- May 27, 2009
- 06:20 PM
- 1,533 views
Leonardo Da Vinci and the F0-F1 ATPase
by Iddo Friedberg in Byte Size Biology
We normally associate the rotary mechanism with human engineering, rather than with nature. Maybe it is human arrogance having invented the wheel as a form of locomotion. No other creature uses wheels for locomotion (but see below), hence we are smarter than nature since we came up with an engineering solution She did not.... Read more »
Junge, W., Sielaff, H., & Engelbrecht, S. (2009) Torque generation and elastic power transmission in the rotary FOF1-ATPase. Nature, 459(7245), 364-370. DOI: 10.1038/nature08145
- May 27, 2009
- 04:45 PM
- 1,927 views
Synaptic Vesicles Are Not All Created Equal
by Laura E. Mariani in Neurotypical?
A pair of articles in Nature Neuroscience this month provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying spontaneous and evoked release of synaptic vesicles. Spontaneous release of a single vesicle (a "mini" release event) at a synaptic site was first observed over 50 years ago. A mini is considered to represent a single "quantum" of neurotransmitter, therefore the quantal theory of neurotransmitter release states that all synaptic responses will reflect some multiple of the response to a mini (........ Read more »
Fredj, N., & Burrone, J. (2009) A resting pool of vesicles is responsible for spontaneous vesicle fusion at the synapse. Nature Neuroscience, 12(6), 751-758. DOI: 10.1038/nn.2317
Xu, J., Pang, Z., Shin, O., & Südhof, T. (2009) Synaptotagmin-1 functions as a Ca2 sensor for spontaneous release. Nature Neuroscience, 12(6), 759-766. DOI: 10.1038/nn.2320
- May 27, 2009
- 04:10 PM
- 1,114 views
Influenza hemagglutination inhibition assay
by Vincent Racaniello in virology blog
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have determined that some adults have serum cross-reactive antibodies to the new influenza H1N1 virus. One of the techniques used to reach this conclusion is the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. How does this assay work?
To understand the HI assay, we must discuss the hemagglutination assay. Influenza virus particles have [...]... Read more »
J Katz, PhD, K Hancock, PhD, V Veguilla, MPH, W Zhong, PhD, XH Lu, MD, H Sun, MD, E Butler, MPH, L Dong, MD, PhD, F Liu, MD, PhD, ZN Li, MD, PhD, J DeVos, MPH, P Gargiullo, PhD, N Cox, PhD. (2009) Serum Cross-Reactive Antibody Response to a Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus After Vaccination with Seasonal Influenza Vaccine. Morbid. Mortal. Weekly Rep., 58(19), 521-524. DOI: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5819a1.htm
Potter, CW, & Oxford, JS. (1979) Determinants of immunity to influenza infection in man. Br Med Bull, 69-75.
- May 27, 2009
- 04:07 PM
- 976 views
The autistic way of laughing
by Michelle Dawson in The Autism Crisis
There are real and fake smiles that can be distinguished visually, if you know how, and it turns out that there are real and fake laughs. William Hudenko, a clinician and researcher, patiently explained this to me at IMFAR 2009. Real laughs are "voiced" versus fake laughs that are "unvoiced" and these two kinds of laughs can be distinguished acoustically. Hudenko et al. (in press) describe voiced laughs as having a "tonal, song-like quality" and as "strongly associated with positive affect," whi........ Read more »
Hudenko, W., Stone, W., & Bachorowski, J. (2009) Laughter Differs in Children with Autism: An Acoustic Analysis of Laughs Produced by Children With and Without the Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0752-1
- May 27, 2009
- 03:59 PM
- 765 views
A gene for music?
by Henkjan Honing in Music Matters
Last week a paper was published in PLoS-ONE suggesting a relation between AVPR1A-Haplotypes and musical creativity. A group of Finish researchers analyzed 19 families with a total of 343 family members on their musical aptitude —using the Seashore test and a test developed by one of the authors— and their DNA profiles. They were able to show an association between these and related genes and levels of musical creativity. The research contrasts earlier research with twins that suggested no s........ Read more »
Ukkola, L., Onkamo, P., Raijas, P., Karma, K., & Järvelä, I. (2009) Musical Aptitude Is Associated with AVPR1A-Haplotypes. PLoS ONE, 4(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005534
Coon, H., & Carey, G. (1989) Genetic and environmental determinants of musical ability in twins. Behavior Genetics, 19(2), 183-193. DOI: 10.1007/BF01065903
- May 27, 2009
- 02:49 PM
- 1,649 views
Does faking amnesia permanently distort your memory?
by Dave Munger in Cognitive Daily
A common defense in murder cases is "focal retrograde amnesia": the defendant claims to have simply forgotten what occurred around the time of the crime (perhaps due having consumed too much alcohol or other drugs). In fact, "amnesia" is claimed in as many as 45 percent of murders. Psychologists know that this sort of amnesia is in fact quite rare, so it's very likely that most, if not all of these defendants are faking amnesia.
