Biology posts
- May 16, 2013
- 02:54 PM
- 1 view
Why not use human material for medical research?
by Professor Gareth Sanger in NC3Rs Blog
Using human tissue in medical research throws up a number of different challenges. In our third 2012 NC3Rs 3Rs Prize post, Professor Gareth Sanger from Queen Mary, University of London, discusses how tissue removed from the stomach and intestine can actually help overcome some of these challenges. Is this a viable alternative to using animals for gastrointestinal research? Professor Sanger’s research suggests it could be.... Read more »
Broad, J., Mukherjee, S., Samadi, M., Martin, J., Dukes, G., & Sanger, G. (2012) Regional- and agonist-dependent facilitation of human neurogastrointestinal functions by motilin receptor agonists. British Journal of Pharmacology, 167(4), 763-774. DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2012.02009.x
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- May 16, 2013
- 01:42 PM
- 24 views
All Your Amphibian Are Belong To Us
by Chris Tucker in The Mycelium Connection
It is official, the chytrid Fungi have reached all three of the extant amphibian orders.Chytrid fungi are the cause of global decimation in frogs and toads, as well as newts and salamanders. But, until now, the lesser known caecilians had managed to evade their mycelial grasp. That ends now!Goodbye Mr. Bond CaecilianA recent study released in the journal EcoHealth has found the first cases of chytridiomycosis in the legless amphibians. Unfortunately, EcoHealth is not a free journal so all I can ........ Read more »
Gower, D., Doherty-Bone, T., Loader, S., Wilkinson, M., Kouete, M., Tapley, B., Orton, F., Daniel, O., Wynne, F., Flach, E.... (2013) Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Infection and Lethal Chytridiomycosis in Caecilian Amphibians (Gymnophiona). EcoHealth. DOI: 10.1007/s10393-013-0831-9
- May 16, 2013
- 11:17 AM
- 25 views
"Fool Me Twice, Shame on ME," Says Sea Slug
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
"Simple" is often a compliment in the human world, used to describe low-fuss dinners or closet solutions. When scientists use "simple" to describe an animal, they mean something more like, "That sac of goo has no business acting clever." An especially simple creature—a sea slug—recently demonstrated that despite its humble resources, it can learn from experience and form new hunting strategies. Smaller goo sacs, beware.
Despite its squishy stature, the sea slug Pleurobranchaea calif........ Read more »
Noboa, V., & Gillette, R. (2013) Selective prey avoidance learning in the predatory sea-slug Pleurobranchaea californica. Journal of Experimental Biology. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.079384
- May 16, 2013
- 11:16 AM
- 25 views
'Vocal mimicry hypothesis' falsified? [Part 2]
by Henkjan Honing in Music Matters
A few entries ago I uploaded a fragment from a study that discusses an intriguing experiment with three chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) which were trained to tap regularly on a piano keyboard...... Read more »
Hattori, Y., Tomonaga, M., & Matsuzawa, T. (2013) Spontaneous synchronized tapping to an auditory rhythm in a chimpanzee. Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/srep01566
Hasegawa, A., Okanoya, K., Hasegawa, T., & Seki, Y. (2011) Rhythmic synchronization tapping to an audio–visual metronome in budgerigars. Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/srep00120
Honing, H., Merchant, H., Háden, G., Prado, L., & Bartolo, R. (2012) Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) Detect Rhythmic Groups in Music, but Not the Beat. PLoS ONE, 7(12). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051369
- May 16, 2013
- 08:38 AM
- 41 views
‘Brainbow,’ version 2.0
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The breakthrough technique that allowed scientists to obtain one-of-a-kind, colorful images of the myriad connections in the brain and nervous system is about to get a significant upgrade.... Read more »
Peter Reuell. (2013) ‘Brainbow,’ version 2.0. Harvard Gazette. info:/
- May 16, 2013
- 07:17 AM
- 58 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 16, 2013
- 07:00 AM
- 23 views
Did group selection play a role in the evolution of plasmid endosymbiosis?
