likeness of the interaction partner (computer<functional robot<anthropomorphic robot<human). Both regions correlating with the degree of human-likeness, the medial frontal cortex and the right temporo-parietal junction, have been associated with Theory-of-Mind. The results demonstrate that the tendency to build a model of another's mind linearly increases with its perceived human-likeness. Moreover, the present data provides first evidence of a contribution of higher human cognitive functions such as ToM in direct interactions with artificial robots. Our results shed light on the long-lasting psychological and philosophical debate regarding human-machine interaction and the question of what makes humans being perceived as human.

Soldier-Specific Modification of the Mandibular Motor Neurons in Termites:

Social insects exhibit a variety of caste-specific behavioral tendencies that constitute the basis of division of labor within the colony. In termites, the soldier caste display distinctive defense behaviors, such as aggressively attacking enemies with well-developed mandibles, while the other castes retreat into the colony without exhibiting any aggressive response. It is thus likely that some form of soldier-specific neuronal modification exists in termites. In this study, the authors compared the brain (cerebral ganglion) and the suboesophageal ganglion (SOG) of soldiers and pseudergates (workers) in the damp-wood termite, Hodotermopsis sjostedti. The size of the SOG was significantly larger in soldiers than in pseudergates, but no difference in brain size was apparent between castes. Furthermore, mandibular nerves were thicker in soldiers than in pseudergates. Retrograde staining revealed that the somata sizes of the mandibular motor neurons (MdMNs) in soldiers were more than twice as large as those of pseudergates. The enlargement of MdMNs was also observed in individuals treated with a juvenile hormone analogue (JHA), indicating that MdMNs become enlarged in response to juvenile hormone (JH) action during soldier differentiation. This enlargement is likely to have two functions: a behavioral function in which soldier termites will be able to defend more effectively through relatively faster and stronger mandibular movements, and a developmental function that associates with the development of soldier-specific mandibular muscle morphogenesis in termite head. The soldier-specific enlargement of mandibular motor neurons was observed in all examined species in five termite families that have different mechanisms of defense, suggesting that such neuronal modification was already present in the common ancestor of termites and is significant for soldier function.

Lateral Transfer of a Lectin-Like Antifreeze Protein Gene in Fishes:

Fishes living in icy seawater are usually protected from freezing by endogenous antifreeze proteins (AFPs) that bind to ice crystals and stop them from growing. The scattered distribution of five highly diverse AFP types across phylogenetically disparate fish species is puzzling. The appearance of radically different AFPs in closely related species has been attributed to the rapid, independent evolution of these proteins in response to natural selection caused by sea level glaciations within the last 20 million years. In at least one instance the same type of simple repetitive AFP has independently originated in two distant species by convergent evolution. But, the isolated occurrence of three very similar type II AFPs in three distantly related species (herring, smelt and sea raven) cannot be explained by this mechanism. These globular, lectin-like AFPs have a unique disulfide-bonding pattern, and share up to 85% identity in their amino acid sequences, with regions of even higher identity in their genes. A thorough search of current databases failed to find a homolog in any other species with greater than 40% amino acid sequence identity. Consistent with this result, genomic Southern blots showed the lectin-like AFP gene was absent from all other fish species tested. The remarkable conservation of both intron and exon sequences, the lack of correlation between evolutionary distance and mutation rate, and the pattern of silent vs non-silent codon changes make it unlikely that the gene for this AFP pre-existed but was lost from most branches of the teleost radiation. We propose instead that lateral gene transfer has resulted in the occurrence of the type II AFPs in herring, smelt and sea raven and allowed these species to survive in an otherwise lethal niche.

Hedonic Taste in Drosophila Revealed by Olfactory Receptors Expressed in Taste Neurons:

Taste and olfaction are each tuned to a unique set of chemicals in the outside world, and their corresponding sensory spaces are mapped in different areas in the brain. This dichotomy matches categories of receptors detecting molecules either in the gaseous or in the liquid phase in terrestrial animals. However, in Drosophila olfactory and gustatory neurons express receptors which belong to the same family of 7-transmembrane domain proteins. Striking overlaps exist in their sequence structure and in their expression pattern, suggesting that there might be some functional commonalities between them. In this work, we tested the assumption that Drosophila olfactory receptor proteins are compatible with taste neurons by ectopically expressing an olfactory receptor (OR22a and OR83b) for which ligands are known. Using electrophysiological recordings, we show that the transformed taste neurons are excited by odor ligands as by their cognate tastants. The wiring of these neurons to the brain seems unchanged and no additional connections to the antennal lobe were detected. The odor ligands detected by the olfactory receptor acquire a new hedonic value, inducing appetitive or aversive behaviors depending on the categories of taste neurons in which they are expressed i.e. sugar- or bitter-sensing cells expressing either Gr5a or Gr66a receptors. Taste neurons expressing ectopic olfactory receptors can sense odors at close range either in the aerial phase or by contact, in a lipophilic phase. The responses of the transformed taste neurons to the odorant are similar to those obtained with tastants. The hedonic value attributed to tastants is directly linked to the taste neurons in which their receptors are expressed.

Effects of Unexpected Chords and of Performer’s Expression on Brain Responses and Electrodermal Activity:

There is lack of neuroscientific studies investigating music processing with naturalistic stimuli, and brain responses to real music are, thus, largely unknown. This study investigates event-related brain potentials (ERPs), skin conductance responses (SCRs) and heart rate (HR) elicited by unexpected chords of piano sonatas as they were originally arranged by composers, and as they were played by professional pianists. From the musical excerpts played by the pianists (with emotional expression), we also created versions without variations in tempo and loudness (without musical expression) to investigate effects of musical expression on ERPs and SCRs. Compared to expected chords, unexpected chords elicited an early right anterior negativity (ERAN, reflecting music-syntactic processing) and an N5 (reflecting processing of meaning information) in the ERPs, as well as clear changes in the SCRs (reflecting that unexpected chords also elicited emotional responses). The ERAN was not influenced by emotional expression, whereas N5 potentials elicited by chords in general (regardless of their chord function) differed between the expressive and the non-expressive condition. These results show that the neural mechanisms of music-syntactic processing operate independently of the emotional qualities of a stimulus, justifying the use of stimuli without emotional expression to investigate the cognitive processing of musical structure. Moreover, the data indicate that musical expression affects the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of musical meaning. Our data are the first to reveal influences of musical performance on ERPs and SCRs, and to show physiological responses to unexpected chords in naturalistic music.

Lifespan Mental Activity Predicts Diminished Rate of Hippocampal Atrophy:

Epidemiological studies suggest that complex mental activity may reduce the risk for dementia, however an underlying mechanism remains unclear. Our objective was to determine whether individual differences in lifespan complex mental activity are linked to altered rates of hippocampal atrophy independent of global measures of neurodegeneration. Thirty seven healthy older individuals had their complex mental activity levels estimated using the Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire (LEQ) and completed serial MRI investigations at baseline and three years follow-up. Hippocampal volume and semi-automatic quantitation of whole brain volume (WBV) and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) were compared at both time points. Higher LEQ scores were correlated with hippocampal volume independent of covariates at the three year follow-up stage (r = 0.43, p = 0.012). Moreover, those with higher LEQ scores experienced less hippocampal atrophy over the follow-up period (r = 0.41, p = 0.02). High LEQ individuals had less than half the hippocampal volume decline of low LEQ individuals in a multivariate analysis (F = 4.47, p = 0.042). No parallel changes were found in measures of WBV and WMHs. High level of complex mental activity across the lifespan was correlated with a reduced rate of hippocampal atrophy. This finding could not be explained by general differences in intracranial volume, larger hippocampi at baseline, presence of hypertensive disease, gender or low mood. Our results suggest that neuroprotection in medial temporal lobe may be one mechanism underlying the link between mental activity and lower rates of dementia observed in population-based studies. Additional studies are required to further explore this novel finding.

Waist Circumference and Body Mass Index as Predictors of Health Care Costs:

In the present study we analyze the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) and future health care costs. On the basis of the relation between these anthropometric measures and mortality, we hypothesized that for all levels of BMI increased WC implies added future health care costs (Hypothesis 1) and for given levels of WC increased BMI entails reduced future health care costs (Hypothesis 2). We furthermore assessed whether a combination of the two measures predicts health care costs better than either individual measure. Data were obtained from the Danish prospective cohort study Diet, Cancer and Health. The population includes 15,334 men and 16,506 women 50 to 64 years old recruited in 1996 to 1997. The relationship between future health care costs and BMI and WC in combination was analyzed by use of categorized and continuous analyses. The analysis confirms Hypothesis 1, reflecting that an increased level of abdominal fat for a given BMI gives higher health care costs. Hypothesis 2, that BMI had a protective effect for a given WC, was only confirmed in the continuous analysis and for a subgroup of women (BMI<30 kg/m2 and WC <88 cm). The relative magnitude of the estimates supports that the regressions including WC as an explanatory factor provide the best fit to the data. The study showed that WC for given levels of BMI predicts increased health costs, whereas BMI for given WC did not predict health costs except for a lower cost in non-obese women with normal WC. Combining WC and BMI does not give a better prediction of costs than WC alone.

A Molecular Study of Microbe Transfer between Distant Environments:

Environments and their organic content are generally not static and isolated, but in a constant state of exchange and interaction with each other. Through physical or biological processes, organisms, especially microbes, may be transferred between environments whose characteristics may be quite different. The transferred microbes may not survive in their new environment, but their DNA will be deposited. In this study, we compare two environmental sequencing projects to find molecular evidence of transfer of microbes over vast geographical distances. By studying synonymous nucleotide composition, oligomer frequency and orthology between predicted genes in metagenomics data from two environments, terrestrial and aquatic, and by correlating with phylogenetic mappings, we find that both environments are likely to contain trace amounts of microbes which have been far removed from their original habitat. We also suggest a bias in direction from soil to sea, which is consistent with the cycles of planetary wind and water. Our findings support the Baas-Becking hypothesis formulated in 1934, which states that due to dispersion and population sizes, microbes are likely to be found in widely disparate environments. Furthermore, the availability of genetic material from distant environments is a possible font of novel gene functions for lateral gene transfer.

Phase Locking Induces Scale-Free Topologies in Networks of Coupled Oscillators:

An initial unsynchronized ensemble of networking phase oscillators is further subjected to a growing process where a set of forcing oscillators, each one of them following the dynamics of a frequency pacemaker, are added to the pristine graph. Linking rules based on dynamical criteria are followed in the attachment process to force phase locking of the network with the external pacemaker. We show that the eventual locking occurs in correspondence to the arousal of a scale-free degree distribution in the original graph.

Professional and Home-Made Face Masks Reduce Exposure to Respiratory Infections among the General Population:

Governments are preparing for a potential influenza pandemic. Therefore they need data to assess the possible impact of interventions. Face-masks worn by the general population could be an accessible and affordable intervention, if effective when worn under routine circumstances. We assessed transmission reduction potential provided by personal respirators, surgical masks and home-made masks when worn during a variety of activities by healthy volunteers and a simulated patient. All types of masks reduced aerosol exposure, relatively stable over time, unaffected by duration of wear or type of activity, but with a high degree of individual variation. Personal respirators were more efficient than surgical masks, which were more efficient than home-made masks. Regardless of mask type, children were less well protected. Outward protection (mask wearing by a mechanical head) was less effective than inward protection (mask wearing by healthy volunteers). Any type of general mask use is likely to decrease viral exposure and infection risk on a population level, in spite of imperfect fit and imperfect adherence, personal respirators providing most protection. Masks worn by patients may not offer as great a degree of protection against aerosol transmission.

A Visual Metaphor Describing Neural Dynamics in Schizophrenia:

In many scientific disciplines the use of a metaphor as an heuristic aid is not uncommon. A well known example in somatic medicine is the ‘defense army metaphor’ used to characterize the immune system. In fact, probably a large part of the everyday work of doctors consists of ‘translating’ scientific and clinical information (i.e. causes of disease, percentage of succes versus risk of side-effects) into information tailored to the needs and capacities of the individual patient. The ability to do so in an effective way is at least partly what makes a clinician a good communicator. Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder which affects approximately 1% of the population. Over the last two decades a large amount of molecular-biological, imaging and genetic data have been accumulated regarding the biological underpinnings of schizophrenia. However, it remains difficult to understand how the characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations and delusions are related to disturbances on the molecular-biological level. In general, psychiatry seems to lack a conceptual framework with sufficient explanatory power to link the mental- and molecular-biological domains.
Here, we present an essay-like study in which we propose to use visualized concepts stemming from the theory on dynamical complex systems as a ‘visual metaphor’ to bridge the mental- and molecular-biological domains in schizophrenia. We first describe a computer model of neural information processing; we show how the information processing in this model can be visualized, using concepts from the theory on complex systems. We then describe two computer models which have been used to investigate the primary theory on schizophrenia, the neurodevelopmental model, and show how disturbed information processing in these two computer models can be presented in terms of the visual metaphor previously described. Finally, we describe the effects of dopamine neuromodulation, of which disturbances have been frequently described in schizophrenia, in terms of the same visualized metaphor. The conceptual framework and metaphor described offers a heuristic tool to understand the relationship between the mental- and molecular-biological domains in an intuitive way. The concepts we present may serve to facilitate communication between researchers, clinicians and patients.

Rare Microorganism That Produces Hydrogen May Be Key To Tomorrow’s Hydrogen Economy:

An ancient organism from the pit of a collapsed volcano may hold the key to tomorrow’s hydrogen economy. Scientists from across the world have formed a team to unlock the process refined by a billions-year old archaea. The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute will expedite the research by sequencing the hydrogen-producing organism for comparative genomics.

Are Hands-free Cellphones Really Safer?:

Since April 1 when Nova Scotia outlawed the use of hand-held cellphones while driving, sales of hands-free devices have gone through the roof. It seems everyone’s driving–even walking–with tiny electronic devices tucked into their ears.

Good Golf Players See The Hole As Larger Than Poor Players:

Golfers who play well are more likely to see the hole as larger than their poor-playing counterparts, according to a Purdue University researcher.

Baby’s Smile Is A Natural High:

The baby’s smile that gladdens a mother’s heart also lights up the reward centers of her brain, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that recently appeared in the journal Pediatrics.

Children Born From Frozen Embryos Weigh More And Do Better Than Those Born After Fresh Transfer:

Children born after a frozen, thawed embryo has been replaced in the womb have higher birth weight than those born where fresh embryos were used, Danish scientists reported to the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology July 8th. The mothers had longer pregnancies, and the children did not show an increased risk of congenital malformations, said Dr. Anja Pinborg, from the Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Crawling The Internet To Track Infectious Disease Outbreaks:

Could Internet discussion forums, listservs, and online news outlets be an informative source of information on disease outbreaks? A team of researchers from Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School thinks so, and it has launched a real-time, automated data-gathering system called HealthMap to gather, organize and disseminate this online intelligence.

Early-life Nutrition May Be Associated With Adult Intellectual Functioning:

Adults who had improved nutrition in early childhood may score better on intellectual tests, regardless of the number of years they attended school, according to a new article.

Creating A New Approach To Archiving Human Genetic Information:

A genome sequence is a long sequence written in a four letter code–3 billion letters in the case of a human genome. But what is the meaning–how is the code deciphered? Traditionally this is left to professional annotators who use information from a number of sources (for instance, knowledge about similar genes in other organisms) to work out where a gene starts, stops, and what it does. Even the “gold standard” of professional annotation is an exceptionally slow process. However, new technology may provide a faster solution.

Why Mosquitoes Select Certain Outdoor Water Containers For Laying Eggs And Avoid Others:

North Carolina State University scientists have figured out one reason why pregnant yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti), one of the most important disease transmitters worldwide, choose to lay their eggs in certain outdoor water containers while eschewing others. In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the NC State researchers show that certain chemicals emanating from bacteria in water containers stimulate the female mosquitoes to lay their eggs. The female mosquitoes sense these chemical cues and decide that the water container is a preferable environment for their larvae to develop.

Can You Hear Me Now? Primitive Single-Celled Microbe Expert In Cellular Communication Networks:

When it comes to cellular communication networks, a primitive single-celled microbe that answers to the name of Monosiga brevicollis has a leg up on animals composed of billions of cells. It commands a signaling network more elaborate and diverse than found in any multicellular organism higher up on the evolutionary tree, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered.

Study Shows Rise In Cornwall’s Dolphin, Whale, And Porpoise Deaths:

Four weeks since the shocking incident that led to the death of 26 dolphins near Falmouth, research sheds new light on the extent of the problems facing Cornwall’s marine mammals.

A Gene Wiki for Community Annotation of Gene Function:

Gene portals (e.g., Entrez Gene [1] and Ensembl [2]) and model organism databases (e.g., Mouse Genome Database [3], Rat Genome Database [4], FlyBase [5]) are popular and useful tools for researching gene annotation and enforcing data standards. These databases provide a large volume and diversity of information on each gene, including protein and transcript sequences, genome location, genomic structure, aliases, links to literature, and gene function. These sites are considered to be the definitive sources for these types of gene annotation. However, by their very nature as authoritative annotation sources, the data displayed on these sites must be subjected to a high degree of oversight by expert curators. In short, the data model used by gene portals and model organism databases focuses on large contributions from a relatively small number of contributors.

