Biology posts
- May 13, 2013
- 11:16 AM
- 40 views
How do you like your fish? Phylogenised!
by Roli Roberts in PLOS Biologue
The bony fishes are one of the success stories of life on planet earth, diverse in shape and habit, and thriving in almost every body of water on the globe. Estimates of the number of distinct species tend to be …... Read more »
Betancur-R., R., Broughton, R., Wiley, E., Carpenter, K., López, J., Li, C., Holcroft, N., Arcila, D., Sanciangco, M., Cureton II, J.... (2013) The Tree of Life and a New Classification of Bony Fishes. PLoS Currents. DOI: 10.1371/currents.tol.53ba26640df0ccaee75bb165c8c26288
Broughton, R., Betancur-R., R., Li, C., Arratia, G., & Ortí, G. (2013) Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis reveals the pattern and tempo of bony fish evolution. PLoS Currents. DOI: 10.1371/currents.tol.2ca8041495ffafd0c92756e75247483e
- May 13, 2013
- 11:12 AM
- 38 views
A huge amount of DNA may not be needed for the creation of complex life
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main Point:
Nearly 98% of junk DNA is present in the body and scientists have found that they may not be needed for the creation of complex life.
Published in:
Nature
Study Further:
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the substance in the living beings that carry genetic information that passes from one generation to the next generation.
The term “junk DNA” refers to the “noncoding DNA” and a huge amount of such DNAs have no known biological function in the body i.e. they don’t pass genetic information for protein sequencing. Approximately, 98% junk DNAs are present in your body out of 3 billion letters that make up your genome.
"At least for a plant, junk DNA really is just junk it's not required," said study co-author Victor Albert, a molecular evolutionary biologist at the University of Buffalo in New York.
In the latest study, scientists sequenced the genome - containing 80 million DNA base pairs - of the carnivorous bladderwort plant, Utricularia gibba, living in wet soil or fresh water globally and suck swimming microorganisms into its tiny, 1-milimeter-long bladders. Only 3% of the bladderwort's genetic material is so-called 'junk' DNA and somehow it has been able to get rid of most of what makes up plant genomes, according to Albert.
They found that these DNA may not actually be required for the creation of the complex life and it is still a mystery why these junk DNAs are present in the body?
Sources:
The Times of India, LiveScience
Reference:
Ibarra-Laclette, E., Lyons, E., Hernández-Guzmán, G., Pérez-Torres, C., Carretero-Paulet, L., Chang, T., Lan, T., Welch, A., Juárez, M., Simpson, J., Fernández-Cortés, A., Arteaga-Vázquez, M., Góngora-Castillo, E., Acevedo-Hernández, G., Schuster, S., Himmelbauer, H., Minoche, A., Xu, S., Lynch, M., Oropeza-Aburto, A., Cervantes-Pérez, S., de Jesús Ortega-Estrada, M., Cervantes-Luevano, J., Michael, T., Mockler, T., Bryant, D., Herrera-Estrella, A., Albert, V., & Herrera-Estrella, L. (2013). Architecture and evolution of a minute plant genome Nature DOI: 10.1038/nature12132... 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 13, 2013
- 11:11 AM
- 68 views
How to Convince People WiFi Is Making Them Sick
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
All it takes is an antenna on a headband. If you've got a breathless video report on the dangers of wireless internet connections, that will help your case. It doesn't take much, though, to turn an ominous hint into a real headache.
Some people consider themselves sensitive to electromagnetic fields. They report symptoms such as burning skin, tingling, nausea, dizziness, or chest pain, and they blame their malaise on nearby power lines, cell phones, or WiFi networks. A recent Slate article described such people moving to a remote West Virginia town where radio-frequency signals are banned. (The town is within the U.S. National Radio Quiet Zone, an area that's enforced to keep signals from interfering with radio telescopes there—telescopes that work because they receive the radio-frequency signals constantly hitting our planet from space.)