by Eric Bolo in Evolutionary Games Group
Bacterial plasmids are nucleotide sequences floating in the cytoplasm of bacteria. These molecules replicate independently from the main chromosomal DNA and are not essential to the survival or replication of their host. Plasmids are thought to be part of the bacterial domain’s mobilome (for overview, see Siefert, 2009), a sort of genetic commonwealth which most, […]... Read more »
Paulsson J. (2002) Multileveled selection on plasmid replication. Genetics, 161(4), 1373-84. PMID: 12238464
- May 16, 2013
- 04:00 AM
- 36 views
Meta-analysing MTHFR and autism
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
I told you so.I'm talking about the paper by Pu and colleagues* who meta-analysed the currently available literature looking at two SNPs in everyone's favourite Scrabble classic gene, MTHFR in relation to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Said gene controls production of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) which fits very snugly into the whole one carbon metabolism cycle (see here).Love at first sight? @ Wikipedia Regular readers might know that I have a bi........ Read more »
Pu D, Shen Y, & Wu J. (2013) Association between MTHFR Gene Polymorphisms and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Meta-Analysis. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research. PMID: 23653228
- May 15, 2013
- 11:31 PM
- 40 views
Evolution explains the fundamental constants of physics
by Artem Kaznatcheev in Evolutionary Games Group
While speaking at TEDxMcGill 2009, Jan Florjanczyk — friend, quantum information researcher, and former schoolmate of mine — provided one of the clearest characterization of theoretical physics that I’ve had the please of hearing: Theoretical physics is about tweaking the knobs and dials and assumptions of the laws that govern the universe and then interpolating […]... Read more »
Gardner, A., & Conlon, J. (2013) Cosmological natural selection and the purpose of the universe. Complexity. DOI: 10.1002/cplx.21446
- May 15, 2013
- 06:49 PM
- 87 views
Six Arguments For the Elimination of Cigarettes
by Dirk Hanson in Addiction Inbox
Prohibition and the “tobacco control endgame.”
Despite all our efforts in recent years to reduce the percentage of Americans who smoke cigarettes—currently about one in five—the idea of full-blown cigarette prohibition has not gained much traction. That may be changing, as prominent nicotine researchers and public police officials start thinking about what is widely referred to as the “tobacco control endgame.”
Considering the new regulatory powers given the FDA under the terms ........ Read more »
Proctor R. N. (2013) Why ban the sale of cigarettes? The case for abolition. Tobacco Control, 22(Supplement 1). DOI: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050811
- May 15, 2013
- 05:59 PM
- 50 views
DNA analysis unearths origins of Minoans, the first major European civilization
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
DNA analysis is unearthing the origins of the Minoans, who some 5,000 years ago established the first advanced Bronze Age civilization in present-day Crete. The findings suggest they arose from an ancestral Neolithic population that had arrived in the region about 4,000 years earlier.... Read more »
Stephanie Seiler. (2013) DNA analysis unearths origins of Minoans, the first major European civilization. The University of Washington. info:/
- May 15, 2013
- 02:42 PM
- 31 views
Wrap-Up of Cell Symposium on Microbiome and Host Health
by Christen Rune Stensvold in Blastocystis Parasite Blog
A short wrap-up of the Cell Symposium on Microbiome and Host Health in Lisbon, Portugal, May 12-14, 2013.... Read more »
Koren O, Knights D, Gonzalez A, Waldron L, Segata N, Knight R, Huttenhower C, & Ley RE. (2013) A guide to enterotypes across the human body: meta-analysis of microbial community structures in human microbiome datasets. PLoS computational biology, 9(1). PMID: 23326225
Andersen LO, Vedel Nielsen H, & Stensvold CR. (2013) Waiting for the human intestinal Eukaryotome. The ISME journal. PMID: 23407309
Ivanov II, & Honda K. (2012) Intestinal commensal microbes as immune modulators. Cell host , 12(4), 496-508. PMID: 23084918
Brown J, de Vos WM, Distefano PS, Doré J, Huttenhower C, Knight R, Lawley TD, Raes J, & Turnbaugh P. (2013) Translating the human microbiome. Nature biotechnology, 31(4), 304-8. PMID: 23563424
Blaser M, Bork P, Fraser C, Knight R, & Wang J. (2013) The microbiome explored: recent insights and future challenges. Nature reviews. Microbiology, 11(3), 213-7. PMID: 23377500
- May 15, 2013
- 12:09 PM
- 50 views
Why women live longer than men?