Surveillance Sans Frontieres: Internet-Based Emerging Infectious Disease Intelligence and the HealthMap Project:

* Valuable information about infectious diseases is found in Web-accessible information sources such as discussion forums, mailing lists, government Web sites, and news outlets.
* Web-based electronic information sources can play an important role in early event detection and support situational awareness by providing current, highly local information about outbreaks, even from areas relatively invisible to traditional global public health efforts.
* While these sources are potentially useful, information overload and difficulties in distinguishing “signal from noise” pose substantial barriers to fully utilizing this information.
* HealthMap is a freely accessible, automated real-time system that monitors, organizes, integrates, filters, visualizes, and disseminates online information about emerging diseases.
* The goal of HealthMap is to deliver real-time intelligence on a broad range of emerging infectious diseases for a diverse audience, from public health officials to international travelers.
* Ultimately, the use of news media and other nontraditional sources of surveillance data can facilitate early outbreak detection, increase public awareness of disease outbreaks prior to their formal recognition, and provide an integrated and contextualized view of global health information.

Oh, how I hate this (mis)use of the term!
Male Biological Clock Also ‘Ticking’: Fertility Problems Greater For Men Over 35:

Pregnancy rates decrease and miscarriages increase when a father is over 35 years of age, a scientist will tell the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology on July 7. Dr. Stéphanie Belloc, of the Eylau Centre for Assisted Reproduction, Paris, France, will say that this is the first time that such a strong paternal effect on reproductive outcomes has been shown.

Nature Reserves Attract Humans, But At A Cost To Biodiversity:

Rather than suppressing local communities in developing nations, nature reserves attract human settlement, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

When Using Gestures, Rules Of Grammar Remain The Same:

The mind apparently has a consistent way of ordering an event that defies the order in which subjects, verbs, and objects typically appear in languages, according to research at the University of Chicago.

Simple Life Form May Have Existed 700 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought:

The accepted timeframe for the beginnings of life on Earth is now being questioned by a Curtin University of Technology led team of scientists, after finding a key indicator to the earliest life forms in diamonds from Jack Hills in Western Australia.

Birds Migrate Together At Night In Dispersed Flocks, New Study Indicates:

A new analysis indicates that birds don’t fly alone when migrating at night. Some birds, at least, keep together on their migratory journeys, flying in tandem even when they are 200 meters or more apart.

Special Horseshoes Measure Acceleration In Horses, Evaluate Methods of Rehabilitation:

The most frequent injuries that horses suffer are derived from pressure exerted by riders, and knowing which forces are involved when horses move can prove highly informative when considering treatment for such injuries. A team of scientists from Wageningen University, led by Professor Johan van Leeuwen, has carried out studies both into the advantages of different rider techniques in reducing injury risk, and into the benefits of a method of equine rehabilitation.

Brain Noise Is Good: New Study Overturns Notion That Brain Noise Quiets Down With Maturity:

Canadian scientists have shown that a noisy brain is a healthy brain. “Brain noise” is a term that has been used by neuroscientists to describe random brain activity that is not important to mental function. Intuitive notions of brain-behaviour relationships would suggest that this brain noise quiets down as children mature into adults and become more efficient and consistent in their cognitive processing.

Children Overestimate Cute Animals In Rainforests, While Underestimating Insects And Annelids:

Globally, natural ecosystems are being lost to agricultural land at an unprecedented rate. This land-use often results in significant reductions in abundance and diversity of the flora and fauna as well as alterations in their composition.

Ancient Marine Invertebrate Diversity Less Explosive Than Thought:

Diversity among the ancestors of such marine creatures as clams, sand dollars and lobsters showed only a modest rise beginning 144 million years ago with no clear trend afterwards, according to an international team of researchers. This contradicts previous work showing dramatic increases beginning 248 million years ago and may shed light on future diversity.

Circadian Phase Resetting via Single and Multiple Control Targets:

The robust timing, or phase, of the circadian clock is critical in directing and synchronizing molecular, cellular, and organismal behaviors. The clock’s failure to maintain precision and adaption is associated with sleeping disorders, depression, and cancer. To better study and control the timing of circadian rhythms, we make use of systems theoretic tools such as sensitivity analysis and model predictive control (MPC). Sensitivity analysis is used to identify key driving mechanisms without having to fully understand or investigate the detailed mechanistic interconnections of the large complex circadian network. Contrary to intuition, sensitivity analysis of the circadian model highlights several non-photic control inputs (such as transcriptional regulation) that outperform light-based circadian phase resetting – light is known to accelerate protein degradation. Aside from targeting individual parameters as control inputs, our methods identify combinations of control targets that may further the efficiency of entrainment. We compare the phase resetting performance of our MPC algorithm among cases involving individual and multiple simultaneous control targets (in wild-type simulations). We then tailor the algorithm to correct continuously the phase mismatch that occurs in short and long period mutant phenotypes. Through use of the presented tools, our algorithm is robust in the presence of model mismatch and outperforms the natural in silico sun-cycle-based phase recovery strategy by nearly 3-fold.

Increased Brain Signal Variability Accompanies Lower Behavioral Variability in Development:

Intuitive notions of brain-behavior relationships would suggest that because children show more variability in behavior, their brains should also be more variable. We demonstrate that this is not the case. In measuring brain signal variability with EEG and behavior in a simple face recognition task, we found that brain signal variability increases in children from 8-15 y and is even higher in young adults. Importantly, we show that this increased brain variability correlates with reduced behavioral variability and more accurate performance. A brain that has more variability also has greater complexity and a greater capacity for information processing. The implication of our findings is that variability in brain signals, or what some would call noise, is actually a critical feature of brain function. For the brain to operate at an optimal level, a certain amount of internal noise is necessary. In a certain way it could be stated that a noisy brain is a healthy brain.

On the Extent and Origins of Genic Novelty in the Phylum Nematoda:

The high-throughput sequencing of messenger RNA from parasitic organisms has permitted large-scale sequence analyses typically reserved for complete genome studies. Such expressed sequence tags (ESTs) have previously been generated for 37 species from the phylum Nematoda, of which 35 were from parasitic species. These datasets were combined with the complete genomes of Caenorhabditis elegans and C. briggsae. The sequences were assembled into 65,000 protein families, and decorated with 40,000 distinct protein domains. These annotations were analysed in the context of the nematode phylogeny. We identified massive gene loss in the model nematode, C. elegans, as well as plant-like proteins in nematodes that cause crop damage. Furthermore, many protein families were found in small groups of closely related species and may represent innovations necessary to sustain their parasitic ecologies. All of these data are presented at NemBase (www.nematodes.org) and will aid researchers working on this important group of parasites.

An Integrated Approach for the Analysis of Biological Pathways using Mixed Models:

In microarray data analysis, when statistical testing is applied to each gene individually, one is often left with too many significant genes that are difficult to interpret or too few genes after a multiple comparison adjustment. Gene-class, or pathway-level testing, integrates gene annotation data such as Gene Ontology and tests for coordinated changes at the system level. These approaches can both increase power for detecting differential expression and allow for better understanding of the underlying biological processes associated with variations in outcome. We propose an alternative pathway analysis method based on mixed models, and show this method provides useful inferences beyond those available in currently popular methods, with improved power and the ability to handle complex experimental designs.

Agriculture Linked To Frog Sexual Abnormalities:

A farm irrigation canal would seem a healthier place for toads than a ditch by a supermarket parking lot. But University of Florida scientists have found the opposite is true. In a study with wide implications for a longstanding debate over whether agricultural chemicals pose a threat to amphibians, UF zoologists have found that toads in suburban areas are less likely to suffer from reproductive system abnormalities than toads near farms — where some had both testes and ovaries.

Music Went With Cave Art In Prehistoric Caves:

Thousands of years later, we can view stone-age art on cave walls, but we can’t listen to the stone-age music that would have accompanied many of the pictures. In many sites, flutes made of bone are to be found nearby.

Undergraduates Forge New Area Of Bioinformatics:

A group of undergraduate students from the University of California San Diego have forged a new area of bioinformatics that may improve genomic and proteomic annotations and unlock a collection of stubborn biological mysteries. Their work will be published in the July issue of the journal Genome Research.

Scientists Set Out To Measure How We Perceive Naturalness:

Natural products are highly valued by consumers yet their properties have been difficult to reproduce fully in synthetic materials, placing a drain on our limited natural resources. Until now …

Rare Plants And Endangered Species Such As Tigers At Risk From Traditional Medicine:

Two reports from TRAFFIC, the world’s largest wildlife trade monitoring network, on traditional medicine systems in Cambodia and Vietnam suggest that illegal wildlife trade, including entire tiger skeletons, and unsustainable harvesting is depleting the region’s rich and varied biodiversity and putting the primary healthcare resource of millions at risk.

Wild Orangutans Declining More Sharply In Sumatra And Borneo Than Thought:

Endangered wild orangutan (Pongo spp.) populations are declining more sharply in Sumatra and Borneo than previously estimated, according to new findings published this month by Great Ape Trust of Iowa scientist Dr. Serge Wich and other orangutan conservation experts in Oryx – The International Journal of Conservation.

Looking For The Founatain Of Youth? Cut Your Calories, Research Suggests:

Want to slow the signs of aging and live longer? New Saint Louis University research suggests cutting back on calories could be a promising strategy.

Body’s Own ‘Cannabis (Marijuana)’ Is Good For The Skin, Scientists Find:

Scientists from Hungary, Germany and the U.K. have discovered that our own body not only makes chemical compounds similar to the active ingredient in marijuana (THC), but these play an important part in maintaining healthy skin.

Experimental Philosophy Movement Explores Real-life Dilemmas:

Imagine a business executive who thinks: “I know that this new policy will harm the environment, but I don’t care at all about that — I just want to increase profits.” Is the business executive harming the environment intentionally? Faced with this question from a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill philosopher, 82 percent of people polled said yes.

Going Green: Savings And Comfort Are The Best Incentives:

Would shrinking your carbon footprint, recycling more, and going green be easier if you could monitor your household’s environmental impact? That’s the question a team of Canadian industry consultants set out to answer.

In Vitro Fertilization: New Method Predicts Which Women WIll Get Pregnant:

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a method that can predict with 70 percent accuracy whether a woman undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment will become pregnant. This information may someday help the tens of thousands of couples who want to undergo IVF each year, and their doctors, decide on their course of action.

To Multiply, Ant Colonies Adapt To Environmental Conditions:

By combining field work in Australia with mathematical modeling, three scientists from the laboratoire Fonctionnement et évolution des systèmes écologiques (CNRS/Université Pierre et Marie Curie/ENS Paris) have shown that the quality and quantity of winged queens produced by colonies of the Rhytidoponera ant vary according to environmental conditions. In certain cases, colonies even stop producing founding queens and spread solely by splitting up the colony.

Two-ton, 500 Million-year-old Fossil Of Stromatolite Discovered In Virginia, U.S.:

Virginia Museum of Natural History scientists have confirmed that an approximately 500 million-year-old stromatolite was recently discovered at the Boxley Blue Ridge Quarry near Roanoke, Virginia. This specimen is the first-ever intact stromatolite head found in Virginia, and is one of the largest complete “heads” in the world, at over 5 feet in diameter and weighing over 2 tons.

Secret Of The Sweet-Sounding Stradivarius: Wood Density Explains Sound Quality Of Great Master Violins:

The advantage of using medical equipment to study classical musical instruments has been proven by a Dutch researcher from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). In collaboration with a renowned luthier, Dr. Berend Stoel put classical violins, including several made by Stradivarius, in a CT scanner. The homogeneity in the densities of the wood from which the classical violins are made, in marked contrast to the modern violins studied, may very well explain their superior sound production.

Resveratrol, Found In Red Wine, Wards Off Effects Of Age On Heart, Bones, Eyes And Muscle:

Scientists have found that the compound resveratrol — found in red wine and grape skin — slows age-related deterioration and functional decline of mice on a standard diet, but does not increase longevity when started at middle age.

Species Extinction Threat Underestimated Due To Math Glitch:

Extinction risks for natural populations of endangered species are likely being underestimated by as much as 100-fold because of a mathematical “misdiagnosis,” according to a new study led by a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher.

Prevalence Of Religious Congregations Affects Mortality Rates:

LSU associate professor of sociology Troy C. Blanchard recently found that a community’s religious environment — that is, the type of religious congregations within a locale — affects mortality rates, often in a positive manner. These results were published in the June issue of Social Forces.

Sleep Problems Associated With Menopause Vary Among Ethnic Groups:

Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep increase as women go through menopause according to research by Rush University Medical Center. Waking up earlier than planned also increases through late perimenopause but decreases when women become postmenopausal. The study is published in the July 1 issue of the journal Sleep.

Does This Make Me Look Fat?:

The peer groups teenage girls identify with determine how they decide to control their own figure. So reports a new study by Dr. Eleanor Mackey from the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC, and her colleague Dr. Annette La Greca from the University of Miami. Also influencing weight control behavior is girls’ own definition of normal body weight and their perception of what others consider normal body weight.

Evolutionary Origin Of Mammalian Gene Regulation Is Over 150 Million Years Old:

Scientists at the Babraham Institute, the Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge and the University of Melbourne and the University of Texas at San Antonio (all part of the SAVOIR consortium) have found that a complex, highly conserved and extremely important mechanism of controlling genes is over 150 million years old.

Get Smart About What You Eat And You Might Actually Improve Your Intelligence:

New research findings published online in The FASEB Journal provide more evidence that if we get smart about what we eat, our intelligence can improve. According to MIT scientists, dietary nutrients found in a wide range of foods from infant formula to eggs increase brain synapses and improve cognitive abilities.

Attitudes Toward Consumption And Conservation Of Tigers In China:

The potential market for tiger products in China is enormous, but a vast majority of the Chinese public would rather have wild tigers than tiger-bone wine, according to new research.

Tummy’s Taste For Red Wine With Red Meat:

What happens when red wine meets red meat? If the rendezvous happens in the stomach, scientists in Israel are reporting, wine’s bounty of healthful chemical compounds may thwart formation of harmful substances released during digestion of fat in the meat.

Malagasy Chameleon Spends Most Of Its Short Life In An Egg:

There is a newly discovered life history among the 28,300 species of known tetrapods, or four-legged animals with backbones. A chameleon from arid southwestern Madagascar spends up to three-quarters of its life in an egg. Even more unusual, life after hatching is a mere 4 to 5 months. No other known four-legged animal has such a rapid growth rate and such a short life span.

Newcomer In Early Eurafrican Population?:

A complete mandible of Homo erectus was discovered at the Thomas I quarry in Casablanca by a French-Moroccan team co-led by Jean-Paul Raynal, CNRS senior researcher at the PACEA laboratory (CNRS/Université Bordeaux 1/ Ministry of Culture and Communication). This mandible is the oldest human fossil uncovered from scientific excavations in Morocco. The discovery will help better define northern Africa’s possible role in first populating southern Europe.

New Evidence That Ancient Choanoflagellates’ Form Evolutionary Link Between Single-celled And Multi-celled Organisms:

What do humans and single-celled choanoflagellates have in common? More than you’d think. New research into the choanoflagellate genome shows these ancient organisms have similar levels of proteins that cells in more complex organisms, including humans, use to communicate with each other.

An Impossible Coexistence: Transgenic And Organic Agriculture:

The cultivation of genetically modified maize has caused a drastic reduction in organic cultivation of this grain and is making their coexistence practically impossible. This is the main conclusion reached in one of the first field studies in Europe carried out by a researcher of the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, who has analysed the situation in Catalonia and Aragon, Europe’s main producers of transgenic foods.

Eating Broccoli May Keep Prostate Cancer Away, Study Suggests:

Eating one or more portions of broccoli every week can reduce the risk of prostate cancer, and the risk of localised cancer becoming more aggressive.

Worms Do Calculus To Find Meals Or Avoid Unpleasantness:

Thanks to salt and hot chili peppers, researchers have found a calculus-computing center that tells a roundworm to go forward toward dinner or turn to broaden the search. It’s a computational mechanism, they say, that is similar to what drives hungry college students to a pizza.

There are 62 articles published this week in PLoS ONE. There are also two Journal Clubs going on right now – here and here. Here are some of my picks for the week – go read, rate, comment and send trackbacks:
A Comparison of Wood Density between Classical Cremonese and Modern Violins:

Classical violins created by Cremonese masters, such as Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri Del Gesu, have become the benchmark to which the sound of all violins are compared in terms of their abilities of expressiveness and projection. By general consensus, no luthier since that time has been able to replicate the sound quality of these classical instruments. The vibration and sound radiation characteristics of a violin are determined by an instrument’s geometry and the material properties of the wood. New test methods allow the non-destructive examination of one of the key material properties, the wood density, at the growth ring level of detail. The densities of five classical and eight modern violins were compared, using computed tomography and specially developed image-processing software. No significant differences were found between the median densities of the modern and the antique violins, however the density difference between wood grains of early and late growth was significantly smaller in the classical Cremonese violins compared with modern violins, in both the top (Spruce) and back (Maple) plates (p = 0.028 and 0.008, respectively). The mean density differential (SE) of the top plates of the modern and classical violins was 274 (26.6) and 183 (11.7) gram/liter. For the back plates, the values were 128 (2.6) and 115 (2.0) gram/liter. These differences in density differentials may reflect similar changes in stiffness distributions, which could directly impact vibrational efficacy or indirectly modify sound radiation via altered damping characteristics. Either of these mechanisms may help explain the acoustical differences between the classical and modern violins.