There's no known scientific reason why a wireless signal might cause physical harm. And studies have found that even people who claim to be sensitive to electromagnetic fields can't actually sense them. Their symptoms are more likely due to nocebo, the evil twin of the placebo effect. The power of our expectation can cause real physical illness. In clinical drug trials, for example, subjects who take sugar pills report side effects ranging from an upset stomach to sexual dysfunction.
Psychologists Michael Witthöft and G. James Rubin of King's College London explored whether frightening TV reports can encourage a nocebo effect. They recruited a group of subjects and showed half of them a clip from a BBC documentary about the potential dangers of wireless internet. (The BBC later acknowledged that the 2007 program was "misleading.") The remaining subjects watched a video about the security of data transmissions over mobile phones.
After watching the videos, subjects put on headband-mounted antennas. They were told that the researchers were testing a "new kind of WiFi," and that once the signal started they should carefully monitor any symptoms in their bodies. Then the researchers left the room. For 15 minutes, the subjects watched a WiFi symbol flash on a laptop screen.
In reality, there was no WiFi switched on during the experiment, and the headband antenna was a sham. Yet 82 of the 147 subjects—more than half—reported symptoms. Two even asked for the experiment to be stopped early because the effects were too severe to stand.
Witthöft says he expected to see a greater effect in people who had watched the frightening documentary. This wasn't the case overall. Instead, the movie mainly increased symptoms in subjects who described themselves beforehand as more anxious.
"It suggests that sensational media reports especially in combination with personality factors (in this case anxiety) increase the likelihood for symptom reports," Witthöft says.
Plenty of symptoms were reported without the sensationalist TV show, though. The antenna on the head, the researchers' allusion to a "new kind of WiFi," and the instructions to monitor their bodies closely were enough to trigger symptoms in many people who watched the other video.
Witthöft points out that his study would have been stronger if there were a third group of subjects who didn't wear the "WiFi" headband at all, but were simply told to pay attention to their bodies for 15 minutes. This kind of attentiveness might trigger symptoms on its own.
Still, Witthöft says, "I think the high percentage of symptom reports nicely shows how powerful nocebo effects are."
Though the researchers set out to show how irresponsible reports in the media can trigger a nocebo effect, they ended up showing how easy it is to make a person feel sick with just a a prop and a few choice words. Even a National Radio Quiet Zone can't protect against that.
Witthöft, M., & Rubin, G. (2013). Are media warnings about the adverse health effects of modern life self-fulfilling? An experimental study on idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF) Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 74 (3), 206-212 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2012.12.002
Image: Scott Beale/Laughing Squid (via Flickr)
... Read more »
Witthöft, M., & Rubin, G. (2013) Are media warnings about the adverse health effects of modern life self-fulfilling? An experimental study on idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF). Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 74(3), 206-212. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2012.12.002
- May 13, 2013
- 07:50 AM
- 50 views
Decoding the secrets of the sacred lotus
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Among other intriguing properties, the sacred lotus has the ability to generate heat and regulate its temperature like birds and mammals. It has been cultivated as a food crop for more than 7000 years in Asia and is prominent in both Buddhism and Hinduism.
An international team has sequenced and described the sacred lotus genome, now published online in Genome Biology. The paper sheds new light on the evolutionary position of the lotus, one of the world’s oldest flowering plants, and facilitates further research into its unusual characteristics.... Read more »
Diana Yates. (2013) Sacred lotus genome sequence enlightens scientists. University of Illinois. info:/
- May 13, 2013
- 06:45 AM
- 24 views
Multi-tasking pigments
by Isabel Torres in Science in the clouds
Plants and other photosynthetic organisms live in a catch-22 situation. “Plants produce oxygen but are also poisoned by oxygen,” says Roberto Bassi, an Italian plant physiologist who has been passionate about photosynthesis since his graduate degree at the Padua University Botanical Garden. Bassi’s research group at Verona University played a pivotal role in understanding the dual function of carotenoid pigments in absorbing light energy and protecting the photosynthetic machinery against light-induced damage by oxygen. Now his team has identified a new unexpected function for carotenoids in controlling the production of photosynthetic proteins.