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main Point:
Researchers have found that the immune system of the women declines more slowly than men and this could be one of the reasons for the longer life of women - at least in Japan.
Published in:
Immunity & Ageing
Study Further:
Immune system is the system that recognizes and opposes disease. In the new study, researchers have reported that with the passage of time, men’s ability to oppose the disease decrease more rapidly as compared to women, resulting in increased w........ Read more »
Hirokawa, K., Utsuyama, M., Hayashi, Y., Kitagawa, M., Makinodan, T., & Fulop, T. (2013) Slower immune system ageing in women versus men in the Japanese population. Immunity , 10(1), 19. DOI: 10.1186/1742-4933-10-19
- May 15, 2013
- 11:06 AM
- 63 views
Scarlet macaw genome sequenced | @GrrlScientist
by GrrlScientist in GrrlScientist
The newly-sequenced scarlet macaw genome will provide many important insights into avian and human biology, behaviours and genetics and will contribute to parrot conservation.... Read more »
Seabury Christopher M., Dowd Scot E., Seabury Paul M., Raudsepp Terje, Brightsmith Donald J., Liboriussen Poul, Halley Yvette, Fisher Colleen A., Owens Elaine, & Viswanathan Ganesh. (2013) A Multi-Platform Draft de novo Genome Assembly and Comparative Analysis for the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao). PLoS ONE, 8(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062415.s019
Oleksyk Taras K, Pombert Jean-Francois, Siu Daniel, Mazo-Vargas Anyimilehidi, Ramos Brian, Guiblet Wilfried, Afanador Yashira, Ruiz-Rodriguez Christina T, Nickerson Michael L, & Logue David M. (2012) A locally funded Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata) genome sequencing project increases avian data and advances young researcher education. GigaScience, 1(1), 14. DOI: 10.1186/2047-217X-1-14
Ried T, Schröck E, Ning Y, & Wienberg J. (1998) Chromosome painting: a useful art. Human Molecular Genetics, 7(10), 1619-1626. DOI: 10.1093/hmg/7.10.1619
- May 15, 2013
- 09:46 AM
- 33 views
Male Black Widows Sniff Out Femme Fatales
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
I am thrilled to announce that this month I am joining a new top-notch science blogging team at Scitable, Nature Education’s award-winning science education website! (But don’t worry, friends. I will continue to post here about animal physiology and behavior every Wednesday). Next week, Scitable will be launching eleven new blogs covering topics like neuroscience, genetics, oceanography, physics and more. I will be co-authoring an evolution blog called Accumulating Glitches together with Se........ Read more »
Johnson, J., Trubl, P., Blackmore, V., & Miles, L. (2011) Male black widows court well-fed females more than starved females: silken cues indicate sexual cannibalism risk. Animal Behaviour, 82(2), 383-390. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.05.018
- May 15, 2013
- 09:33 AM
- 38 views
Video Tip of the Week: Influenza Research Database (IRD)
It may not be traditionally what you think of as flu season, but lately there’s been a great deal of talk about some viruses that are concerning public health officials and infectious disease specialists. You might have heard of the H7N9 situation in China, and the NCoV virus in France that made headlines. But researchers [...]... Read more »
Squires, R., Noronha, J., Hunt, V., García-Sastre, A., Macken, C., Baumgarth, N., Suarez, D., Pickett, B., Zhang, Y., Larsen, C.... (2012) Influenza Research Database: an integrated bioinformatics resource for influenza research and surveillance. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, 6(6), 404-416. DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-2659.2011.00331.x