Children’s Perceptions of Rainforest Biodiversity: Which Animals Have the Lion’s Share of Environmental Awareness?:

Globally, natural ecosystems are being lost to agricultural land at an unprecedented rate. This land-use often results in significant reductions in abundance and diversity of the flora and fauna as well as alterations in their composition. Despite this, there is little public perception of which taxa are most important in terms of their total biomass, biodiversity or the ecosystem services they perform. Such awareness is important for conservation, as without appreciation of their value and conservation status, species are unlikely to receive adequate conservation protection. We investigated children’s perceptions of rainforest biodiversity by asking primary-age children, visiting the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge to draw their ideal rainforest. By recording the frequency at which children drew different climatic, structural, vegetative and faunal components of the rainforest, we were able to quantify children’s understanding of a rainforest environment. We investigated children’s perceptions of rainforest biodiversity by comparing the relative numbers of the taxa drawn with the actual contributions made by these taxa to total rainforest biomass and global biodiversity. We found that children have a sophisticated view of the rainforest, incorporating many habitat features and a diverse range of animals. However, some taxa were over-represented (particularly mammals, birds and reptiles) and others under-represented (particularly insects and annelids) relative to their contribution to total biomass and species richness. Scientists and naturalists must continue to emphasise the diversity and functional importance of lesser-known taxa through public communication and outdoor events to aid invertebrate conservation and to ensure that future generations are inspired to become naturalists themselves.

Relationship between Quality and Editorial Leadership of Biomedical Research Journals: A Comparative Study of Italian and UK Journals:

The quality of biomedical reporting is guided by statements of several organizations. Although not all journals adhere to these guidelines, those that do demonstrate “editorial leadership” in their author community. To investigate a possible relationship between editorial leadership and journal quality, research journals from two European countries, one Anglophone and one non-Anglophone, were studied and compared. Quality was measured on a panel of bibliometric parameters while editorial leadership was evaluated from journals’ instructions to authors. The study considered all 76 Italian journals indexed in Medline and 76 randomly chosen UK journals; only journals both edited and published in these countries were studied. Compared to UK journals, Italian journals published fewer papers (median, 60 vs. 93; p = 0.006), less often had online archives (43 vs. 74; p<0.001) and had lower median values of impact factor (1.2 vs. 2.7, p<0.001) and SCImago journal rank (0.09 vs. 0.25, p<0.001). Regarding editorial leadership, Italian journals less frequently required manuscripts to specify competing interests (p<0.001), authors' contributions (p = 0.005), funding (p<0.001), informed consent (p<0.001), ethics committee review (p<0.001). No Italian journal adhered to COPE or the CONSORT and QUOROM statements nor required clinical trial registration, while these characteristics were observed in 15%-43% of UK journals (p<0.001). At multiple regression, editorial leadership predicted 37.1%-49.9% of the variance in journal quality defined by citation statistics (p<0.0001); confounding variables inherent to a cross-cultural comparison had a relatively small contribution, explaining an additional 6.2%-13.8% of the variance. Journals from Italy scored worse for quality and editorial leadership than did their UK counterparts. Editorial leadership predicted quality for the entire set of journals. Greater appreciation of international initiatives to improve biomedical reporting may help low-quality journals achieve higher status.

An Automated Phylogenetic Tree-Based Small Subunit rRNA Taxonomy and Alignment Pipeline (STAP) (Jonathan Eisen explains):

Comparative analysis of small-subunit ribosomal RNA (ss-rRNA) gene sequences forms the basis for much of what we know about the phylogenetic diversity of both cultured and uncultured microorganisms. As sequencing costs continue to decline and throughput increases, sequences of ss-rRNA genes are being obtained at an ever-increasing rate. This increasing flow of data has opened many new windows into microbial diversity and evolution, and at the same time has created significant methodological challenges. Those processes which commonly require time-consuming human intervention, such as the preparation of multiple sequence alignments, simply cannot keep up with the flood of incoming data. Fully automated methods of analysis are needed. Notably, existing automated methods avoid one or more steps that, though computationally costly or difficult, we consider to be important. In particular, we regard both the building of multiple sequence alignments and the performance of high quality phylogenetic analysis to be necessary. We describe here our fully-automated ss-rRNA taxonomy and alignment pipeline (STAP). It generates both high-quality multiple sequence alignments and phylogenetic trees, and thus can be used for multiple purposes including phylogenetically-based taxonomic assignments and analysis of species diversity in environmental samples. The pipeline combines publicly-available packages (PHYML, BLASTN and CLUSTALW) with our automatic alignment, masking, and tree-parsing programs. Most importantly, this automated process yields results comparable to those achievable by manual analysis, yet offers speed and capacity that are unattainable by manual efforts.

A Microsatellite Guided Insight into the Genetic Status of Adi, an Isolated Hunting-Gathering Tribe of Northeast India:

Tibeto-Burman populations of India provide an insight into the peopling of India and aid in understanding their genetic relationship with populations of East, South and Southeast Asia. The study investigates the genetic status of one such Tibeto-Burman group, Adi of Arunachal Pradesh based on 15 autosomal microsatellite markers. Further the study examines, based on 9 common microsatellite loci, the genetic relationship of Adi with 16 other Tibeto-Burman speakers of India and 28 neighboring populations of East and Southeast Asia. Overall, the results support the recent formation of the Adi sub-tribes from a putative ancestral group and reveal that geographic contiguity is a major influencing factor of the genetic affinity among the Tibeto-Burman populations of India.

Attitudes Toward Consumption and Conservation of Tigers in China:

A heated debate has recently emerged between tiger farmers and conservationists about the potential consequences of lifting the ban on trade in farmed tiger products in China. This debate has caused unfounded speculation about the extent of the potential market for tiger products. To fill this knowledge gap, we surveyed 1880 residents from a total of six Chinese cities to understand Urban Chinese tiger consumption behavior, knowledge of trade issues and attitudes towards tiger conservation. We found that 43% of respondents had consumed some product alleged to contain tiger parts. Within this user-group, 71% said that they preferred wild products over farmed ones. The two predominant products used were tiger bone plasters (38%) and tiger bone wine (6.4%). 88% of respondents knew that it was illegal to buy or sell tiger products, and 93% agreed that a ban in trade of tiger parts was necessary to conserve wild tigers. These results indicate that while Urban Chinese people are generally supportive of tiger conservation, there is a huge residual demand for tiger products that could resurge if the ban on trade in tiger parts is lifted in China. We suspect that the current supply of the market is predominantly met by fakes or substitutes branded as tiger medicines, but not listing tiger as an ingredient. We suggest that the Traditional Chinese Medicine community should consider re-branding these products as bone-healing medicines in order to reduce the residual demand for real tiger parts over the long-term. The lifting of the current ban on trade in farmed tiger parts may cause a surge in demand for wild tiger parts that consumers say are better. Because of the low input costs associated with poaching, wild-sourced parts would consistently undercut the prices of farmed tigers that could easily be laundered on a legal market. We therefore recommend that the Chinese authorities maintain the ban on trade in tiger parts, and work to improve the enforcement of the existing ban.

Trait-Like Brain Activity during Adolescence Predicts Anxious Temperament in Primates:

Early theorists (Freud and Darwin) speculated that extremely shy children, or those with anxious temperament, were likely to have anxiety problems as adults. More recent studies demonstrate that these children have heightened responses to potentially threatening situations reacting with intense defensive responses that are characterized by behavioral inhibition (BI) (inhibited motor behavior and decreased vocalizations) and physiological arousal. Confirming the earlier impressions, data now demonstrate that children with this disposition are at increased risk to develop anxiety, depression, and comorbid substance abuse. Additional key features of anxious temperament are that it appears at a young age, it is a stable characteristic of individuals, and even in non-threatening environments it is associated with increased psychic anxiety and somatic tension. To understand the neural underpinnings of anxious temperament, we performed imaging studies with 18-fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) high-resolution Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in young rhesus monkeys. Rhesus monkeys were used because they provide a well validated model of anxious temperament for studies that cannot be performed in human children. Imaging the same animal in stressful and secure contexts, we examined the relation between regional metabolic brain activity and a trait-like measure of anxious temperament that encompasses measures of BI and pituitary-adrenal reactivity. Regardless of context, results demonstrated a trait-like pattern of brain activity (amygdala, bed nucleus of stria terminalis, hippocampus, and periaqueductal gray) that is predictive of individual phenotypic differences. Importantly, individuals with extreme anxious temperament also displayed increased activity of this circuit when assessed in the security of their home environment. These findings suggest that increased activity of this circuit early in life mediates the childhood temperamental risk to develop anxiety and depression. In addition, the findings provide an explanation for why individuals with anxious temperament have difficulty relaxing in environments that others perceive as non-stressful.v

Maternal Feeding Controls Fetal Biological Clock:

It is widely accepted that circadian physiological rhythms of the fetus are affected by oscillators in the maternal brain that are coupled to the environmental light-dark (LD) cycle. To study the link between fetal and maternal biological clocks, we investigated the effects of cycles of maternal food availability on the rhythms of Per1 gene expression in the fetal suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and liver using a transgenic rat model whose tissues express luciferase in vitro. Although the maternal SCN remained phase-locked to the LD cycle, maternal restricted feeding phase-advanced the fetal SCN and liver by 5 and 7 hours respectively within the 22-day pregnancy. Our results demonstrate that maternal feeding entrains the fetal SCN and liver independently of both the maternal SCN and the LD cycle. This indicates that maternal-feeding signals can be more influential for the fetal SCN and particular organ oscillators than hormonal signals controlled by the maternal SCN, suggesting the importance of a regular maternal feeding schedule for appropriate fetal molecular clockwork during pregnancy.

Avoiding Costly Conservation Mistakes: The Importance of Defining Actions and Costs in Spatial Priority Setting:

The typical mandate in conservation planning is to identify areas that represent biodiversity targets within the smallest possible area of land or sea, despite the fact that area may be a poor surrogate for the cost of many conservation actions. It is also common for priorities for conservation investment to be identified without regard to the particular conservation action that will be implemented. This demonstrates inadequate problem specification and may lead to inefficiency: the cost of alternative conservation actions can differ throughout a landscape, and may result in dissimilar conservation priorities. We investigate the importance of formulating conservation planning problems with objectives and cost data that relate to specific conservation actions. We identify priority areas in Australia for two alternative conservation actions: land acquisition and stewardship. Our analyses show that using the cost surrogate that most closely reflects the planned conservation action can cut the cost of achieving our biodiversity goals by half. We highlight spatial differences in relative priorities for land acquisition and stewardship in Australia, and provide a simple approach for determining which action should be undertaken where. Our study shows that a poorly posed conservation problem that fails to pre-specify the planned conservation action and incorporate cost a priori can lead to expensive mistakes. We can be more efficient in achieving conservation goals by clearly specifying our conservation objective and parameterising the problem with economic data that reflects this objective.

Mating with Stressed Males Increases the Fitness of Ant Queens:

According to sexual conflict theory, males can increase their own fitness by transferring substances during copulation that increase the short-term fecundity of their mating partners at the cost of the future life expectancy and re-mating capability of the latter. In contrast, sexual cooperation is expected in social insects. Mating indeed positively affects life span and fecundity of young queens of the male-polymorphic ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, even though males neither provide nuptial gifts nor any other care but leave their mates immediately after copulation and die shortly thereafter. Here, we show that mating with winged disperser males has a significantly stronger impact on life span and reproductive success of young queens of C. obscurior than mating with wingless fighter males. Winged males are reared mostly under stressful environmental conditions, which force young queens to disperse and found their own societies independently. In contrast, queens that mate with wingless males under favourable conditions usually start reproducing in the safety of the established maternal nest. Our study suggests that males of C. obscurior have evolved mechanisms to posthumously assist young queens during colony founding under adverse ecological conditions.

New Map IDs The Core Of The Human Brain:

An international team of researchers has created the first complete high-resolution map of how millions of neural fibers in the human cerebral cortex — the outer layer of the brain responsible for higher level thinking — connect and communicate. Their groundbreaking work identified a single network core, or hub, that may be key to the workings of both hemispheres of the brain.

Neuroscience Teaching Using Multi-Media:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Williams College $228,987 to redesign the way introductory science of the brain is taught.

New Study Is First To Look Beyond General Attitudes About End-Of-Life Options And Ask Older People What They Would Do:

It used to be that when you had a life-threatening illness you waited it out. Nowadays you have options. A new study in the just-released March issue of Psychology and Aging, published by the American Psychological Association (APA), looks at the factors that influence older adults end-of-life decisions.

The Suspect Confessed. Case Closed? Not Necessarily, Researcher Says:

Even Modern Non-Violent Interrogation Techniques Can Produce False Confessions.

United States Has Highest Level Of Illegal Cocaine And Cannabis Use:

A survey of 17 countries has found that despite its punitive drug policies the United States has the highest levels of illegal cocaine and cannabis use. The study, by Louisa Degenhardt (University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia) and colleagues, is based on the World Health Organization’s Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI).

Penguins Setting Off Sirens Over Health Of World’s Oceans:

Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, penguins are sounding the alarm for potentially catastrophic changes in the world’s oceans, and the culprit isn’t only climate change, says a University of Washington conservation biologist.

Evolution Of Fruit Size In Tomato:

Domesticated tomatoes can be up to 1000 times larger than their wild relatives. How did they get so big?

Carbon Hoofprint: Cows Supplemented With RbST Reduce Agriculture’s Environmental Impact:

Milk goes green: Cows that receive recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rbST) make more milk, all the while easing natural resource pressure and substantially reducing environmental impact, according to a Cornell University study.

Mate Choice In Plants:

Plants are very selective when it comes to choosing mates. Flowering plant pollination systems are clever devices for attracting pollinators like birds, ants, and insects, but there are also mechanisms for keeping out unwanted pollen. Some plants happily self-fertilize with their own pollen but others reject such pollen because of the deleterious effects of inbreeding. In these plants, their own pollen or that of close relatives is rejected if it lands on the female stigma.

Shiitake Mushrooms May Improve Human Immune Function, Especially If Grown On Old Oak Logs:

Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) mushrooms are good for you–and shiitake byproducts can be good for other crops.

As always on Monday night, there are new articles published in PLoS Biology and PLoS Medicine. Here are some of the highlights:
Shedding Light on Animal Cryptochromes:

Anyone who’s neglected a houseplant for any length of time knows that plants can’t survive without light. But it’s more complicated than that; in addition to serving as an energy source, light is used by plants as a signal to sense and respond to the environment. For example, both red and blue light send the signal for maturation and flower and seed development. Depriving a plant of such light signals disrupts a variety of growth processes such as early seedling development, leaf and stem expansion, and initiation of flowering, as well as circadian clock entrainment. Cryptochromes are photoreceptor proteins used by plants to mediate the effects of blue light; they are also found in animals like flies and mice, where they help to regulate the circadian clock. In plants, exposure to blue light results in the reduction (gain of electrons) of flavin pigments that are bound by the cryptochrome. Blue light activates plant cryptochromes by reducing the flavins, but researchers weren’t sure exactly how blue light activates fly cryptochromes, or if mammalian cryptochromes even respond to light at all.

Human and Drosophila Cryptochromes Are Light Activated by Flavin Photoreduction in Living Cells:

Vision in animals is generally associated with light-sensitive rhodopsin pigments located in the eyes. However, animals ranging from flies to humans also possess ancient visual receptors known as cryptochromes in multiple cell types. In this work, we study the mechanism of light sensing in two representative animal cryptochromes: a light-sensitive Drosophila cryptochrome (Dmcry) and a presumed light-insensitive mammalian cryptochrome from humans (Hscry1). We expressed recombinant cryptochromes to high levels in living cells, irradiated the cells with blue light, and analyzed the proteins’ response to irradiation with electron paramagnetic resonance and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques. Photoreduction of protein-bound oxidized FAD cofactor to its radical form emerged as the primary cryptochrome photoreaction in living cells, and was correlated with a light-sensitive biological response in whole organisms. These results indicate that both Dmcry and Hscry1 are capable of undergoing similar light-driven reactions and suggest the possibility of an as-yet unknown photo-perception role for human cryptochromes in tissues exposed to light.

From Structure to Function: Mapping the Connection Matrix of the Human Brain:

When American architect Louis Sullivan proffered the enduring mantra of 20th century design–form follows function–he chided his peers for violating in art a law so clearly visible in the “open apple blossom” and “sweeping eagle in his flight.” The notion that the essence of things takes shape in the matter of things, first articulated in Aristotle’s philosophy, has long guided biologists’ attempts to understand the inner workings of the most complex organ known–the human brain. Fine-grained descriptions of anatomical features of the eye and ear, for example, have yielded critical insights into the neural basis of image and sound perception. But for a systems-level understanding of how the brain works, researchers look to the overall topology of network connections among neurons for answers.

Neuronal Correlates of the Set-Size Effect in Monkey Lateral Intraparietal Area:

It is well known that the brain is limited in the amount of sensory information that it can process at any given time. During an everyday task such as finding an object in a cluttered environment (known as visual search), observers take longer to find a target as the number of distractors increases. This well-known phenomenon implies that inputs from distractors interfere with the brain’s ability to perceive the target at some stage or stages of neural processing. However, the loci and mechanisms of this interference are unknown. Visual information is processed in feature-selective areas that encode the physical properties of stimuli and in higher-order areas that convey information about behavioral significance and help direct attention to individual stimuli. Here we studied a higher-order parietal area related to attention and eye movements. We found that parietal neurons selectively track the location of a search target during a difficult visual search task. However, neuronal firing rates decreased as distractors were added to the display, and the decrease in the target-related response correlated with the set-size-related increase in reaction time. This suggests that distractors trigger competitive visuo-visual interactions that limit the brain’s ability to find and focus on a task-relevant target.

