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- May 16, 2013
- 07:17 AM
- 45 views
To Predict a Bird’s Song, Head Out to Space
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
Any given species of bird probably has a variety of different songs. Most bird studies track individual birds in their own habitats, and then make more or less one-by-one comparisons—a bird in a forest will sound different from the same species in a city. An international team has taken these studies one step further—by making a giant leap into space.... Read more »
Smith, T., Harrigan, R., Kirschel, A., Buermann, W., Saatchi, S., Blumstein, D., de Kort, S., & Slabbekoorn, H. (2013) Predicting bird song from space. Evolutionary Applications. DOI: 10.1111/eva.12072
- May 15, 2013
- 09:12 AM
- 34 views
Getting Science Right: Power Cables and Cancer
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
Some people would think twice before buying a house next to high-voltage power line. Wasn’t there something in the news about these wires causing cancer? Indeed many media have elaborately cited people worrying about the risks of electricity. But often without offering a scientific view on the subject.... Read more »
Draper, G. (2005) Childhood cancer in relation to distance from high voltage power lines in England and Wales: a case-control study. BMJ, 330(7503), 1290. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.330.7503.1290
- May 14, 2013
- 10:04 AM
- 30 views
Carnivorous Plant Ejects Junk DNA
by Geetanjali Yadav in United Academics
Research shows Utricularia gibba maintains a small genome size by resisting gene duplications.
... Read more »
Ibarra-Laclette, E., Lyons, E., Hernández-Guzmán, G., Pérez-Torres, C., Carretero-Paulet, L., Chang, T., Lan, T., Welch, A., Juárez, M., Simpson, J.... (2013) Architecture and evolution of a minute plant genome. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature12132
- May 14, 2013
- 07:12 AM
- 39 views
Turtle genome shows breathing is optional
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
Genome of the western painted turtle has developed a remarkable ability to go without oxygen for months. And this genomic change could point to better heart attack and stroke treatments for us.... Read more »
Abramyan, J., Badenhorst, D., Biggar, K., Borchert, G., Botka, C., Bowden, R., Braun, E., Bronikowski, A., Bruneau, B., Buck, L.... (2013) The western painted turtle genome, a model for the evolution of extreme physiological adaptations in a slowly evolving lineage. Genome Biology, 14(3). DOI: 10.1186/gb-2013-14-3-r28
- May 13, 2013
- 09:45 AM
- 26 views
A Quantum Version of Google
by Carian Thus in United Academics
A team of computer scientists in Spain applied a quantum PageRank algorithm to a network with 7 webpages. They found that the quantum PageRank sometimes ordered the webpages differently in terms of importance, but averaging the quantum PageRank score over time recovered the classical ordering.... Read more »
Paparo, G., & Martin-Delgado, M. (2012) Google in a Quantum Network. Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/srep00444
- May 13, 2013
- 07:27 AM
- 42 views
Boosting your wage by lowering your voice
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
t’s sexier, we already knew that. But lower voices do more than just turning people on. It appears a deep sound also means more success in your career. A new study makes some pretty clear statements about the associations between wage, management power, tenure and the tone of voice.... Read more »
Mayew, W., Parsons, C., & Venkatachalam, M. (2013) Voice pitch and the labor market success of male chief executive officers. Evolution and Human Behavior. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2013.03.001
- May 12, 2013
- 07:55 AM
- 35 views
Plants are listening, but how?