In fact, we can confirm that many of these cases are faked: when d........ Read more »
Sun, X., Punjabi, P., Greenberg, L., & Seamon, J. (2009) Does feigning amnesia impair subsequent recall?. Memory , 37(1), 81-89. DOI: 10.3758/mc.37.1.81
- May 27, 2009
- 12:30 PM
- 426 views
CONSERVATION: Hope for Accelerated Ecosystem Recovery
by Michael Long in Phased
Holly Jones and Oswald Schmitz
(Yale University, Connecticut) have compiled scientific evidence
that ecosystems typically recover within decades, not centuries.
This news feature was written on May 27, 2009.... Read more »
Jones, H. P., & Schmitz, O. J. (2009) Rapid Recovery of Damaged Ecosystems. PLoS ONE, 4(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005653
- May 27, 2009
- 12:00 PM
- 948 views
Fear of Flying
by sciencebase in Sciencebase Science Blog
Personally, I’ve never had a problem with a fear of flying, a lot of people suffer from this often debilitating phobia though despite reassurances about road death statistics being much worse than air crashes. That said perhaps there is one aspect of flying that should be of concern - exposure to radiation from outer space, [...]Post from: Sciencebase Science Blog... Read more »
S. Zaichkina, O. Rozanova, G. Aptikaeva, A. Akhmadieva, H. Smirnova, S. Romanchenko, O. Vakhrusheva, S. Sorokina, A. Dyukina, & V. Peleshko. (2009) Adaptive response and genetic instability induced in mice in vivo by low dose-rate radiation simulating high-altitude flight conditions. Int. J. Low Radiation, 6(1), 28-36.
- May 27, 2009
- 11:00 AM
- 1,123 views
LepToThin - Nature's most powerful weight loss agent?
by Travis Saunders, MSc in Obesity Panacea
I recently came across the website for LepToThin, a weight loss supplement which targets the hormone leptin. Although leptin induces satiety (in addition to many other functions), most obese individuals develop leptin resistance. Individuals who are resistant to leptin require more food before they feel full, making weight loss or even weight maintenance increasingly difficult.
Every so often someone comes out with a treatment that "cures" leptin resistance. This is somewh........ Read more »
Lee, Y. (2006) Berberine, a Natural Plant Product, Activates AMP-Activated Protein Kinase With Beneficial Metabolic Effects in Diabetic and Insulin-Resistant States. Diabetes, 55(8), 2256-2264. DOI: 10.2337/db06-0006
- May 27, 2009
- 11:00 AM
- 671 views
Science Citation Classics: One Gene, One Protein
by John Dennehy in The Evilutionary Biologist
Through sheer persistence, Beedle and Tatum unify biochemistry and genetics, ushering in a new age in biology. ... Read more »
Beadle, G.W. . (1941) The genetic control of biochemical reactions in Neurospora. . Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 499-506. DOI: 16588492
- May 27, 2009
- 10:23 AM
- 1,120 views
Free drugs: Just say no?
by zayzayem in It's Alive!!
“Everybody likes something free.” I don’t think anyone is going to disagree with Chimonas and Kassirer there.
Drugs are expensive. And even if in a country like Australia, universal insurance may mean that vital medicines are cheap for the end-consumer, somewhere someone has pay the full price (i.e. the government).
Because drugs are so expensive, many [...]... Read more »
Chimonas, S., & Kassirer, J. (2009) No More Free Drug Samples?. PLoS Medicine, 6(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000074
- May 27, 2009
- 10:20 AM
- 1,302 views
Your Microbiome and You
by Toaster Sunshine in Mad Scientist, Junior
You are never alone. Not even when you might want to be. Tucked away within the ~100m2 of your bowels are ~1014 (there are ~1013 somatic and germinal cells in the human body) of your closest friends, collectively termed The Microbiota. They eat, spawn, conjugate, die, poop, fight, and secrete right there inside of you, unseen and mostly unthought of except when something is wrong. This system, the remarkably homeostatic mammalian gut, forms what is perhaps the densest and most complex microb........ Read more »
Artis, D. (2008) Epithelial-cell recognition of commensal bacteria and maintenance of immune homeostasis in the gut. Nature Reviews Immunology, 8(6), 411-420. DOI: 10.1038/nri2316
- May 27, 2009
- 09:30 AM
- 1,764 views
The peril of positive thinking - why positive messages hurt people with low self-esteem
by Ed Yong in Not Exactly Rocket Science
When the going gets tough, thousands of people try to boost their failing self-esteem by repeating positive statements to themselves. Encouraged by magazine columnists, self-help books and talk-show hosts, people prepare for challenges by chanting positive mantras like "I am a strong, powerful person," and, "Nothing can stop me from achieving my dreams." This approach has been championed at least as far back as Norman Vincent Peale's infamous book The Power of Positive Thinking, published in 195........ Read more »
Wood, J., Elaine Perunovic, W., & Lee, J. (2009) Positive Self-Statements: Power for Some, Peril for Others. Psychological Science. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02370.x
- May 27, 2009
- 09:22 AM
- 1,455 views
Father-daughter bond affects the daughters’ romantic relationships
by Nestor Lopez-Duran PhD in Child-Psych
APS Convention Report #3
This post is part of a series of reports on research presented last weekend at the Annual Convention of the Association for Psychological Science.