Mapping the Structural Core of Human Cerebral Cortex:

In the human brain, neural activation patterns are shaped by the underlying structural connections that form a dense network of fiber pathways linking all regions of the cerebral cortex. Using diffusion imaging techniques, which allow the noninvasive mapping of fiber pathways, we constructed connection maps covering the entire cortical surface. Computational analyses of the resulting complex brain network reveal regions of cortex that are highly connected and highly central, forming a structural core of the human brain. Key components of the core are portions of posterior medial cortex that are known to be highly activated at rest, when the brain is not engaged in a cognitively demanding task. Because we were interested in how brain structure relates to brain function, we also recorded brain activation patterns from the same participant group. We found that structural connection patterns and functional interactions between regions of cortex were significantly correlated. Based on our findings, we suggest that the structural core of the brain may have a central role in integrating information across functionally segregated brain regions.

Toward a Global View of Alcohol, Tobacco, Cannabis, and Cocaine Use: Findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys:

Alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use are held responsible for considerable mortality and morbidity [1], but in the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) Global Burden of Disease estimates, the authors unanimously asserted that better epidemiological data on use were needed, particularly in less established market economies [2-4]. This paper presents data on lifetime alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and cocaine use from rigorously conducted field surveys using a common research approach in the first 17 countries to participate in the WHO’s World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative [5,6]. A number of less established market economies are included in this set of countries.

Documenting Mortality in Crises: What Keeps Us from Doing Better?:

The effects of crises (man-made or natural disasters) on physical health are ultimately quantifiable as a rise in mortality. Precise and unbiased estimates of mortality rates (deaths per person-time) or excess death tolls (deaths attributable to the presence of the crisis) are critical to grading the severity of a crisis at its onset and over time, and adjusting relief operations accordingly [1,2]. Indeed, the onset of emergencies is commonly defined as a doubling of mortality rate from the pre-crisis baseline, or the crossing of fixed thresholds, typically one death per 10,000 person-days [2]. In reality, because mortality increases only after a crisis has evolved, acute malnutrition may be a better indicator for early crisis detection [3], and data on morbidity and on the coverage of interventions against the main known risk factors for poor health outcomes (e.g., insufficient water and sanitation, lack of preventive and curative health services, etc.) are more useful to target relief programmes and minimise preventable deaths.

Mammalian Clock Protein Responds Directly To Light:

We all know that light effects the growth and development of plants, but what effect does light have on humans and animals? A new paper by Nathalie Hoang et al., published in PLoS Biology, explores this question by examining cryptochromes in flies, mice, and humans. In plants, cryptochromes are photoreceptor proteins which absorb and process blue light for functions such as growth, seedling development, and leaf and stem expansion. Cryptochromes are present in humans and animals as well and have been proven to regulate the mechanisms of the circadian clock. But how they work in humans and animals is still somewhat of a mystery.

Whales Set To Chase Shrinking Feed Zones:

Endangered migratory whales will be faced with shrinking crucial Antarctic foraging zones which will contain less food and will be further away, a new analysis of the impacts of climate change on Southern Ocean whales has found.

Watermelon May Have Viagra-effect:

A cold slice of watermelon has long been a Fourth of July holiday staple. But according to recent studies, the juicy fruit may be better suited for Valentine’s Day. That’s because scientists say watermelon has ingredients that deliver Viagra-like effects to the body’s blood vessels and may even increase libido.

Climate Change Causing Significant Shift In Composition Of Coastal Fish Communities:

A detailed analysis of data from nearly 50 years of weekly fish-trawl surveys in Narragansett Bay and adjacent Rhode Island Sound has revealed a long-term shift in species composition, which scientists attribute primarily to the effects of global warming.

Passports For Penguins: New Technology Lets Biologists ID Large Numbers Of Endangered Animals:

Ground-breaking technology that will enable biologists to identify and monitor large numbers of endangered animals, from butterflies to whales, without being captured, will be shown to the public for the first time at this year’s Royal Society Summer Science exhibition [30 June to 3 July].

Biologists Show How Eye’s Neurons Switch Functions During Metamorphosis:

Researchers at New York University’s Center for Developmental Genetics report that the photoreceptors in an insect’s eye can change their traditional functions during metamorphosis. The researchers found that when photoreceptors responsible for detecting the color green die off during metamorphosis a second class of photoreceptors–those responsible for detecting the color blue–then fill the role of detecting the color green. These rare switches, the authors speculate, are likely the result of changing life patterns.

Canine Tooth Strength Provides Clues To Behavior Of Early Human Ancestors:

Measuring and testing the teeth of living primates could provide a window into the behavior of the earliest human ancestors, based on their fossilized remains. Research funded by the National Science Foundation and led by University of Arkansas anthropologist Michael Plavcan takes us one step closer to understanding the relationship between canine teeth, body size and the lives of primates.

Thursday night – time to check in to see what is new in PLoS Genetics, PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Pathogens and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases:
The Exception That Proves the Rule: An Interview with Jenny Graves:

Close to 20 years ago, I was contacted by an Australian woman who was planning to map the locations of genes that are X-linked in humans in some odd Australian critters, the monotremes. These animals comprise a distantly related branch of mammals that have hair and lactate, but additionally lay eggs. She wanted a probe from our lab, and, in exchange, little vials of DNA from spiny echidna and platypus appeared in the mail. Our lab became enamoured of these singular animals, and we followed their scientific story with great interest. The lady was Jenny Graves [Image 1], and it has taken me this long to finally meet her.

Ten Simple Rules for Organizing a Scientific Meeting:

Scientific meetings come in various flavors–from one-day focused workshops of 1-20 people to large-scale multiple-day meetings of 1,000 or more delegates, including keynotes, sessions, posters, social events, and so on. These ten rules are intended to provide insights into organizing meetings across the scale.

How To Advance Open International Scientific Exchange:

Computational biology is an international collaboration. Open scholarly exchange nurtures the development of our field. And scientists are not the only beneficiaries; international cooperation is a crucial part of any country’s diplomatic relations. Our community, by actively engaging governments, needs to promote scientific exchange.

Neglected Infections of Poverty in the United States of America:

In the United States, there is a largely hidden burden of diseases caused by a group of chronic and debilitating parasitic, bacterial, and congenital infections known as the neglected infections of poverty. Like their neglected tropical disease counterparts in developing countries, the neglected infections of poverty in the US disproportionately affect impoverished and under-represented minority populations. The major neglected infections include the helminth infections, toxocariasis, strongyloidiasis, ascariasis, and cysticercosis; the intestinal protozoan infection trichomoniasis; some zoonotic bacterial infections, including leptospirosis; the vector-borne infections Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, trench fever, and dengue fever; and the congenital infections cytomegalovirus (CMV), toxoplasmosis, and syphilis. These diseases occur predominantly in people of color living in the Mississippi Delta and elsewhere in the American South, in disadvantaged urban areas, and in the US-Mexico borderlands, as well as in certain immigrant populations and disadvantaged white populations living in Appalachia. Preliminary disease burden estimates of the neglected infections of poverty indicate that tens of thousands, or in some cases, hundreds of thousands of poor Americans harbor these chronic infections, which represent some of the greatest health disparities in the United States. Specific policy recommendations include active surveillance (including newborn screening) to ascertain accurate population-based estimates of disease burden; epidemiological studies to determine the extent of autochthonous transmission of Chagas disease and other infections; mass or targeted treatments; vector control; and research and development for new control tools including improved diagnostics and accelerated development of a vaccine to prevent congenital CMV infection and congenital toxoplasmosis.

Huge Genome-scale Phylogenetic Study Of Birds Rewrites Evolutionary Tree-of-life:

The largest ever study of bird genetics has not only shaken up but completely redrawn the avian evolutionary tree. The study challenges current classifications, alters our understanding of avian evolution, and provides a valuable resource for phylogenetic and comparative studies in birds.

Cocoa Genome To Be Sequenced: May Benefit Millions Of Farmers, Help Sustain World’s Chocolate Supply:

The United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Mars, Incorporated, and IBM intend to apply their scientific resources to sequence and analyze the entire cocoa genome. Sequencing the cocoa genome is a significant scientific step that may allow more directed breeding of cocoa plants and perhaps even enhance the quality of cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate.

Neuroscientists Discover A Sense Of Adventure:

Wellcome Trust scientists have identified a key region of the brain which encourages us to be adventurous. The region, located in a primitive area of the brain, is activated when we choose unfamiliar options, suggesting an evolutionary advantage for sampling the unknown. It may also explain why re-branding of familiar products encourages to pick them off the supermarket shelves.

Nerve Cells Derived From Stem Cells And Transplanted Into Mice May Lead To Improved Brain Treatments:

Scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have, for the first time, genetically programmed embryonic stem (ES) cells to become nerve cells when transplanted into the brain, according to a new study published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Women Have Not Adapted To Casual Sex, Research Shows:

The sexual and feminist revolutions were supposed to free women to enjoy casual sex just as men always had. Yet according to Professor Anne Campbell from Durham University in the UK, the negative feelings reported by women after one-night stands suggest that they are not well adapted to fleeting sexual encounters.

Salutary Pizza Spice: Oregano Helps Against Inflammations:

Oregano doesn’t only give a pizza its typical taste. Researchers at Bonn University and the ETH Zürich have discovered that this spice also contains a substance which, amongst other qualities, appears to help cure inflammations.

Diversity Among Bird Populations Found To Reduce Threat Of West Nile Virus:

A biologist and undergraduate student have discovered that what’s good for an area’s bird population is also good for people living nearby.

It’s Email, But At A Snail’s Pace:

Bournemouth University Research Fellows Vicki Isley and Paul Smith are using live snails to send emails as part of a ‘slow art’ project aimed at encouraging people to explore notions of time.

Extreme Weather Events Can Unleash A ‘Perfect Storm’ Of Infectious Diseases, Research Study Says:

An international research team, including University of Minnesota researcher Craig Packer, has found the first clear example of how climate extremes, such as the increased frequency of droughts and floods expected with global warming, can create conditions in which diseases that are tolerated individually may converge and cause mass die-offs of livestock or wildlife.

Our Genome Changes Over Lifetime, And May Explain Many ‘Late-onset’ Diseases:

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that epigenetic marks on DNA-chemical marks other than the DNA sequence-do indeed change over a person’s lifetime, and that the degree of change is similar among family members. The team suggests that overall genome health is heritable and that epigenetic changes occurring over one’s lifetime may explain why disease susceptibility increases with age.

Newly Identified Role For ‘Power Plants’ In Human Cells Could Lead To Targeted Therapies:

Scientists have determined that human cells are able to shift important gene products into their own mitochondria, considered the power plants of cells. The finding could eventually lead to therapies for dozens of diseases.

‘Neglected Infections Of Poverty’ In United States Disable Hundreds Of Thousands Of Americans Annually:

An analysis published June 25th in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases highlights that diseases very similar to those plaguing Africa, Asia, and Latin America are also occurring frequently among the poorest people in the United States, especially women and children. These diseases — the “neglected infections of poverty” — are caused by chronic and debilitating parasitic, bacterial, and congenital infections.

Climate Change Could Severely Impact California’s Unique Native Plants:

The native plants unique to California are so vulnerable to global climate change that two-thirds of these “endemics” could suffer more than an 80 percent reduction in geographic range by the end of the century, according to a new University of California, Berkeley, study.

No Scent, No Sex For The Japanese Beetle:

No scent. No sex. If a male Japanese beetle is unable to detect the sex pheromone released by a female, he won’t be able to locate her and reproduce.

There are 54 new articlespublished in PLoS ONE today. Here are my picks:
Climate Extremes Promote Fatal Co-Infections during Canine Distemper Epidemics in African Lions:

Extreme climatic conditions may alter historic host-pathogen relationships and synchronize the temporal and spatial convergence of multiple infectious agents, triggering epidemics with far greater mortality than those due to single pathogens. Here we present the first data to clearly illustrate how climate extremes can promote a complex interplay between epidemic and endemic pathogens that are normally tolerated in isolation, but with co-infection, result in catastrophic mortality. A 1994 canine distemper virus (CDV) epidemic in Serengeti lions (Panthera leo) coincided with the death of a third of the population, and a second high-mortality CDV epidemic struck the nearby Ngorongoro Crater lion population in 2001. The extent of adult mortalities was unusual for CDV and prompted an investigation into contributing factors. Serological analyses indicated that at least five “silent” CDV epidemics swept through the same two lion populations between 1976 and 2006 without clinical signs or measurable mortality, indicating that CDV was not necessarily fatal. Clinical and pathology findings suggested that hemoparsitism was a major contributing factor during fatal epidemics. Using quantitative real-time PCR, we measured the magnitude of hemoparasite infections in these populations over 22 years and demonstrated significantly higher levels of Babesia during the 1994 and 2001 epidemics. Babesia levels correlated with mortalities and extent of CDV exposure within prides. The common event preceding the two high mortality CDV outbreaks was extreme drought conditions with wide-spread herbivore die-offs, most notably of Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer). As a consequence of high tick numbers after the resumption of rains and heavy tick infestations of starving buffalo, the lions were infected by unusually high numbers of Babesia, infections that were magnified by the immunosuppressive effects of coincident CDV, leading to unprecedented mortality. Such mass mortality events may become increasingly common if climate extremes disrupt historic stable relationships between co-existing pathogens and their susceptible hosts.

Left Hemisphere Specialization for Oro-Facial Movements of Learned Vocal Signals by Captive Chimpanzees:

The left hemisphere of the human brain is dominant in the production of speech and signed language. Whether similar lateralization of function for communicative signal production is present in other primates remains a topic of considerable debate. In the current study, we examined whether oro-facial movements associated with the production of learned attention-getting sounds are differentially lateralized compared to facial expressions associated with the production of species-typical emotional vocalizations in chimpanzees. Still images captured from digital video were used to quantify oro-facial asymmetries in the production of two attention-getting sounds and two species-typical vocalizations in a sample of captive chimpanzees. Comparisons of mouth asymmetries during production of these sounds revealed significant rightward biased asymmetries for the attention-getting sounds and significant leftward biased asymmetries for the species-typical sounds. These results suggest that the motor control of oro-facial movements associated with the production of learned sounds is lateralized to the left hemisphere in chimpanzees. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the antecedents for lateralization of human speech may have been present in the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans ~5 mya and are not unique to the human lineage.

Mapping Health Literacy Research in the European Union: A Bibliometric Analysis:

To examine and compare the research productivity on selected fields related to health literacy of the current members of the European Union, the four candidate countries waiting to join the EU, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States. A bibliometric analysis (1991-2005). Data sources included papers published by authors from each country separately. The 25 European countries produce less than 1/3 health literacy research when compared to the U.S. (13,710 and 49,523 articles were published by authors with main affiliation in the European Union and the four candidate countries, and the U.S., respectively). The Netherlands and Sweden (followed by Germany, Italy, and France) are the European countries with the highest number of research published in fields related to health literacy. After adjustment for population Sweden, Finland, and Norway, were on the top of the relevant list. In addition, Sweden, Finland, and Ireland, were on the top of the list of countries regarding research productivity on the selected fields after adjustment for gross domestic product (GDP). Inequalities in research published on the topic of health literacy exist among Europe, Norway, Switzerland, and the U.S. More research may need to be done in all areas of health literacy in Europe and the potential detrimental effects of this gap should be further investigated.

Climate Change and the Future of California’s Endemic Flora:

The flora of California, a global biodiversity hotspot, includes 2387 endemic plant taxa. With anticipated climate change, we project that up to 66% will experience >80% reductions in range size within a century. These results are comparable with other studies of fewer species or just samples of a region’s endemics. Projected reductions depend on the magnitude of future emissions and on the ability of species to disperse from their current locations. California’s varied terrain could cause species to move in very different directions, breaking up present-day floras. However, our projections also identify regions where species undergoing severe range reductions may persist. Protecting these potential future refugia and facilitating species dispersal will be essential to maintain biodiversity in the face of climate change.

Increased Avian Diversity Is Associated with Lower Incidence of Human West Nile Infection: Observation of the Dilution Effect:

Recent infectious disease models illustrate a suite of mechanisms that can result in lower incidence of disease in areas of higher disease host diversity-the ‘dilution effect’. These models are particularly applicable to human zoonoses, which are infectious diseases of wildlife that spill over into human populations. As many recent emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses, the mechanisms that underlie the ‘dilution effect’ are potentially widely applicable and could contribute greatly to our understanding of a suite of diseases. The dilution effect has largely been observed in the context of Lyme disease and the predictions of the underlying models have rarely been examined for other infectious diseases on a broad geographic scale. Here, we explored whether the dilution effect can be observed in the relationship between the incidence of human West Nile virus (WNV) infection and bird (host) diversity in the eastern US. We constructed a novel geospatial contrasts analysis that compares the small differences in avian diversity of neighboring US counties (where one county reported human cases of WNV and the other reported no cases) with associated between-county differences in human disease. We also controlled for confounding factors of climate, regional variation in mosquito vector type, urbanization, and human socioeconomic factors that are all likely to affect human disease incidence. We found there is lower incidence of human WNV in eastern US counties that have greater avian (viral host) diversity. This pattern exists when examining diversity-disease relationships both before WNV reached the US (in 1998) and once the epidemic was underway (in 2002). The robust disease-diversity relationships confirm that the dilution effect can be observed in another emerging infectious disease and illustrate an important ecosystem service provided by biodiversity, further supporting the growing view that protecting biodiversity should be considered in public health and safety plans.