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
A group of researchers from the University of Western Australia reported a new type of unknown mechanism by which some plants communicate.... Read more »
Gagliano, M., & Renton, M. (2013) Love thy neighbour: facilitation through an alternative signalling modality in plants. BMC Ecology, 13(1), 19. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6785-13-19
Gagliano, M., Mancuso, S., & Robert, D. (2012) Towards understanding plant bioacoustics. Trends in Plant Science, 17(6), 323-325. DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2012.03.002
- May 10, 2013
- 11:06 AM
- 60 views
How To Make Yourself A Popular Tweeter
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
Twitter has a pretty bad reputation caused by a lot of people twittering about their personal issues. But is that really what Twitter is about? Researchers just discovered that this typical Twitter behavior actually decreases your followers. Time for a do’s and don’t list.... Read more »
C.J. Hutto, Sarita Yardi, & Eric Gilbert. (2013) A Longitudinal Study of Follow Predictors on Twitter. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems . DOI: 10.1145/2470654.2470771
- May 10, 2013
- 07:18 AM
- 52 views
Looking Into The Personality of Adventurers
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
Some feel the need to explore more than others. This apparently random characteristic really makes a difference to personalities, a mice experiment shows. Those that like to be adventurous and have the capacity to do so, develop different brains than those who stay mostly in the same place.... Read more »
Freund, J., Brandmaier, A., Lewejohann, L., Kirste, I., Kritzler, M., Kruger, A., Sachser, N., Lindenberger, U., & Kempermann, G. (2013) Emergence of Individuality in Genetically Identical Mice. Science, 340(6133), 756-759. DOI: 10.1126/science.1235294
- May 9, 2013
- 12:15 PM
- 35 views
Gut Bugs against Diabetes
by Pieter Carriere in United Academics
A new discovery regarding the relationship between gut bugs and disease... Read more »
Markle JG, Frank DN, Mortin-Toth S, Robertson CE, Feazel LM, Rolle-Kampczyk U, von Bergen M, McCoy KD, Macpherson AJ, & Danska JS. (2013) Sex differences in the gut microbiome drive hormone-dependent regulation of autoimmunity. Science (New York, N.Y.), 339(6123), 1084-8. PMID: 23328391
Flak, M., Neves, J., & Blumberg, R. (2013) Welcome to the Microgenderome. Science, 339(6123), 1044-1045. DOI: 10.1126/science.1236226
Leavy, O. (2013) Autoimmunity: Gut bugs help protect males from diabetes. Nature Reviews Immunology, 13(3), 152-153. DOI: 10.1038/nri3409
Turnbaugh, P., Ley, R., Mahowald, M., Magrini, V., Mardis, E., & Gordon, J. (2006) An obesity-associated gut microbiome with increased capacity for energy harvest. Nature, 444(7122), 1027-131. DOI: 10.1038/nature05414
- May 8, 2013
- 11:49 AM
- 44 views
Getting Science Right: Hazards of Political Statistics
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
Radioactive iodine is dangerous, and public health and academic researchers are now trying to determine what long-term damage can occur, where it can occur, and how long it will take to occur. What politcs can learn from Fukushima.... Read more »
J. Mangano, J. (2013) Elevated airborne beta levels in Pacific/West Coast US States and trends in hypothyroidism among newborns after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. Open Journal of Pediatrics, 03(01), 1-9. DOI: 10.4236/ojped.2013.31001
- May 8, 2013
- 09:42 AM
- 47 views
Can Probability Explain Gravity?
by Simone Munao in United Academics
According to Dutch theoretical physicist Erik Verlinde, there is a new theory for gravity: Entropic gravity is a hypothesis in modern physics that describes gravity as an entropic force.... Read more »
Verlinde, E. (2011) On the origin of gravity and the laws of Newton. Journal of High Energy Physics, 2011(4). DOI: 10.1007/JHEP04(2011)029
- May 8, 2013
- 07:33 AM
- 42 views
What did your ancestors talk about?
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
What subjects were important for both modern humans and our ancestors? A new study into the Eurasian primal language offers some important clues. Researchers found 23 words that are approximately 15.000 years old. ... Read more »
Pagel, M., Atkinson, Q., S. Calude, A., & Meade, A. (2013) Ultraconserved words point to deep language ancestry across Eurasia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1218726110
- May 8, 2013
- 07:06 AM
- 27 views
What Did Our Ancestors Talk About?
