All Posts
2008-05-09 17:00:21
by Ed Yong in Not Exactly Rocket Science
Biology
This week's New Scientist includes a short piece from me about conformist rats.
Until now, only humans and chimps were known to succumb to peer pressure, to the extent that we often ignore our own experiences based on the preferences of others. But a new study in brown rats shows that these rodents are similarly prone to following the Joneses. They can even be persuaded to choose a piece of food that they know makes them sick if they smell it on the breath of a 'demonstrator' rat.
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2008-05-09 16:15:16
by PhageDude in Blogging for Bacteriophages
Biology
Commonly, gene transfer is thought of as a vertical line from parent to offspring, along which all evolutionary traits are passed. However, as we began delving into genomic sequences, we found that this may not be true and that the lines between "species," especially on the microbial level, are quite fuzzy.
Horizontal gene transfer is the transfer of genetic elements between species. The microbial world is filled with examples of this phenomenon. This article is the first in a 3 part series that will explore the ever fluctuating genetic world of our microbial majority.
Es...more
- Welch R. (2002) Extensive mosaic structure revealed by the complete genome sequence of uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99(26), 17020-17024. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.252529799
2008-05-09 14:03:53
by Jake Young in Pure Pedantry
Biology
We have known for some time that there is a double dissociation (I will define that term in a minute) between location and identification in the visual system. Neuroscientists speak of a "where" pathway that goes from the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe up into the parietal lobe. Lesions to this pathway produce deficits in locating objects in space using vision. There is also a "what" pathway that goes from the primary visual cortex down into the temporal lobe. Lesions to this pathway produce deficits in identifying objects using vision.
We knew that was true for vis...more
- Malhotra S. (2008) Double dissociation of 'what' and 'where' processing in auditory cortex. Nature Neuroscience, 11(5), 609-616. DOI: 10.1038/nn.2108
2008-05-09 12:30:14
by Herman in cincyevolution
Biology
Modern comparative biology has truly entered a new age. The list of species for which researchers have completely sequenced their genomes continues to rapidly grow. Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), chickens (Gallus gallus), sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus), pufferfish (Fugu rubripes), Short-tailed Opossum (Monodelphis domestica), mosquitos (Anopheles gambiae), Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta), several plants such as rice (Oryza sativa) and cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa), numerous microbes, and even Humans (Homo sapiens) all have complete genome sequences completed....more
- Wilson R. K. (2008) Genome analysis of the platypus reveals unique signatures of evolution. Nature, 453(7192), 175-183. DOI: 10.1038/nature06936
2008-05-09 12:19:17
by coglanglab in Cognition and Language Laboratory
Psychology
An important part of the admission process to a competitive college is the admissions interview. I'm against it. And that isn't just because interviews were originally instituted to keep Jews out of Harvard. It's because they are poor predictors of future performance and, even worse, they are poor predictors that people weight very heavily.
I was first clued into this by none other than Google. Google recently revamped the way it chooses new hires, and an important part of the overhaul was minimizing the importance of the interview. As Laszlo Bock, Google's vice president for people...more
- Kahneman D. (1974) Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124-1131.
2008-05-09 12:09:22
by Daniel in Ego sum Daniel
Biology
Proof that god has a sense of humor? Or simply an amazing creature whose unique combination of features are the result of an intriguing evolutionary history? You guessed it.
Not that we needed another reason to love the platypus - looking something like the cross between a beaver and a duck, being venomous, endemic to Australia and one of the two mammals that lay eggs is awesome enough - but now that we have its genome sequence (the first analysis having been published yesterday in Nature) we have the chance to learn a lot about how modern mammals evolved from more reptile-like beg...more
- Wilson R. K. (2008) Genome analysis of the platypus reveals unique signatures of evolution. Nature, 453(7192), 175-183. DOI: 10.1038/nature06936
2008-05-09 10:11:40
by Translating Autism in Translating Autism
Psychology
A review of: Baird, G., Charman, T., Pickles, A., Chandler, S., Loucas, T., Meldrum, D., Carcani-Rathwell, I., Serkana, D., Simonoff, E. (2008). Regression, Developmental Trajectory and Associated Problems in Disorders in the Autism Spectrum: The SNAP Study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders DOI: 10.1007/s10803-008-0571-9
Although most children with autism present very early signs and symptoms and a linear developmental trajectory, a small subset of children present a trajectory characterized by normal development followed by a loss of acquired skills or a failure to use...more
- Simonoff E. (2008) Regression, Developmental Trajectory and Associated Problems in Disorders in the Autism Spectrum: The SNAP Study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, DOI: 10.1007/s10803-008-0571-9
- He Y. (2007) Climate Change and War Frequency in Eastern China over the Last Millennium. Human Ecology, 35(4), 403-414. DOI: 10.1007/s10745-007-9115-8
2008-05-09 09:09:39
by NP in Dispelled
Biology
Nature has just announced that a draft sequence of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) genome is now complete. The platypus is an interesting creature, because it has both mammalian and reptilian features. The platypus is thought to have split from the mammalian lineage along with the other monotremes quite early in evolutionary history. Around 166 million years ago, the monotremes are thought to have split from the lineage which later gave rise to marsupials and e...
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- Wilson R. K. (2008) Genome analysis of the platypus reveals unique signatures of evolution. Nature, 453(7192), 175-183. DOI: 10.1038/nature06936
2008-05-09 07:04:33
by Biomolecules in biomolecules
Biology
Error bars are almost shown in most of graphs used in research papers. In my experience not many of us give much importance to the error bars, questions about it only come from the group leader or the bosses. In several papers, the figure legends never describe kind of error bars used. Even in ...more
2008-05-09 05:03:36
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Psychology
People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are emotionally fragile, impulsive, suffer from low mood, have intense unstable personal relationships and - according to a handful of studies - they also have enhanced empathy.
But new research by Judith Flury and colleagues shows the idea that BPD patients have enhanced empathy is a spurious finding reflecting the methodological design of prior studies combined with the fact BPD patients are particularly difficult to read.
The 76 lowest and highest scorers on the Borderline Syndrome Index were selected from among 789 stu...more
- SCHWEINLE W. (2008) The borderline empathy effect: Do high BPD individuals have greater empathic ability? Or are they just more difficult to “read”?. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(2), 312-332. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2007.05.008