Cortical Plasticity Induced by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation during Wakefulness Affects Electroencephalogram Activity during Sleep:

Sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) brain oscillations in the low-frequency range show local signs of homeostatic regulation after learning. Such increases and decreases of slow wave activity are limited to the cortical regions involved in specific task performance during wakefulness. Here, we test the hypothesis that reorganization of motor cortex produced by long-term potentiation (LTP) affects EEG activity of this brain area during subsequent sleep. By pairing median nerve stimulation with transcranial magnetic stimulation over the contralateral motor cortex, one can potentiate the motor output, which is presumed to reflect plasticity of the neural circuitry. This paired associative stimulation increases M1 cortical excitability at interstimulus intervals of 25 ms. We compared the scalp distribution of sleep EEG power following paired associative stimulation at 25 ms to that following a control paradigm with 50 ms intervals. It is shown that the experimental manipulation by paired associative stimulation at 25 ms induces a 48% increase in amplitude of motor evoked potentials. This LTP-like potentiation, induced during waking, affects delta and theta EEG power in both REM and non-REM sleep, measured during the following night. Slow-wave activity increases in some frontal and prefrontal derivations and decreases at sites neighboring and contralateral to the stimulated motor cortex. The magnitude of increased amplitudes of motor evoked potentials by the paired associative stimulation at 25 ms predicts enhancements of slow-wave activity in prefrontal regions. An LTP-like paradigm, presumably inducing increased synaptic strength, leads to changes in local sleep regulation, as indexed by EEG slow-wave activity. Enhancement and depression of slow-wave activity are interpreted in terms of a simultaneous activation of both excitatory and inhibitory circuits consequent to the paired associative stimulation at 25 ms.

Enhanced Caenorhabditis elegans Locomotion in a Structured Microfluidic Environment:

Behavioral studies of Caenorhabditis elegans traditionally are done on the smooth surface of agar plates, but the natural habitat of C. elegans and other nematodes is the soil, a complex and structured environment. In order to investigate how worms move in such environments, we have developed a technique to study C. elegans locomotion in microstructures fabricated from agar. When placed in open, liquid-filled, microfluidic chambers containing a square array of posts, we discovered that worms are capable of a novel mode of locomotion, which combines the fast gait of swimming with the more efficient movements of crawling. When the wavelength of the worms matched the periodicity of the post array, the microstructure directed the swimming and increased the speed of C. elegans ten-fold. We found that mutants defective in mechanosensation (mec-4, mec-10) or mutants with abnormal waveforms (unc-29) did not perform this enhanced locomotion and moved much more slowly than wild-type worms in the microstructure. These results show that the microstructure can be used as a behavioral screen for mechanosensory and uncoordinated mutants. It is likely that worms use mechanosensation in the movement and navigation through heterogeneous environments.

A Vaccine against Nicotine for Smoking Cessation: A Randomized Controlled Trial:

Tobacco dependence is the leading cause of preventable death and disabilities worldwide and nicotine is the main substance responsible for the addiction to tobacco. A vaccine against nicotine was tested in a 6-month randomized, double blind phase II smoking cessation study in 341 smokers with a subsequent 6-month follow-up period. 229 subjects were randomized to receive five intramuscular injections of the nicotine vaccine and 112 to receive placebo at monthly intervals. All subjects received individual behavioral smoking cessation counseling. The vaccine was safe, generally well tolerated and highly immunogenic, inducing a 100% antibody responder rate after the first injection. Point prevalence of abstinence at month 2 showed a statistically significant difference between subjects treated with Nicotine-Qβ (47.2%) and placebo (35.1%) (P = 0.036), but continuous abstinence between months 2 and 6 was not significantly different. However, in subgroup analysis of the per-protocol population, the third of subjects with highest antibody levels showed higher continuous abstinence from month 2 until month 6 (56.6%) than placebo treated participants (31.3%) (OR 2.9; P = 0.004) while medium and low antibody levels did not increase abstinence rates. After 12 month, the difference in continuous abstinence rate between subjects on placebo and those with high antibody response was maintained (difference 20.2%, P = 0.012). Whereas Nicotine-Qβ did not significantly increase continuous abstinence rates in the intention-to-treat population, subgroup analyses of the per-protocol population suggest that such a vaccination against nicotine can significantly increase continuous abstinence rates in smokers when sufficiently high antibody levels are achieved. Immunotherapy might open a new avenue to the treatment of nicotine addiction.

Inverse Correlation of Population Similarity and Introduction Date for Invasive Ascidians:

The genomes of many marine invertebrates, including the purple sea urchin and the solitary ascidians Ciona intestinalis and Ciona savignyi, show exceptionally high levels of heterozygosity, implying that these populations are highly polymorphic. Analysis of the C. savignyi genome found little evidence to support an elevated mutation rate, but rather points to a large population size contributing to the polymorphism level. In the present study, the relative genetic polymorphism levels in sampled populations of ten different ascidian species were determined using a similarity index generated by AFLP analysis. The goal was to determine the range of polymorphism within the populations of different species, and to uncover factors that may contribute to the high level of polymorphism. We observe that, surprisingly, the levels of polymorphism within these species show a negative correlation with the reported age of invasive populations, and that closely related species show substantially different levels of genetic polymorphism. These findings show exceptions to the assumptions that invasive species start with a low level of genetic polymorphism that increases over time and that closely related species have similar levels of genetic polymorphism.

The Prehistory of Potyviruses: Their Initial Radiation Was during the Dawn of Agriculture:

Potyviruses are found world wide, are spread by probing aphids and cause considerable crop damage. Potyvirus is one of the two largest plant virus genera and contains about 15% of all named plant virus species. When and why did the potyviruses become so numerous? Here we answer the first question and discuss the other. We have inferred the phylogenies of the partial coat protein gene sequences of about 50 potyviruses, and studied in detail the phylogenies of some using various methods and evolutionary models. Their phylogenies have been calibrated using historical isolation and outbreak events: the plum pox virus epidemic which swept through Europe in the 20th century, incursions of potyviruses into Australia after agriculture was established by European colonists, the likely transport of cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus in cowpea seed from Africa to the Americas with the 16th century slave trade and the similar transport of papaya ringspot virus from India to the Americas. Our studies indicate that the partial coat protein genes of potyviruses have an evolutionary rate of about 1.15×10−4 nucleotide substitutions/site/year, and the initial radiation of the potyviruses occurred only about 6,600 years ago, and hence coincided with the dawn of agriculture. We discuss the ways in which agriculture may have triggered the prehistoric emergence of potyviruses and fostered their speciation.

Single Insecticide Application Can Kill Three Cockroach Generations:

One dose of an insecticide can kill three generations of cockroaches as they feed off of each other and transfer the poison, according to Purdue University entomologists who tested the effectiveness of a specific gel bait.

To Find Out What’s Eating Bats, Biologist Takes To Barn Rooftops:

Bloodsucking pests like bat fleas and bat flies may not sound very appealing to the rest of us, but to University at Buffalo biologist Katharina Dittmar de la Cruz, Ph.D., they are among the most successful creatures evolution has ever produced.

Life On The Edge: To Disperse, Or Become Extinct?:

The hardiest plants and those most likely to survive the climatic shifts brought about by global warming are now easier to identify, thanks to new research findings by a team from Queen’s University. Plants existing at the edges of their natural habitats may enhance survival of the species during global warming, says Queen’s University professor.

From The Egg, Baby Crocodiles Call To Each Other And To Mom:

For the first time, researchers have shown that the pre-hatching calls of baby Nile crocodiles actually mean something to their siblings and to their mothers. The calls–which are perfectly audible to humans and sound like “umph! umph! umph!”–tell the others in the nest that it’s time to hatch, according to the report in the June 23rd issue of Current Biology. Those cries also tell the mother croc to start digging up the nest.

Exploited Fish Make Rapid Comeback In World’s Largest No-take Marine Reserve Network:

No-take marine reserves, in which fishing is completely banned, can lead to very rapid comebacks of the fish species most prized by commercial and recreational fisheries, reveals a new study of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef published in the June 24th issue of Current Biology.

It’s Monday night – time for new articles in PLoS Biology and PLoS Medicine:
On the Emergence and Awareness of Auditory Objects:

Anyone who has walked into a crowded reverberant nightclub, with a hubbub of multiple conversations amidst blaring music, will recall the initial impression of the sound as loud and undifferentiated noise. In short order, however, different sound streams begin to emerge as one attends to individual speakers, listens to the melody from the band, or even hears one instrument in it. Humans perform this remarkable feat effortlessly. Our extraordinary abilities to extract signal from noise have evolved in natural environments that are often extremely auditorily cluttered. Many animals have developed abilities to navigate their complex auditory scenes in order to mate, locate prey, feed their young, and avoid predators. It is likely that these abilities are mediated by similar mechanisms that have evolved in many animals and include a mix of “bottom-up” automatic processes with complex “top-down” behaviors involving attention, expectation, learning, and memory (as illustrated schematically in Figure 1). However, little is known about the underlying computational details, or the manner in which these diverse processes interact to give rise to this auditory ability. And it is therefore no coincidence that we still lack engineering systems that can recognize speech robustly in realistic environments, or reliably transcribe polyphonic music.

Beyond Competition: Incorporating Positive Interactions between Species to Predict Ecosystem Invasibility:

One of the many unintended consequences of global commerce has been the translocation of countless plants and animals to new regions, continents, and oceans [1,2]. Such “exotic” species have colonized nearly every habitat on Earth, and modern ecosystems are now made up largely of species originating from geographically distinct regions [3-5]. Most exotic species have negligible or no negative effects, but a small handful have had substantial impacts on native species and ecosystem processes [3,6]. For example, the introduction of the Nile perch (Lates niloticus) into Lake Victoria has not only caused the extinction of two-thirds of the endemic fish fauna, but has changed the entire food web of the lake by reducing the grazing by phytoplanktivores [7,8].
Given the sizable ecological and economic costs of species invasions [9], understanding the environmental factors that regulate them has become a major goal for basic and applied ecologists. One major research theme is the investigation of the relationship between native species richness (the number of local native species) and the ability of exotic species to colonize and thrive in new habitats (termed community “invasibility”) [10,11]. A longstanding concept in ecology is that habitats with high levels of diversity are difficult to invade (the biotic resistance hypothesis–see Glossary) [11-15]. This is because, in theory, a more diverse assemblage of plants or animals can utilize resources more fully than a less diverse community, thus increasing the intensity of competition and making it harder for new species to become established. Predictions from this model are, however, based on the assumption that natural communities are largely structured by competitive interactions and that the effects of native species on invaders are predominantly negative.

Drug Development for Maternal Health Cannot Be Left to the Whims of the Market:

In an essay published in this month’s PLoS Medicine, Nicholas White and colleagues [1] lament that an insufficient understanding of even well-established drugs has led to a lack of effective treatments in pregnancy. They conclude that “we do not know how best to treat most tropical infectious diseases in pregnancy”–an alarming and shameful situation–and lay out causes of this ignorance. For example, concern about teratogenicity has led to the exclusion of pregnant women from clinical trials regardless of their stage of pregnancy, resulting in a crucial lack of evidence even in late pregnancy, when teratogenicity is not a concern. Gaps in the evidence on pharmacokinetics of some antimalarial drugs have often led to under-dosing of pregnant women, and in some cases the erroneous conclusion that such drugs are not effective in pregnancy. The authors note that “‘better safe than sorry’ is the mantra of our risk-averse age.” But since severe malaria has a mortality approaching 50% in late pregnancy, we concur with the authors that this mantra has actually produced harm.

Guidelines for Reporting Health Research: The EQUATOR Network’s Survey of Guideline Authors:

Scientific publications are one of the most important outputs of any research, as they are the primary means of sharing the findings with the broader research community. The quality and relevance of research is mostly judged through the published report, which is often the only public record that the research was done. Unclear reporting of a study’s methodology and findings prevents critical appraisal of the study and limits effective dissemination. Inadequate reporting of medical research carries with it an additional risk of inadequate and misleading study results being used by patients and health care providers. Patients may be harmed and scarce health care resources may be expended on ineffective health care treatments through such inadequate reporting. There is a wealth of evidence that much of published medical research is reported poorly [1-12]. Yet a good report is an essential component of good research.

Effect of a Brief Video Intervention on Incident Infection among Patients Attending Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinics:

In the US alone there are 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) every year. STDs are infections that pass between people during sexual activity (through semen, vaginal fluids, blood, or skin-to-skin contact). Some STDs are caused by bacteria (for example, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis). Others are caused by parasites (for example, trichomoniasis) or viruses (for example, herpes simplex virus and HIV). Symptoms vary among STDs but may include sores, unusual lumps and itching in the genital region, pain when urinating, and unusual genital discharge. While symptoms are generally more common in men than women, many STDs cause no symptoms. Untreated STDs are more serious for women and may include pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy, infertility, and chronic pain. Bacterial and parasitic STDs can be cured with various drugs; STDs caused by viruses cannot be cured although they can be treated with antiviral drugs.

How Well Do Clinical Pain Assessment Tools Reflect Pain in Infants?:

Pain is a sensory and emotional experience. It is normally triggered by messages transmitted from specialized receptors (nociceptors) in the body to integrative centers in the spinal cord and brainstem and on to the brain, where it undergoes higher sensory and cognitive analysis, allowing the body to respond appropriately to the stimuli. While the experience of pain may be considered to be unpleasant, it is a useful tool in communicating to us and to others that there is something wrong with our bodies. Ultimately, these responses help restrict further damage to the body and start the process of healing.
In a clinical setting, the ability to communicate about pain allows an individual to seek strategies to ease the pain, such as taking analgesics. Being unable to effectively communicate one’s experience of pain leaves the individual vulnerable to prolonged suffering. One such vulnerable group is infants.
Ignored and untreated pain in infants has been shown to have immediate and long-term effects as a result of structural and physiological changes within the nervous system. For example, the body responds to untreated pain by increased release of stress hormones, which may be associated with increased morbidity and mortality in the short term. Long-term effects of pain may include altered pain perception, chronic pain syndromes, and somatic complaints such as sleep disturbances, feeding problems, and inability to self-regulate in response to internal and external stressors. It has been proposed that attention deficit disorders, learning disorders, and behavioral problems in later childhood may be linked to repetitive pain in the preterm infant.

Britain’s Last Neanderthals Were More Sophisticated Than We Thought:

An archaeological excavation at a site near Pulborough, West Sussex, has thrown remarkable new light on the life of northern Europe’s last Neanderthals. It provides a snapshot of a thriving, developing population – rather than communities on the verge of extinction.

Microscopic ‘Clutch’ Puts Flagellum In Neutral:

A tiny but powerful engine that propels the bacterium Bacillus subtilis through liquids is disengaged from the corkscrew-like flagellum by a protein clutch, Indiana University Bloomington and Harvard University scientists have learned. Their report appears in Science on June 20.

DNA Study Unlocks Mystery To Diverse Traits In Dogs:

What makes a pointer point, a sheep dog herd, and a retriever retrieve? Why do Yorkshire terriers live longer than Great Danes? And how can a tiny Chihuahua possibly be related to a Great Dane?

New Findings On Immune System In Amphibians:

Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) genes produce proteins that are crucial in fighting pathogen assault. Researchers from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) characterized genetic variation and detected more than one MHC class II locus in a tailed amphibian. Unlike mammals, not much has been known until now about the immune defence of amphibians.

World’s Only Captive Hairy-nosed Otter Gets New Home:

Dara, the world’s only captive hairy-nosed otter, is one of the rarest of otter species. He was recently released into his new home in a wildlife center in…

Unlocking Genome Of World’s Worst Insect Pest:

Scientists from CSIRO and the University of Melbourne in Australia, and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, are on the brink of a discovery which will facilitate the development of new, safe, more sustainable ways of controlling the world’s worst agricultural insect pest – the moth, Helicoverpa armigera.

Infant Play Drives Chimpanzee Respiratory Disease Cycles:

The signature boom-bust cycling of childhood respiratory diseases was long attributed to environmental cycling. However, the effect of school holidays on rates of social contact amongst children is increasingly seen as another major driver. New research on chimpanzees suggests that this effect of social connectivity on disease cycling may long predate attendance of children at schools, with chimpanzee infant mortality rates cycling in phase with rates of social play amongst infants.

High Hormone Levels In Seabird Chicks Prepare Them To Kill Their Siblings:

The Nazca booby, a Galápagos Island seabird, emerges from its shell ready to kill its brother or sister. Wake Forest University biologists and their colleagues have linked the murderous behavior to high levels of testosterone and other male hormones found in the hatchlings.

Desert Plant May Hold Key To Surviving Food Shortage:

Scientists at the University of Liverpool are investigating how a Madagascan plant could be used to help produce crops in harsh environmental conditions. The plant, Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi, is unique because, unlike normal plants, it captures most of its carbon dioxide at night when the air is cooler and more humid, making it 10 times more water-efficient than major crops such as wheat. Scientists will use the latest next-generation DNA sequencing to analyse the plant’s genetic code and understand how these plants function at night.

Birds Migrate Earlier, But Some May Be Left Behind As The Climate Warms Rapidly:

Many birds are arriving earlier each spring as temperatures warm along the East Coast of the United States. However, the farther those birds journey, the less likely they are to keep pace with the rapidly changing climate. Scientists at Boston University and the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences analyzed changes in the timing of spring migrations of 32 species of birds along the coast of eastern Massachusetts since 1970. Researchers at Manomet gathered this data by capturing birds in mist nets, attaching bands to their legs, and then releasing them. Their findings show that eight out of 32 bird species are passing by Cape Cod significantly earlier on their annual trek north than they were 38 years ago. The reason? Warming temperatures. Temperatures in eastern Massachusetts have risen by 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1970.