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
Our modern lives don't have a lot in common with those of our ancestors. Still, scientists found 23 words that were already being used 15.000 years ago.... Read more »
Pagel, M., Atkinson, Q., S. Calude, A., & Meade, A. (2013) Ultraconserved words point to deep language ancestry across Eurasia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1218726110
- May 7, 2013
- 03:38 AM
- 40 views
Music and Cannabis; What’s the Connection?
by Mark Fonseca Rendeiro in United Academics
When you bring up the subject of listening to music while stoned, you get a range of responses, almost all of them positive. While you might enjoy a song in a non-altered state, under the influence of Cannabis, it has been established that listening to and creating music is somehow a deeper and more intense experience. The disputed issue that arises is why this happens and if the feeling is real.... Read more »
Webster, P. (2001) Marijuana and Music. Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, 1(2), 93-105. DOI: 10.1300/J175v01n02_05
- May 6, 2013
- 09:08 AM
- 46 views
The Benefits Of Being ill
by Katja Keuchenius in United Academics
A lot has changed in the human body since our ancestors walked around on bare feet. We have less hair, we got bigger and we live longer, for example. But we’re still being haunted by some very stubborn diseases that survived the evolution. How is that possible?... Read more »
van Mens, T., Levi, M., & Middeldorp, S. (2013) Evolution of Factor V Leiden. Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 110(1). DOI: 10.1160/TH13-02-0115
- May 6, 2013
- 07:38 AM
- 52 views
It’s Not the Sugar That Rots Teeth
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
You’ve been hearing it for years; don’t eat too much sugar, because sugar rots your teeth. It turns out that sugar isn’t the real culprit behind tooth decay. Researchers, looking at the bacteria responsible for dental cavities, had found a molecule that can stop these common dental problems.
Jose Cordova, a Yale University researcher, and Erich Astudillo, from the University of Chile, identified the new molecule, called Keep32, that kills the Streptococcus Mutans bacteria an........ Read more »
Pacey, L. (2012) Chile creates cavity killer. BDJ, 213(5), 202-202. DOI: 10.1038/sj.bdj.2012.793
- May 6, 2013
- 05:01 AM
- 53 views
Is it impossible to drown yourself?
by Anouk Vleugels in United Academics
Kind of a morbid question, but apparently one that is on many people’s minds. Suicide by drowning is definitely not impossible, although it is not the easiest method. Due to the body’s natural tendency to come up for air, drowning attempts are most likely to succeed in deep waters.... Read more »
Byard, R., Houldsworth, G., James, R., & Gilbert, J. (2001) Characteristic Features of Suicidal Drownings. The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 22(2), 134-138. DOI: 10.1097/00000433-200106000-00005
- May 4, 2013
- 05:46 AM
- 63 views
Flight of the Robo-Bee
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
It took them more than 10 years, but Harvard engineers and scientists developed a tiny, bee-size robot that can fly on command. ... Read more »
Ma, K., Chirarattananon, P., Fuller, S., & Wood, R. (2013) Controlled Flight of a Biologically Inspired, Insect-Scale Robot. Science, 340(6132), 603-607. DOI: 10.1126/science.1231806
- May 3, 2013
- 11:32 AM
- 66 views
Taking Two Antibiotics for Quick Recovery?
by Geetanjali Yadav in United Academics
Did you ever take two or more antibiotics in order to get rid of a disease? New research in PLOS Biology suggests that this is not a wise thing to do. Drug resistant bacteria grow faster than their weaker counter parts when resources are limiting and many antibiotics are consumed.... Read more »
Pena-Miller R, Laehnemann D, Jansen G, Fuentes-Hernandez A, Rosenstiel P, Schulenburg H, & Beardmore R. (2013) When the most potent combination of antibiotics selects for the greatest bacterial load: the smile-frown transition. PLoS biology, 11(4). PMID: 23630452
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