Pickett, B., Sadat, E., Zhang, Y., Noronha, J., Squires, R., Hunt, V., Liu, M., Kumar, S., Zaremba, S., Gu, Z.... (2011) ViPR: an open bioinformatics database and analysis resource for virology research. Nucleic Acids Research, 40(D1). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkr859
- May 15, 2013
- 08:36 AM
- 38 views
Cadmium: toxic to mammals, harmless to a bacterium, helpful to an alga
by Clay Clark in Biochem Blogs
Heavy metal poisoning is a major health concern across the world. Heavy metal ions frequently leak into the environment from industrial waste causing multiple health problems in humans, animals, and other organisms. While there is no universally accepted definition of … Continue reading →... Read more »
Bertin G., & Averbeck D. (2006) Cadmium: cellular effects, modifications of biomolecules, modulation of DNA repair and genotoxic consequences (a review). Biochimie, 88(11), 1549-1559. DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2006.10.001
Schwager Stephan, Lumjiaktase Putthapoom, Stöckli Martina, Weisskopf Laure, & Eberl Leo. (2012) The genetic basis of cadmium resistance of . Environmental Microbiology Reports, 4(5), 562-568. DOI: 10.1111/j.1758-2229.2012.00372.x
LEE JENNIFER G., ROBERTS SAMANTHA B., & MOREL FRANÇOIS M. M. (1995) Cadmium: A nutrient for the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii. Limnology and Oceanography, 40(6), 1056-1063. DOI: 10.4319/lo.1995.40.6.1056
- May 15, 2013
- 08:15 AM
- 34 views
Biodiversity Counts!
by Mark Lasbury in As Many Exceptions As Rules
Biodiversity loss is a serious problem. The loss of a single species may have ramifications for every other species. Who knew that a species of fungus would save us from millions of bacterial infection deaths. To drive home the point of diversity, efforts are being made to predict the number of species present on Earth. In the early 1900’s, estimates ranged from 100,000 to 500,000, but 2011 estimates put the number at more like 11.3 million. Bacteria alone could raise this number to 1 bill........ Read more »
Mora, C., Tittensor, D., Adl, S., Simpson, A., & Worm, B. (2011) How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?. PLoS Biology, 9(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127
ADL, S., SIMPSON, A., FARMER, M., ANDERSEN, R., ANDERSON, O., BARTA, J., BOWSER, S., BRUGEROLLE, G., FENSOME, R., FREDERICQ, S.... (2005) The New Higher Level Classification of Eukaryotes with Emphasis on the Taxonomy of Protists. The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 52(5), 399-451. DOI: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2005.00053.x
- May 15, 2013
- 07:18 AM
- 57 views
Body fat hardens arteries after middle age
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Having too much body fat makes arteries become stiff after middle age, a new study has revealed.
In young people, blood vessels appear to be able to compensate for the effects of obesity. But after middle age, this adaptability is lost, and arteries become progressively stiffer as body fat rises – potentially increasing the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.... Read more »
Sam Wong. (2013) Body fat hardens arteries after middle age. Imperial College of London. info:/
- May 15, 2013
- 05:18 AM
- 38 views
Study IDs key protein for cell death
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
When cells suffer too much DNA damage, they are usually forced to undergo programmed cell death, or apoptosis. However, cancer cells often ignore these signals, flourishing even after chemotherapy drugs have ravaged their DNA.
A new finding from MIT researchers may offer a way to overcome that resistance: The team has identified a key protein involved in an alternative death pathway known as programmed necrosis. Drugs that mimic the effects of this protein could push cancer cells that are res........ Read more »
Anne Trafton. (2013) Study IDs key protein for cell death. MIT News Office. info:/
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