When It Comes To Female Red Squirrels, It Seems Any Male Will Do, Even Close Relatives:

Researchers have found that female red squirrels showed high levels of multimale mating and would even mate with males that had similar genetic relatedness, basically mating with their relatives.

New Discovery Proves ‘Selfish Gene’ Exists:

In studying genomes, the word ‘selfish’ does not refer to the human-describing adjective of self-centered behavior but rather to the blind tendency of genes wanting to continue their existence into the next generation. Ironically, this ‘selfish’ tendency can appear anything but selfish when the gene does move ahead for selfless and even self-sacrificing reasons. For instance, in the honey bee colony, a complex social breeding system described as a ‘super-organism,’ the female worker bees are sterile. The adult queen bee, selected and developed by the worker bees, is left to mate with the male drones.

Mechanism Contributing To Appropriate Formation Of The Spine Discovered:

The Stowers Institute’s Pourquié Lab has shed light on the mechanism causing animals to develop the appropriate number of vertebrae. Vertebrae are formed from their embryonic precursors, called somites. The number of somites is consistent within a species, but varies significantly across species. By comparing the developing embryos of zebrafish, chicken, mice, and corn snakes, the team established an understanding of how an organism regulates the number of somites formed.

It’s All In Your Head – The Effect Of Metaphor On Web Navigation:

In the internet world of sites, pages, lounges and whatever else is out there, most of us have found ourselves ‘lost in hyperspace’, a frustrating experience of having lost track of where we are, where we’re going, or where to find what we’re looking for. However, hope is at hand, through a recent study by a PhD Student at the University of Leicester, Kine Dorum. Based on the notion that people create images or maps in their heads to represent the world around them, designers and developers often attempt to help people find their way by working on the principle that virtual environments should be made to look and feel as similar to the real world as possible. One example is the computer desktop with its files, folders, and ‘trash can’.

It’s Friday – and time for new articles in PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Pathogens and PLoS Genetics:
An Evolutionarily Conserved Sexual Signature in the Primate Brain:

The contribution of genetics versus environment to behavioral differences between the sexes is a fundamental question in neuroscience. We hypothesized that some differences between the sexes might be partially explained by sexually dependent gene expression differences in the brain. We further speculated that if differences in gene expression between males and females are functionally important, they may be conserved in the evolution of primates. To test these hypotheses, we measured gene expression in the brains of male and female primates from three species: humans (Homo sapiens), macaques (Macaca fascicularis), and marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Our results point to a conserved signature of sexual gene expression dimorphism in the brains of primates. Interestingly, we found that genes with conserved sexual gene expression dimorphism in the brain also evolve under more evolutionary constraint, compared with other genes, suggesting that they may have important roles during evolution of sex in primates. Moreover, we found higher evolutionary constrains in the coding regions of female-biased genes as compared to both male-biased and non sex-biased brain expressed genes. The study of sex dimorphic genes may in the future shed light on the basis of psychiatric diseases with differences in prevalence between the sexes.

How To Record a Million Synaptic Weights in a Hippocampal Slice:

The circuitry of the brain is defined by the connections (synapses) between its cells. Synapses are very small, so it is difficult to identify more than a few at a time using standard methods like electron microscopy or high-precision electrical recordings from cells. This study shows that it is possible to measure single synapses using low-precision methods such as optical recordings from neuronal cell bodies. I model optical or electrical stimulation of many inputs to trigger a visible response from neurons, and find single synapses by testing how this response is modulated when a single additional input synapse is triggered as well. I predict that it should be possible to record from as many as a million synapses using new optical recording and stimulation methods. It is believed that memories are encoded in synaptic connection patterns, so such connectivity data may give us a picture of how memories are encoded. We now know a great deal about how individual neurons behave, so a synapse-level wiring diagram would go a long way to fill out the picture of how neurons work together in the brain to interpret sensory information and plan actions.

Quorum Sensing Coordinates Brute Force and Stealth Modes of Infection in the Plant Pathogen Pectobacterium atrosepticum:

Many Gram-negative bacteria use a population density-dependent regulatory mechanism called quorum sensing (QS) to control the production of virulence factors during infection. In the bacterial plant pathogen Pectobacterium atrosepticum (formerly Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica), an important model for QS, this mechanism regulates production of enzymes that physically attack the host plant cell wall. This study used a whole genome microarray-based approach to investigate the entire QS regulon during plant infection. Results demonstrate that QS regulates a much wider set of essential virulence factors than was previously appreciated. These include virulence factors similar to those in other plant and animal pathogens that have not previously been associated with QS, e.g., a Type VI secretion system (and its potential substrates), shown for the first time to be required for virulence in a plant pathogen; and the plant toxin coronafacic acid, known in other pathogens to play a role in manipulating plant defences. This study provides the first evidence that Pectobacterium may target host defences simultaneously with a physical attack on the plant cell wall. Moreover, the study demonstrates that a wide range of previously known and unknown virulence regulators lie within the QS regulon, revealing it to be the master regulator of virulence.

Real-Time High Resolution 3D Imaging of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Adhering to and Escaping from the Vasculature of a Living Host:

Pathogenic spirochetes are bacteria that cause a number of emerging and re-emerging diseases worldwide, including syphilis, leptospirosis, relapsing fever, and Lyme disease. They exhibit an unusual form of motility and can infect many different tissues; however, the mechanism by which they disseminate from the blood to target sites is unknown. Direct visualization of bacterial pathogens at the single cell level in living hosts is an important goal of microbiology, since this approach is likely to yield critical insight into disease processes. We engineered a fluorescent strain of Borrelia burgdorferi, a Lyme disease pathogen, and used conventional and spinning disk confocal intravital microscopy to directly visualize these bacteria in real time and 3D in living mice. We found that spirochete interaction with and dissemination out of the vasculature was a multi-stage process of unexpected complexity and that spirochete movement appeared to play an integral role in dissemination. To our knowledge, this is the first report of high resolution 3D visualization of dissemination of a bacterial pathogen in a living mammalian host, and provides the first direct insight into spirochete dissemination in vivo.

Great Apes Think Ahead: Conclusive Evidence Of Advanced Planning Capacities:

Apes can plan for their future needs just as we humans can – by using self-control and imagining future events. Mathias and Helena Osvath’s research, from Lunds University Cognitive Science in Sweden, is the first to provide conclusive evidence of advanced planning capacities in non-human species.

Female Chimps Use Copulation Calls Strategically:

Female chimps are more concerned with having sex with many different males than finding the strongest mate, according to researchers. The new study by University of St Andrews scientists suggests that female chimps keep quiet during sex so that other females don’t find out about it, thus preventing any unwanted competition.

Chimps Not So Selfish: Comforting Behavior May Well Be Expression Of Empathy:

Compared to their sex-mad, peace-loving bonobo counterparts, chimpanzees are often seen as a scheming, war-mongering, and selfish species. As both apes are allegedly our closest relatives, together they are often depicted as representing the two extremes of human behaviour.

Birds Communicate Reproductive Success In Song:

Some migratory songbirds figure out the best place to live by eavesdropping on the singing of others that successfully have had baby birds — a communication and behavioral trait so strong that researchers playing recorded songs induced them to nest in places they otherwise would have avoided.

Flies Found To Have Internal Thermosensors To Monitor Environmental Temperatures:

Flies, unlike humans, can’t manipulate the temperature of their surroundings so they need to pick the best spot for flourishing. New Brandeis University research in this week’s Nature reveals that they have internal thermosensors to help them.

Worm-like Marine Animal Providing Fresh Clues About Human Evolution:

Research on the genome of a marine creature led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego is shedding new light on a key area of the tree of life. Linda Holland, a research biologist at Scripps Oceanography, and her colleagues from the United States, Europe and Asia, have deciphered and analyzed fundamental elements of the genetic makeup of a small, worm-like marine animal called amphioxus, also known as a lancelet.

Male Homosexuality Can Be Explained Through A Specific Model Of Darwinian Evolution, Study Shows:

An Italian research team, consisting of Andrea Camperio Ciani and Giovanni Zanzotto at the University of Padova and Paolo Cermelli at the University of Torino, found that the evolutionary origin and maintenance of male homosexuality in human populations could be explained by a model based around the idea of sexually antagonistic selection, in which genetic factors spread in the population by giving a reproductive advantage to one sex while disadvantaging the other.

Soccer Parents: Why They Rage:

Wonder if you could be one of “those” parents who rant and rage at their kid’s soccer game? Well, you don’t have to look much farther than your car’s rearview mirror for clues.

Shallow Water Corals Evolved From Deep Sea Ancestors:

New research shows that the second most diverse group of hard corals first evolved in the deep sea, and not in shallow waters. Stylasterids, or lace corals, diversified in deep waters before launching at least three successful invasions of shallow water tropical habitats in the past 40 million years.

Identifying Canadian Freshwater Fish Through DNA Barcodes:

New research by Canadian scientists, led by Nicolas Hubert at the Université Laval in Québec brings some good news for those interested in the conservation of a number of highly-endangered species of Canadian fish.

Zebra’s Stripes, Butterfly’s Wings: How Do Biological Patterns Emerge?:

A zebra’s stripes, a seashell’s spirals, a butterfly’s wings: these are all examples of patterns in nature. The formation of patterns is a puzzle for mathematicians and biologists alike. How does the delicate design of a butterfly’s wings come from a single fertilized egg? How does pattern emerge out of no pattern?

Marine Snail Study Leads To New Insights Into Long-term Memory:

UCLA cellular neuroscientists are providing new insights into the mechanisms that underlie long-term memory — research with the potential to treat long-term memory disorders.

Scientists Fix Bugs In Our Understanding Of Evolution:

What makes a human different from a chimp? Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute [EMBL-EBI] have come one important step closer to answering such evolutionary questions correctly. In the current issue of Science they uncover systematic errors in existing methods that compare genetic sequences of different species to learn about their evolutionary relationships.

First Successful Reverse Vasectomy On Endangered Species Performed At The National Zoo:

Veterinarians at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo performed the first successful reverse vasectomy on a Przewalski’s horse (E. ferus przewalskii; E. caballus przewalskii–classification debated), pronounced zshah-VAL-skeez. Przewalksi’s horses are a horse species native to China and Mongolia that was declared extinct in the wild in 1970.

Lizards Pull A Wheelie:

Why bother running on hind legs when the four you’ve been given work perfectly well? This is the question that puzzles Christofer Clemente. For birds and primates, there’s a perfectly good answer: birds have converted their forelimbs into wings, and primates have better things to do with their hands. But why have some lizards gone bipedal? Have they evolved to trot on two feet, or is their upright posture simply a fluke of physics? Curious to find the answer, Clemente and his colleagues Philip Withers, Graham Thompson and David Lloyd decided to test how dragon lizards run on two legs.

Children Learn Smart Behaviors Without Knowing What They Know:

Young children show evidence of smart and flexible behavior early in life – even though they don’t really know what they’re doing, new research suggests.

Being Fat In Today’s World Invites Social Discrimination, Study Suggests:

Obese people feel “a culture of blame” against them, which they say has been made worse by media reports about the health risks of obesity, a new study from Australia found.

From Canada To The Caribbean: Tree Leaves Control Their Own Temperature, Study Reveals:

The temperature inside a healthy, photosynthesizing tree leaf is affected less by outside environmental temperature than originally believed, according to new research from biologists at the University of Pennsylvania.

New Research On Octopuses Sheds Light On Memory:

Research on octopuses has shed new light on how our brains store and recall memory, says Dr. Benny Hochner of the Department of Neurobiology at the Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Why octopuses? Octopuses and other related creatures, known as cephalopods, are considered to be the most intelligent invertebrates because they have relatively large brains and they can be trained for various learning and memory tasks, says Dr. Hochner.

Shallow Water Corals Evolved From Deep Sea Ancestors:

New research shows that the second most diverse group of hard corals first evolved in the deep sea, and not in shallow waters. Stylasterids, or lace corals, diversified in deep waters before launching at least three successful invasions of shallow water tropical habitats in the past 40 million years.

Bee Species Outnumber Mammals And Birds Combined:

Scientists have discovered that there are more bee species than previously thought. In the first global accounting of bee species in over a hundred years, John S. Ascher, a research scientist in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History, compiled online species pages and distribution maps for more than 19,200 described bee species, showcasing the diversity of these essential pollinators. This new species inventory documents 2,000 more described, valid species than estimated by Charles Michener in the first edition of his definitive The Bees of the World published eight years ago.

Threatened Or Invasive? Species’ Fates Identified:

A new ecological study led by a University of Adelaide researcher should help identify species prone to extinction under environmental change, and species that are likely to become a pest.

There are 61 cool new papers in PLoS ONE this week – take a look at these for starters:
Risk and Ethical Concerns of Hunting Male Elephant: Behavioural and Physiological Assays of the Remaining Elephants:

Hunting of male African elephants may pose ethical and risk concerns, particularly given their status as a charismatic species of high touristic value, yet which are capable of both killing people and damaging infrastructure. We quantified the effect of hunts of male elephants on (1) risk of attack or damage (11 hunts), and (2) behavioural (movement dynamics) and physiological (stress hormone metabolite concentrations) responses (4 hunts) in Pilanesberg National Park. For eleven hunts, there were no subsequent attacks on people or infrastructure, and elephants did not break out of the fenced reserve. For three focal hunts, there was an initial flight response by bulls present at the hunting site, but their movements stabilised the day after the hunt event. Animals not present at the hunt (both bulls and herds) did not show movement responses. Physiologically, hunting elephant bulls increased faecal stress hormone levels (corticosterone metabolites) in both those bulls that were present at the hunts (for up to four days post-hunt) and in the broader bull and breeding herd population (for up to one month post-hunt). As all responses were relatively minor, hunting male elephants is ethically acceptable when considering effects on the remaining elephant population; however bulls should be hunted when alone. Hunting is feasible in relatively small enclosed reserves without major risk of attack, damage, or breakout. Physiological stress assays were more effective than behavioural responses in detecting effects of human intervention. Similar studies should evaluate intervention consequences, inform and improve best practice, and should be widely applied by management agencies.

Female Chimpanzees Use Copulation Calls Flexibly to Prevent Social Competition:

The adaptive function of copulation calls in female primates has been debated for years. One influential idea is that copulation calls are a sexually selected trait, which enables females to advertise their receptive state to males. Male-male competition ensues and females benefit by getting better mating partners and higher quality offspring. We analysed the copulation calling behaviour of wild female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Budongo Forest, Uganda, but found no support for the male-male competition hypothesis. Hormone analysis showed that the calling behaviour of copulating females was unrelated to their fertile period and likelihood of conception. Instead, females called significantly more while with high-ranking males, but suppressed their calls if high-ranking females were nearby. Copulation calling may therefore be one potential strategy employed by female chimpanzees to advertise receptivity to high-ranked males, confuse paternity and secure future support from these socially important individuals. Competition between females can be dangerously high in wild chimpanzees, and our results indicate that females use their copulation calls strategically to minimise the risks associated with such competition.

The Price of Play: Self-Organized Infant Mortality Cycles in Chimpanzees:

Chimpanzees have been used extensively as a model system for laboratory research on infectious diseases. Ironically, we know next to nothing about disease dynamics in wild chimpanzee populations. Here, we analyze long-term demographic and behavioral data from two habituated chimpanzee communities in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, where previous work has shown respiratory pathogens to be an important source of infant mortality. In this paper we trace the effect of social connectivity on infant mortality dynamics. We focus on social play which, as the primary context of contact between young chimpanzees, may serve as a key venue for pathogen transmission. Infant abundance and mortality rates at Taï cycled regularly and in a way that was not well explained in terms of environmental forcing. Rather, infant mortality cycles appeared to self-organize in response to the ontogeny of social play. Each cycle started when the death of multiple infants in an outbreak synchronized the reproductive cycles of their mothers. A pulse of births predictably arrived about twelve months later, with social connectivity increasing over the following two years as the large birth cohort approached the peak of social play. The high social connectivity at this play peak then appeared to facilitate further outbreaks. Our results provide the first evidence that social play has a strong role in determining chimpanzee disease transmission risk and the first record of chimpanzee disease cycles similar to those seen in human children. They also lend more support to the view that infectious diseases are a major threat to the survival of remaining chimpanzee populations.

Perinatal Androgens and Adult Behavior Vary with Nestling Social System in Siblicidal Boobies:

Exposure to androgens early in development, while activating adaptive aggressive behavior, may also exert long-lasting effects on non-target components of phenotype. Here we compare these organizational effects of perinatal androgens in closely related Nazca (Sula granti) and blue-footed (S. nebouxii) boobies that differ in neonatal social system. The older of two Nazca booby hatchlings unconditionally attacks and ejects the younger from the nest within days of hatching, while blue-footed booby neonates lack lethal aggression. Both Nazca booby chicks facultatively upregulate testosterone (T) during fights, motivating the prediction that baseline androgen levels differ between obligately siblicidal and other species. We show that obligately siblicidal Nazca boobies hatch with higher circulating androgen levels than do facultatively siblicidal blue-footed boobies, providing comparative evidence of the role of androgens in sociality. Although androgens confer a short-term benefit of increased aggression to Nazca booby neonates, exposure to elevated androgen levels during this sensitive period in development can also induce long-term organizational effects on behavior or morphology. Adult Nazca boobies show evidence of organizational effects of early androgen exposure in aberrant adult behavior: they visit unattended non-familial chicks in the colony and direct mixtures of aggression, affiliative, and sexual behavior toward them. In a longitudinal analysis, we found that the most active Non-parental Adult Visitors (NAVs) were those with a history of siblicidal behavior as a neonate, suggesting that the tendency to show social interest in chicks is programmed, in part, by the high perinatal androgens associated with obligate siblicide. Data from closely related blue-footed boobies provide comparative support for this interpretation. Lacking obligate siblicide, they hatch with a corresponding low androgen level, and blue-footed booby adults show a much lower frequency of NAV behavior and a lower probability of behaving aggressively during NAV interactions. This species difference in adult social behavior appears to have roots in both pleiotropic and experiential effects of nestling social system. Our results indicate that Nazca boobies experience life-long consequences of androgenic preparation for an early battle to the death.