Researchers have noted for decades that children view their home environment and relationship with their parents as “models”, and that this is usually reflected in how these children interact [...]... Read more »
Donnellan, M., Larsen-Rife, D., & Conger, R. (2005) Personality, Family History, and Competence in Early Adult Romantic Relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(3), 562-576. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.88.3.562
- May 27, 2009
- 09:19 AM
- 831 views
Questioning One in Four: Part 1
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic
One in four people suffer mental illness.Everyone knows that. But where does that number come from? The answer may surprise. Join me, if you will, as I explore the biography of a statistic."1 in 4" is ubiquitous, at least in the English-speaking world. I can't think of another such number which is better known, except perhaps the fact that 1 in 3 people will suffer from cancer.Anyone who's used the London Underground or watched British TV recently will be familiar with the Time to Change anti-st........ Read more »
Grant, B. (2006) About 26% of people in the US have an anxiety, mood, impulse control, or substance disorder. Evidence-Based Mental Health, 9(1), 27-27. DOI: 10.1136/ebmh.9.1.27
- May 27, 2009
- 09:00 AM
- 2,101 views
Like Taking Candy From A Baby
by Christie Wilcox in Observations of a Nerd
...err..well, not exactly. But it is a much easier way for a 45 ton sperm whale to get a quick bite to eat. This amazing footage of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) shaking cod fishing lines 108 m deep off the coast of Sitka, Alaska, is the first ever of sperm whales feeding - albeit not on its usual prey, the massive squids of the deep sea. Most of the time, sperm whales dive to a staggering 900 to 2600 feet (that's up to half a mile or so deep) to catch their meals. At such depths, with n........ Read more »
Mathias, D., Thode, A., Straley, J., & Folkert, K. (2009) Relationship between sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) click structure and size derived from videocamera images of a depredating whale (sperm whale prey acquisition). The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 125(5), 3444. DOI: 10.1121/1.3097758
- May 27, 2009
- 08:00 AM
- 619 views
Is radiation therapy really effective for Hodgkin’s lymphoma?
by flounder in The Sharp End of the Photon
I have been closely following the sad saga of Daniel Hauser, the Minnesota teen who ran away with his mother rather than continue treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Fortunately, he and his mother have returned to Minnesota, hopefully to continue his treatment. There has been a lot of debate about the ethics of a [...]... Read more »
BEKELMAN, J., & YAHALOM, J. (2009) Quality of Radiotherapy Reporting in Randomized Controlled Trials of Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Radiation OncologyBiologyPhysics, 73(2), 492-498. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2008.04.058
- May 27, 2009
- 08:00 AM
- 819 views
Can fig wasps bluff their way to mating success?
by Zen Faulkes in NeuroDojo
“Not so tough now, are ya?”I think everyone secretly hopes to utter that phrase someday to someone who blusters and bullies and threatens.There’s a scene in Quentin Tarantino’s film Death Proof where Kurt Russell’s character, Stuntman Mike – who has just been terrorizing a group of women on the highway – gets shot. He runs like hell and is pretty soon all but balling his eyes out.I like the scene a lot, because we rarely see it acknowledged in movies or TV that getting shot........ Read more »
Moore, J., Obbard, D., Reuter, C., West, S., & Cook, J. (2009) Male morphology and dishonest signalling in a fig wasp. Animal Behaviour. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.04.006
- May 27, 2009
- 07:02 AM
- 957 views
Gonna (Evolve To) Sing You My Love Song
by Neural Outlaw in Neural Interface
Why do we like to sing soppy love songs to our loved one? What is it about them that evokes a mood of affinity and bonding? Why do tears spring to our eyes when we hear a lyric that reminds us of a friendship, relationship or other close bond?The composition and interpretation of music through song, dance, and playing a musical instrument, are complex and high-level tasks of the creative brain. Indeed, the 'creative' aspects of personality are thought to constitute a particular division of intel........ Read more »
Ukkola, L., Onkamo, P., Raijas, P., Karma, K., & Järvelä, I. (2009) Musical Aptitude Is Associated with AVPR1A-Haplotypes. PLoS ONE, 4(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005534
- May 27, 2009
- 06:45 AM
- 767 views
How the aphid got its wings
by iayork in Mystery Rays from Outer Space
Rosy Apple Aphid (Whalon lab, MSU)
While nothing can match the pure undiluted awesomeness that is the parasitoid wasp/bracovirus symbiosis,1 there are other symbioses that are at least in the same ballpark. The latest one I’ve learned about is the relationship between a densovirus and the rosy apple aphid. 2 I can’t do better than to quote [...]... Read more »
Ryabov, E., Keane, G., Naish, N., Evered, C., & Winstanley, D. (2009) Densovirus induces winged morphs in asexual clones of the rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(21), 8465-8470. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0901389106
topics
join us!
Do you write about peer-reviewed research in your blog? Use ResearchBlogging.org to make it easy for your readers — and others from around the world — to find your serious posts about academic research.
If you don't have a blog, you can still use our site to learn about fascinating developments in cutting-edge research from around the world.