Sexually Antagonistic Selection in Human Male Homosexuality:

Several lines of evidence indicate the existence of genetic factors influencing male homosexuality and bisexuality. In spite of its relatively low frequency, the stable permanence in all human populations of this apparently detrimental trait constitutes a puzzling ‘Darwinian paradox’. Furthermore, several studies have pointed out relevant asymmetries in the distribution of both male homosexuality and of female fecundity in the parental lines of homosexual vs. heterosexual males. A number of hypotheses have attempted to give an evolutionary explanation for the long-standing persistence of this trait, and for its asymmetric distribution in family lines; however a satisfactory understanding of the population genetics of male homosexuality is lacking at present. We perform a systematic mathematical analysis of the propagation and equilibrium of the putative genetic factors for male homosexuality in the population, based on the selection equation for one or two diallelic loci and Bayesian statistics for pedigree investigation. We show that only the two-locus genetic model with at least one locus on the X chromosome, and in which gene expression is sexually antagonistic (increasing female fitness but decreasing male fitness), accounts for all known empirical data. Our results help clarify the basic evolutionary dynamics of male homosexuality, establishing this as a clearly ascertained sexually antagonistic human trait.

Coral Pathogens Identified for White Syndrome (WS) Epizootics in the Indo-Pacific:

White Syndrome (WS), a general term for scleractinian coral diseases with acute signs of advancing tissue lesions often resulting in total colony mortality, has been reported from numerous locations throughout the Indo-Pacific, constituting a growing threat to coral reef ecosystems. Bacterial isolates were obtained from corals displaying disease signs at three WS outbreak sites: Nikko Bay in the Republic of Palau, Nelly Bay in the central Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and Majuro Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and used in laboratory-based infection trials to satisfy Henle-Koch’s postulates, Evan’s rules and Hill’s criteria for establishing causality. Infected colonies produced similar signs to those observed in the field following exposure to bacterial concentrations of 1×106 cells ml−1. Phylogenetic 16S rRNA gene analysis demonstrated that all six pathogens identified in this study were members of the γ-Proteobacteria family Vibrionacae, each with greater than 98% sequence identity with the previously characterized coral bleaching pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus. Screening for proteolytic activity of more than 150 coral derived bacterial isolates by a biochemical assay and specific primers for a Vibrio family zinc-metalloprotease demonstrated a significant association between the presence of isolates capable of proteolytic activity and observed disease signs. This is the first study to provide evidence for the involvement of a unique taxonomic group of bacterial pathogens in the aetiology of Indo-Pacific coral diseases affecting multiple coral species at multiple locations. Results from this study strongly suggest the need for further investigation of bacterial proteolytic enzymes as possible virulence factors involved in Vibrio associated acute coral infections.

From Offshore to Onshore: Multiple Origins of Shallow-Water Corals from Deep-Sea Ancestors:

Shallow-water tropical reefs and the deep sea represent the two most diverse marine environments. Understanding the origin and diversification of this biodiversity is a major quest in ecology and evolution. The most prominent and well-supported explanation, articulated since the first explorations of the deep sea, holds that benthic marine fauna originated in shallow, onshore environments, and diversified into deeper waters. In contrast, evidence that groups of marine organisms originated in the deep sea is limited, and the possibility that deep-water taxa have contributed to the formation of shallow-water communities remains untested with phylogenetic methods. Here we show that stylasterid corals (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Stylasteridae)–the second most diverse group of hard corals–originated and diversified extensively in the deep sea, and subsequently invaded shallow waters. Our phylogenetic results show that deep-water stylasterid corals have invaded the shallow-water tropics three times, with one additional invasion of the shallow-water temperate zone. Our results also show that anti-predatory innovations arose in the deep sea, but were not involved in the shallow-water invasions. These findings are the first robust evidence that an important group of tropical shallow-water marine animals evolved from deep-water ancestors.

Body Segment Differences in Surface Area, Skin Temperature and 3D Displacement and the Estimation of Heat Balance during Locomotion in Hominins:

The conventional method of estimating heat balance during locomotion in humans and other hominins treats the body as an undifferentiated mass. This is problematic because the segments of the body differ with respect to several variables that can affect thermoregulation. Here, we report a study that investigated the impact on heat balance during locomotion of inter-segment differences in three of these variables: surface area, skin temperature and rate of movement. The approach adopted in the study was to generate heat balance estimates with the conventional method and then compare them with heat balance estimates generated with a method that takes into account inter-segment differences in surface area, skin temperature and rate of movement. We reasoned that, if the hypothesis that inter-segment differences in surface area, skin temperature and rate of movement affect heat balance during locomotion is correct, the estimates yielded by the two methods should be statistically significantly different. Anthropometric data were collected on seven adult male volunteers. The volunteers then walked on a treadmill at 1.2 m/s while 3D motion capture cameras recorded their movements. Next, the conventional and segmented methods were used to estimate the volunteers’ heat balance while walking in four ambient temperatures. Lastly, the estimates produced with the two methods were compared with the paired t-test. The estimates of heat balance during locomotion yielded by the two methods are significantly different. Those yielded by the segmented method are significantly lower than those produced by the conventional method. Accordingly, the study supports the hypothesis that inter-segment differences in surface area, skin temperature and rate of movement impact heat balance during locomotion. This has important implications not only for current understanding of heat balance during locomotion in hominins but also for how future research on this topic should be approached.

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Humor Shown To Be Fundamental To Our Success As A Species:

First universal theory of humour answers how and why we find things funny. Published June 12, The Pattern Recognition Theory of Humour by Alastair Clarke answers the centuries old question of what is humour. Clarke explains how and why we find things funny and identifies the reason humour is common to all human societies, its fundamental role in the evolution of homo sapiens and its continuing importance in the cognitive development of infants.

Male Bird At Smithsonian’s National Zoo Has Special Reason To Celebrate Father’s Day:

How will the only male rhea at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo spend Father’s Day? He will spend it much like he has spent the past eight weeks: as a proud papa nurturing and caring for his four chicks born April 20. This is the first time in some 30 years that rhea chicks have hatched at the Zoo.

Protecting The Wild Cousin Of Llama, The Guanacos, In Chile:

The Wildlife Conservation Society has launched a study in Chile’s Karukinka reserve on Tierra del Fuego to help protect the guanaco — a wild cousin of the llama that once roamed in vast herds from the Andean Plateau to the steppes of Patagonia.

Complete ‘Family Tree’ Of All British Birds Gives Clues About Which Species Might Be Endangered Next:

A new complete evolutionary ‘family tree’ showing how all British bird species are related to each other may provide clues about which ones are at risk of population decline, according to new research published June 11 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Perfect Vision But Blind To Light:

Mammals have two types of light-sensitive detectors in the retina. Known as rod and cone cells, they are both necessary to picture their environment. However, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that eliminating a third sensor — cells expressing a photopigment called melanopsin that measures the intensity of incoming light –makes the circadian clock blind to light, yet leaves normal vision intact.

Decision-Making, Risk-Taking Similar In Bees And Humans:

Most people think before making decisions. As it turns out, so do bees. In the journal Nature, Israeli researchers show that when making decisions, people and bees alike are more likely to gamble on risky courses of action – rather than taking a safer option – when the differences between the various possible outcomes are easily distinguishable. When the outcomes are difficult to discern, however, both groups are far more likely to select the safer option – even if the actual probabilities of success have not changed.

Coffee’s Aroma Kick-starts Genes In The Brain:

Drink coffee to send a wake-up call to the brain? Or just smell its rich, warm aroma? An international group of scientists is reporting some of the first evidence that simply inhaling coffee aroma alters the activity of genes in the brain.

Age At Puberty Linked To Mother’s Prenatal Diet:

A high-fat diet during pregnancy and nursing may lead to the child having an early onset of puberty and subsequent adulthood obesity, according to a new animal study. The results were presented June 16, at The Endocrine Society’s 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

Society’s Attitudes Have Little Impact On Choice Of Sexual Partner:

A unique new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institute (KI) suggests that the attitude of families and the public have little impact on if adults decide to have sex with persons of the same or the opposite sex. Instead, hereditary factors and the individual’s unique experiences have the strongest influence on our choice of sexual partners.

Teen Drivers Often Ignore Bans On Using Cellphones And Texting:

Teenage drivers’ cellphone use edged higher in North Carolina after the state enacted a cellphone ban for young drivers, a new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study finds. This is the case even though young drivers and their parents said they strongly support the restrictions. Parents and teens alike believe the ban on hand-held and hands-free phone use isn’t being enforced. Researchers concluded that North Carolina’s law isn’t reducing teen drivers’ cellphone use.

Eastern Independence, Western Conformity?:

While the act of selecting an everyday writing utensil seems to be a simple enough task, scientists have found that it actually could shed light on complex cultural differences.

Scenes Of Nature Trump Technology In Reducing Low-level Stress:

Technology can send a man to the moon, help unlock the secrets of DNA and let people around the world easily communicate through the Internet. But can it substitute for nature?

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome Linked To Irregular Menstrual Cycles, Premenstrual Symptoms In Women:

Women with delayed sleep phase syndrome are more likely to report irregular menstrual cycles and premenstrual symptoms, according to a research abstract that will be presented on June 10 at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

All kinds of cycles affect each other in some way?
Pigeons Show Superior Self-recognition Abilities To Three Year Old Humans:

Keio University scientists have shown that pigeons are able to discriminate video images of themselves even with a 5-7 second delay, thus having self-cognitive abilities higher than 3-year-old children who have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay.

Birdz Rulz!
Monumental Debt-for-Nature Swap Provides $20 Million To Protect Biodiversity In Madagascar:

The largest debt-for-nature swap agreement in Madagascar’s history was just signed between the Government of Madagascar and the Government of France, allocating roughly $20 million (13 million Euros) to preserve Madagascar’s rich biodiversity, WWF has announced.

Interesting development – can it be used elsewhere?
How The Brain Separates Audio Signals From Noise:

How are we able to follow a single conversation in the midst of a crowded and noisy room? Little is known about how the human brain accomplishes the seemingly simple task of extracting meaningful signals from noisy acoustic environments.

Virginity Pledges May Help Postpone Intercourse Among Youth:

Making a virginity pledge may help some young people postpone the start of sexual activity, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

RAND Corporation? How many red flags are waving around here right now!?

Mysterious Mountain Dinosaur May Be New Species:

A partial dinosaur skeleton unearthed in 1971 from a remote British Columbia site is the first ever found in Canadian mountains and may represent a new species, according to a recent examination by a University of Alberta researcher.

Memory Loss Linked To Common Sleep Disorder:

For the first time, UCLA researchers have discovered that people with sleep apnea show tissue loss in brain regions that help store memory. Reported in the June 27 edition of the journal Neuroscience Letters, the findings emphasize the importance of early detection of the disorder, which afflicts an estimated 20 million Americans.

Reverse Engineering The Brain To Model Mind-body Interactions:

When you grab a cold beverage out of the cooler this summer, what is really going on between your brain, your eyes and your hands?

Insomnia In Parents Can Result In Sleep Problems, Suicidal Behavior Among Their Offspring:

A history of chronic insomnia in parents is not only associated with elevated risk for insomnia but also with elevated risks for use of hypnotics, psychopathology and suicidal behavior in adolescent offspring, according to a research abstract that will be presented on June 12 at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

Ace Perceptual Skills Of Tennis Pros:

Tennis Grand Slam season is upon us once again with the French Open already over, and Wimbledon hot on its heels later in the month. Past studies have shown that tennis players outperform non-players at anticipating which shots will be played by their opponents and at quickly deciding what to do next under pressure but do Roger Federer and his fellow tennis players also benefit from better-developed visual information processing skills than non-players?

Delaying School Start Time By One Hour Positively Affects Adolescents’ Cognitive Performance:

Delaying an adolescent’s school start time by one hour has a positive effect on his or her cognitive performance, according to a research abstract that will be presented on June 12 at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

Large Areas Of Conservation Land Needed To Save Small Frogs, Turtles And Other Marine Species:

Scientists were surprised with findings of a recent study that reveals many animal species believed to persist in small contained areas actually need broad, landscape level conservation to survive.

Dingo Urine Offers Humane Solution To Kangaroo Cull:

Tasmania’s marsupials have been offered a life-line by researchers at Curtin University of Technology’s Department of Environmental Biology utilising cutting edge science involving fresh dingo urine.

Australian Dinosaur Found To Have South American Heritage:

Australia’s links to South America have just gotten a bit closer, but not due to economic forces, rather fossil forces. University of Queensland palaeontologist Dr Steve Salisbury was part of an international team of palaeontologists from the US, Argentina and Australia that identified a fossil that had previously only been found in South America.

Uncovering The Truth Behind The Largest Marsupial To Walk The Earth:

University of Queensland research is uncovering the truth behind the largest marsupial ever to walk the earth – the 2.5 tonne wombat-like Diprotodon.

Woolly Mammoth Gene Study Changes Extinction Theory:

A large genetic study of the extinct woolly mammoth has revealed that the species was not one large homogenous group, as scientists previously had assumed, and that it did not have much genetic diversity.

Fossils Found In Tibet Revise History Of Elevation, Climate:

About 15,000 feet up on Tibet’s desolate Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau, an international research team led by Florida State University geologist Yang Wang was surprised to find thick layers of ancient lake sediment filled with plant, fish and animal fossils typical of far lower elevations and warmer, wetter climates.

The Symbolic Monkey? Animals Can Comprehend And Use Symbols, Study Of Tufted Capuchins Suggests:

From paintings and photographs to coins and credit cards, we are constantly surrounded by symbolic artefacts. The mental representation of symbols — objects that arbitrarily represent other objects — ultimately affords the development of language, and certainly played a decisive role in the evolution of our hominid ancestors. Can other animal species also comprehend and use symbols? Some evidence suggests that apes, our closest relatives, can indeed use symbols in various contexts. However, little is known about the symbolic competence of phylogenetically more distant species.

Early Humans Experimented To Get Bow And Arrow Just Right, Findings Suggest:

In today’s fast-paced, technologically advanced world, people often take the innovation of new technology for granted without giving much thought to the trial-and-error experimentation that makes technology useful in everyday life. When the “cutting-edge” technology of the bow and arrow was introduced to the world, it changed the way humans hunted and fought. University of Missouri archaeologists have discovered that early man, on the way to perfecting the performance of this new weapon, engaged in experimental research, producing a great variety of projectile points in the quest for the best, most effective system.

Unique Acoustic System Protects Manatees From Injuries And Death:

Researchers at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University have developed and improved upon a unique acoustic system designed to keep manatees from being injured or killed by flood gates and boat locks. Locks are used on sections of a canal or river that may be closed off by gates to control the water level to enable the raising and lowering of boats passing through.

Understanding Delayed Puberty: Scientists Study Migration Of Neurons That Enable Sexual Maturity in Zebrafish:

Scientists are watching a small group of neurons that enable sexual maturity and fertility make a critical journey: from where they form, near the developing nose, to deep inside the brain.

Moderate Exercise Can Improve Sleep Quality Of Insomnia Patients:

An acute session of moderate aerobic exercise, but not heavy aerobic or moderate strength exercises, can reduce the anxiety state and improve the sleep quality of insomnia patients, according to a research abstract that will be presented on June 11 at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

University Experts Dispute Hawk-eye’s Wimbledon Line Call:

Ahead of Wimbledon fortnight (23 June to 6 July), researchers from Cardiff University are advising that sports decision aids such as the Hawk-Eye system should come with a ‘health’ warning attached.

A Roadmap for Migrating Neurons:

Politicians, pundits, and even your best friends occasionally do things that make you wonder how their brains are wired. The next time you have that thought, consider consulting a developmental neuroscientist: they work every day to understand the processes that wire up everyone’sbrains. It’s a mind-boggling job, because as an embryo develops, the connections within its brain ramify, becoming ever more complex. For example, consider the neural connections in the mammalian cerebellum. This distinctive structure is responsible for coordinating sensory and motor signals to produce fine motor control. This must be a complicated job–the cerebellum contains about half of the brain’s neurons.

Ethical Implications of Modifying Lethal Injection Protocols:

Lethal injection for execution has largely replaced other execution methods, in part due to the appearance of a peaceful death; however, available evidence indicates that some inmates actually suffer extreme pain. This has triggered legal challenges against lethal injection on the grounds that it violates the United States’ constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Some jurisdictions collect comprehensive data on executions and outcomes, and some have modified their lethal injection protocols. Recently, jurists and lethal injection advisory panels have recommended specific changes to be instituted for future executions. Such use of biomedical inquiry to evaluate, modify, and “improve” protocols resembles human experimentation and should be scrutinized against accepted norms for ethical conduct of research, particularly given the vulnerable nature of the prisoner population. Although the regulations governing prisoner research vary by jurisdiction, the ethical framework for the modification of lethal injection protocols should be made clear prior to further investigation into how to “improve the process.”

Gene Banks Pay Big Dividends to Agriculture, the Environment, and Human Welfare:

Nearly a century after the pioneering American apple tree purveyor Johnny Appleseed traveled from town to town planting nurseries in the Midwestern United States, Frans Nicholas Meijer left his Netherlands home to pursue a similar vocation as an “agricultural explorer” for the US Department of Agriculture. Over the course of his career, Meijer, who changed his name to Frank Meyer after reaching the New World, helped introduce over 2,500 foreign plants from Europe, Russia, and China, including the lemon that would bear his name. Starting with his first expedition for Asian plants in 1905, Meyer would encounter isolation, physical discomfort, disease, robbers, and revolutionaries in his quest to collect useful plants.

How Might Cocaine Interfere with Brain Development?:

Women addicted to cocaine often continue drug use through pregnancy, despite risks to the fetuses they are carrying. Multiple studies have attempted to identify the effects of cocaine and other commonly abused drugs on fetal brain development and behavior in clinical populations. The attribution of risk to specific drugs remains challenging, however, because women addicted to cocaine often use other illegal drugs as well as alcohol and tobacco. Moreover, they tend to have poor nutrition, low levels of prenatal care, and other problems that confound analysis.

Sheep’s Sex Determined By Diet Prior To Pregnancy:

Maternal diet influences the chances of having male or female offspring. New research has demonstrated that ewes fed a diet enriched with polyunsaturated fats for one month prior to conception have a significantly higher chance of giving birth to male offspring.

Fossilized Burrows 245 Million Years Old Suggest Lizard-like Creatures In Antarctica:

For the first time paleontologists have found fossilized burrows of tetrapods — any land vertebrates with four legs or leglike appendages — in Antarctica dating from the Early Triassic epoch, about 245 million years ago.

Caribbean Monk Seal Gone Extinct From Human Causes, NOAA Confirms:

After a five year review, NOAA’s Fisheries Service has determined that the Caribbean monk seal, which has not been seen for more than 50 years, has gone extinct — the first type of seal to go extinct from human causes.

Complex Synapses Drove Brain Evolution:

One of the great scientific challenges is to understand the design principles and origins of the human brain. New research has shed light on the evolutionary origins of the brain and how it evolved into the remarkably complex structure found in humans.

Scientific Information Largely Ignored When Forming Opinions About Stem Cell Research:

When forming attitudes about embryonic stem cell research, people are influenced by a number of things. But understanding science plays a negligible role for many people.

Plastic Brain Outsmarts Experts: Training Can Increase Fluid Intelligence, Once Thought To Be Fixed At Birth:

Can human beings rev up their intelligence quotients, or are they stuck with IQs set by their genes at birth? Until recently, nature seemed to be the clear winner over nurture.

Film Content, Editing, And Directing Style Affect Brain Activity, Neuroscientists Show:

Using advanced functional imaging methods, New York University neuroscientists have found that certain motion pictures can exert considerable control over brain activity. Moreover, the impact of films varies according to movie content, editing, and directing style. Because the study, which appears in Projections: The Journal for Movies and Mind, offers a quantitative neuroscientific assessment of the impact of different styles of filmmaking on viewers’ brains, it may serve as a valuable method for the film industry to better assess its products and offer a new method for exploring how the brain works.

Maternal Depression, Breastfeeding And A Lower Socioeconomic Status Can Affect Infants’ Sleep:

Maternal depression during pregnancy, breastfeeding and a lower socioeconomic status are all associated with less infant sleep duration in the first six months of life, according to a research abstract that will be presented on June 9 at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

Scientists Decipher The Neurological Basis Of Timely Movement:

Contrary to what one might imagine, the way in which each of us interacts with the world is not a simple matter of seeing (or touching, or smelling) and then reacting. Even the best baseball hitter eyeing a fastball does not swing at what he sees. The neurons and neural connections that make up our sensory systems are far too slow for this to work. “Everything we sense is a little bit in the past,” says Richard A. Andersen of the California Institute of Technology, who has now uncovered the trick the brain uses to get around this puzzling problem.

Persistent Man-made Chemical Pollutants Found In Deep-sea Octopods And Squids:

New evidence that chemical contaminants are finding their way into the deep-sea food web has been found in deep-sea squids and octopods, including the strange-looking “vampire squid”. These species are food for deep-diving toothed whales and other predators.

The Cormorant: ‘Black Plague’ Or An Example Of Successful Species Conservation?:

Europe requires a common management strategy for cormorants in order to reconcile nature conservation and fishing interests. An effective regulation of cormorant populations can only work at the European level, researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) write in the scientific journal Environmental Conservation. Furthermore, they suggest a five-step action plan, which would start with a consensus on the real numbers of animals and end in an international management plan.

New Catfish Species Named For Museum Mail Supervisor:

He’s not well known like President Bush and musician Neil Young, but Philadelphian Frank Gallagher now has something in common with them: He has a new species named after him.

Climate Change Hastens Extinction In Madagascar’s Reptiles And Amphibians:

New research from the American Museum of Natural History provides the first detailed study showing that global warming forces species to move up tropical mountains as their habitats shift upward. Christopher Raxworthy, Associate Curator in the Department of Herpetology, predicts that at least three species of amphibians and reptiles found in Madagascar’s mountainous north could go extinct between 2050 and 2100 because of habitat loss associated with rising global temperatures. These species, currently moving upslope to compensate for habitat loss at lower and warmer altitudes, will eventually have no place to move to.

Toxic Algal Blooms May Cause Seizures In California Sea Lions:

Scientists, reporting in the current issue of the online journal Marine Drugs, state that an increase of epileptic seizures and behavioral abnormalities in California sea lions can result from low-dose exposure to domoic acid as a fetus. The findings follow an analysis earlier this year led by Frances Gulland of the California Marine Mammal Center that showed this brain disturbance to be a newly recognized chronic disease.

Keeping Beer Fresher:

Scientists in Venezuela are reporting an advance in the centuries-old effort to preserve the fresh taste that beer drinkers value more than any other characteristic of that popular beverage.

Futuristic Linkage Of Animals And Electronics:

The same Global Positioning System (GPS) technology used to track vehicles is now being used to track cows.

Brown Argus Butterfly Sees Positive Effects Of Climate Change:

Global warming is generally thought to have a negative affect on the habitats of many animals and plants. Not for the Brown Argus butterfly, however. This insect seems to be bucking the trend and expanding its numbers quicker and more effectively, according to new research.

How To Construct A ‘Firefly’ Worm: Measuring Metabolism Of Entire Organism In Real Time:

For the first time, research describing a new modified luminescent worm allows scientists to measure – in real time – the metabolism of an entire living organism. The key behind this capacity relies in the fact that the luminescence is produced using the animal’s available energy, which reflects its metabolism that, as such, can be extrapolated from measuring the emitted light.

Fish 380 Million Years Old Found With Unborn Embryo:

In 2005, Museum Victoria’s expedition to the Gogo fossil sites in north Western Australia, led by Dr John Long, made a swag of spectacular fossil discoveries, including that of a complete fish, Gogonasus, showing unexpected features similar to early land animals.

Admiring Celebrities Can Help Improve Self-esteem:

A new study appearing in Personal Relationships shows how “connections” to celebrities, i.e. parasocial relationships, can allow people with low-self esteem to view themselves more positively.

Teenagers Attending College Less Likely To Engage In Risky Sexual Behavior:

Adolescents attending college six months after completing high school are significantly less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior than those who do not go to college, according to the first study to directly compare the two groups.

Spider Silk Can Be Stretchy Like Springs Or Like Rubber:

Spider silks are incredibly stretchy, but are they stretchy like elastic or springs? The answer lies in their amino acid content. Spider silks are made from proteins, and biologists have just discovered that the secret lies in the silk protein’s amino acid content. Spider silks with high proline contents behave like elastic rubber bands, while spider silks with low proline content behave like stretchy springs.

Scientists Uncover How Plant Roots Respond To Physical Forces Such As Gravity, Pressure, Or Touch:

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are the first to identify two proteins responsible for mechanosensitive ion channel activities in plant roots. Scientists have long known that plant cells respond to physical forces. Until now, however, the proteins controlling the ion channel response remained a mystery.

Human Viruses Appear To Be Making Wild Chimpanzees Sick:

After studying chimpanzees in the wilds of Tanzania’s Mahale Mountains National Park for the past year as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, Virginia Tech researcher Dr. Taranjit Kaur and her team have produced powerful scientific evidence that chimpanzees are becoming sick from viral infectious diseases they have likely contracted from humans.

Humans Have Ten Times More Bacteria Than Human Cells: How Do Microbial Communities Affect Human Health?:

The number of bacteria living within the body of the average healthy adult human are estimated to outnumber human cells 10 to 1. Changes in these microbial communities may be responsible for digestive disorders, skin diseases, gum disease and even obesity. Despite their vital imporance in human health and disease, these communities residing within us remain largely unstudied and a concerted research effort needs to be made to better understand them, say researchers June 3 at the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston.

Unravelling The Mystery Of The Kitty Litter Parasite In Marine Mammals:

Researchers at California Polytechnic State University have discovered what may be a clue to the mystery of why marine mammals around the world are succumbing to a parasite that is typically only associated with cats. The key may just be the lowly anchovy, according to research presented today at the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston.

New Way To Think About Earth’s First Cells:

A team of researchers at Harvard University have modeled in the laboratory a primitive cell, or protocell, that is capable of building, copying and containing DNA.

Estrogen Applied To Human Penis Could Block Spread Of HIV, Study Suggests:

In a world first, a University of Melbourne study has shown that topical oestrogen could help prevent HIV infection by blocking entry of the virus into the human penis.

This is funny – I start reading interesting stuff, really stuff that I find catchy regardless of where I work….and it’s all from PLoS ONE! We rock! The journal that some people regard as a repository for “boring, incremental stuff” is publishing all the most exciting papers around….just see these:
Transgenic Plants Don’t Hurt Beneficial Bugs, Entomologists Find:

Genetically modified (GM) plants that use Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a common soil bacterium, to kill pests won’t harm the pests’ natural enemies, according to new research by Cornell entomologists.

Honeybee Dance Breaks Down Cultural Barrier:

Asian and European honeybees can learn to understand one another’s dance languages despite having evolved different forms of communication, an international research team has shown for the first time.

Memory In Honeybees: What The Right And Left Antenna Tell The Left And Right Brain:

It is widely known that the right and left hemispheres of the brain perform different tasks. Lesions to the left hemisphere typically bring impairments in language production and comprehension, while lesions to the right hemisphere give rise to deficits in the visual-spatial perception, such as the inability to recognize familiar faces.

New Zealand Bird Outwits Alien Predators:

New research led by Dr Melanie Massaro and Dr Jim Briskie at the University of Canterbury, which found that the New Zealand bellbird is capable of changing its nesting behaviour to protect itself from predators, could be good news for island birds around the world at risk of extinction.

Parasitoid Turns Its Host Into A Bodyguard:

There are many examples of parasites that induce spectacular changes in the behaviour of their host. Flukes, for example, are thought to induce ants, their intermediate host, to move up onto blades of grass during the night and early morning. There, they firmly attach themselves to the substrate with their mandibles, and are thus consumed by grazing sheep, the fluke’s final host. In contrast, uninfected ants return to their nests during the night and the cooler parts of the day. As another example, terrestrial insects parasitized by hairworms commit suicide by jumping into water, where the adult worms reproduce.

Mammalian Neurogenesis Breaks Into The Most Static Brain Region:

Fifteen years ago, the discovery of adult neurogenesis (the production of new neurons) in the highly static, non-renewable mammalian brain was a breakthrough in neuroscience. Most emphasis was put on the possibility to figure out new strategies for brain repair against the threath of neurodegenerative diseases. Yet, unlike lower vetebrates, which are characterized by widespread postnatal neurogenesis, neurogenic sites in mammals are highly restricted within two very small regions. Hence, the fact that protracted neurogenesis in mammals is an exception rather than the rule slowes down hopes for generalized brain repair.

Substance In Red Wine, Resveratrol, Found To Keep Hearts Young:

How, scientists wonder, do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats? The answer to the so-called “French paradox” may be found in red wine. More specifically, it may reside in small doses of resveratrol, a natural constituent of grapes, pomegranates, red wine and other foods, according to a new study by an international team of researchers.

There are 56 new articles published in PLoS ONE a few minutes ago. Please comment, rate and send trackbacks. Here are some of my personal favourites of the week:
East Learns from West: Asiatic Honeybees Can Understand Dance Language of European Honeybees:

The honeybee waggle dance, through which foragers advertise the existence and location of a food source to their hive mates, is acknowledged as the only known form of symbolic communication in an invertebrate. However, the suggestion, that different species of honeybee might possess distinct ‘dialects’ of the waggle dance, remains controversial. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether different species of honeybee can learn from and communicate with each other. This study reports experiments using a mixed-species colony that is composed of the Asiatic bee Apis cerana cerana (Acc), and the European bee Apis mellifera ligustica (Aml). Using video recordings made at an observation hive, we first confirm that Acc and Aml have significantly different dance dialects, even when made to forage in identical environments. When reared in the same colony, these two species are able to communicate with each other: Acc foragers could decode the dances of Aml to successfully locate an indicated food source. We believe that this is the first report of successful symbolic communication between two honeybee species; our study hints at the possibility of social learning between the two honeybee species, and at the existence of a learning component in the honeybee dance language.

From Antenna to Antenna: Lateral Shift of Olfactory Memory Recall by Honeybees:

Honeybees, Apis mellifera, readily learn to associate odours with sugar rewards and we show here that recall of the olfactory memory, as demonstrated by the bee extending its proboscis when presented with the trained odour, involves first the right and then the left antenna. At 1-2 hour after training using both antennae, recall is possible mainly when the bee uses its right antenna but by 6 hours after training a lateral shift has occurred and the memory can now be recalled mainly when the left antenna is in use. Long-term memory one day after training is also accessed mainly via the left antenna. This time-dependent shift from right to left antenna is also seen as side biases in responding to odour presented to the bee’s left or right side. Hence, not only are the cellular events of memory formation similar in bees and vertebrate species but also the lateralized networks involved may be similar. These findings therefore seem to call for remarkable parallel evolution and suggest that the proper functioning of memory formation in a bilateral animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, requires lateralization of processing.

Introduced Mammalian Predators Induce Behavioural Changes in Parental Care in an Endemic New Zealand Bird:

The introduction of predatory mammals to oceanic islands has led to the extinction of many endemic birds. Although introduced predators should favour changes that reduce predation risk in surviving bird species, the ability of island birds to respond to such novel changes remains unstudied. We tested whether novel predation risk imposed by introduced mammalian predators has altered the parental behaviour of the endemic New Zealand bellbird (Anthornis melanura). We examined parental behaviour of bellbirds at three woodland sites in New Zealand that differed in predation risk: 1) a mainland site with exotic predators present (high predation risk), 2) a mainland site with exotic predators experimentally removed (low risk recently) and, 3) an off-shore island where exotic predators were never introduced (low risk always). We also compared parental behaviour of bellbirds with two closely related Tasmanian honeyeaters (Phylidonyris spp.) that evolved with native nest predators (high risk always). Increased nest predation risk has been postulated to favour reduced parental activity, and we tested whether island bellbirds responded to variation in predation risk. We found that females spent more time on the nest per incubating bout with increased risk of predation, a strategy that minimised activity at the nest during incubation. Parental activity during the nestling period, measured as number of feeding visits/hr, also decreased with increasing nest predation risk across sites, and was lowest among the honeyeaters in Tasmania that evolved with native predators. These results demonstrate that some island birds are able to respond to increased risk of predation by novel predators in ways that appear adaptive. We suggest that conservation efforts may be more effective if they take advantage of the ability of island birds to respond to novel predators, especially when the elimination of exotic predators is not possible.

Parasitoid Increases Survival of Its Pupae by Inducing Hosts to Fight Predators:

Many true parasites and parasitoids modify the behaviour of their host, and these changes are thought to be to the benefit of the parasites. However, field tests of this hypothesis are scarce, and it is often unclear whether the host or the parasite profits from the behavioural changes, or even if parasitism is a cause or consequence of the behaviour. We show that braconid parasitoids (Glyptapanteles sp.) induce their caterpillar host (Thyrinteina leucocerae) to behave as a bodyguard of the parasitoid pupae. After parasitoid larvae exit from the host to pupate, the host stops feeding, remains close to the pupae, knocks off predators with violent head-swings, and dies before reaching adulthood. Unparasitized caterpillars do not show these behaviours. In the field, the presence of bodyguard hosts resulted in a two-fold reduction in mortality of parasitoid pupae. Hence, the behaviour appears to be parasitoid-induced and confers benefits exclusively to the parasitoid.

Visiting Sick People: Is It Really Detrimental to Our Health?:

Intuitively, keeping ones distance from a source of infection would appear to be the best way to limit the occurrence of disease. However, this overlooks the importance of repeated infections in maintaining efficient immune defenses. When acquired immunity has partly waned, re-exposure to the pathogenic agent may lead to mild disease that boosts the immune system. This prevents the total loss of immunity that would lead to classical disease in cases of re-infection. Here, using a mathematical model, we show that avoiding the pathogenic agent is detrimental in some situations, e.g. for pathogens that are highly transmissible, are not excessively lethal and that induce rapidly waning immunity. Reducing exposure to pathogenic agents is among the objectives of most, if not all, public health measures. A better understanding of the factors influencing the severity of a disease is required before applying measures that reduce the circulation of pathogenic agents.

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