Carotenoids are organic pigments made by plants, algae, fungi and cyanobacteria that are found in all organisms (animals obtain them from food). Besides their fundamental roles in photosynthesis, carotenoids can act as plant hormones, vitamins, odours, colours (in fruits, flowers and bird feathers, for instance) and, in the eye retina, photo-protection. There are two types of carotenoids: carotenes, which give carrots their orange colour, and their oxygenated offshoots, the yellow xanthophylls. In plant leaves, carotenoids are normally masked by chlorophyll, but they put on a show in autumn as chlorophyll gets degraded and their striking orange and yellow colours are revealed. ... Read more »
Dall'Osto L., Piques M., Ronzani M., Molesini B., Alboresi A., Cazzaniga S., & Bassi R. (2013) The Arabidopsis nox Mutant Lacking Carotene Hydroxylase Activity Reveals a Critical Role for Xanthophylls in Photosystem I Biogenesis. The Plant Cell, 25(2), 591-608. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.112.108621
- May 13, 2013
- 05:47 AM
- 54 views
Experience leads to the growth of new brain cells
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
How do organisms evolve into individuals that are distinguished from others by their own personal brain structure and behaviour? Scientists in Dresden, Berlin, Münster, and Saarbrücken have now taken a decisive step towards clarifying this question. Using mice as an animal model, they were able to show that individual experiences influence the development of new neurons, leading to measurable changes in the brain. The results of this study are published in Science on May 10th. The DFG-Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden – Cluster of Excellence at the TU Dresden (CRTD), the Dresden site of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin played a pivotal role in the study.... Read more »
Britta Grigull. (2013) Experience leads to the growth of new brain cells. Max Planck Institute for Human Development. info:/
- May 12, 2013
- 08:52 AM
- 59 views
A bright idea: Tiny injectable LEDs help neuroscientists study the brain
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
A new class of tiny, injectable LEDs is illuminating the deep mysteries of the brain.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Washington University in St. Louis developed ultrathin, flexible optoelectronic devices – including LEDs the size of individual neurons – that are lighting the way for neuroscientists in the field of optogenetics and beyond.... Read more »
Liz Ahlberg. (2013) A bright idea: Tiny injectable LEDs help neuroscientists study the brain. University of Illinois News Bureau. info:/
Kim, T., McCall, J., Jung, Y., Huang, X., Siuda, E., Li, Y., Song, J., Song, Y., Pao, H., Kim, R.... (2013) Injectable, Cellular-Scale Optoelectronics with Applications for Wireless Optogenetics. Science, 340(6129), 211-216. DOI: 10.1126/science.1232437
- May 12, 2013
- 08:35 AM
- 43 views
Electromicrobiology - One of the rapidly rising scientific fields
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Introduction:
Electromicrobiology is one of the rising subjects in the field of science. It combines the technology with biology.
In this subject, initially scientists found the transmission of electrical signals between the microbes. On a further note, in this subject, we study about the complex interaction between the microorganisms and technological devices while considering the novel electrical properties of the microorganisms i.e. accepting or donating the electrons from electrodes without any extra addition of electrons.
Some of the examples:
Shewanella oneidensis interacts with electrodes through flavins that work as soluble electron shuttles.
Geobacter sulfurreducens interacts directly with electrodes through c-type cytochromes present on the outer surface.
G. sulfurreducens has pili, known as microbial nanowires that have conducting ability same as metals. With the help of these pili, G. sulfurreducens can transport electrons over a long-range.
Emerging field:
This field is still in the emerging sciences as the mechanism behind the microbe-electrode electron exchange has been studied only in some of the microbes. It is quite possible that some of the microbes, which have not been studied by scientists, could perform better than the presently studied microorganisms.
Ken Nealson of ScienceNews, wrote “I think in 20 years, this may well be a major field.”
Reference:
Lovley, D. (2012). Electromicrobiology Annual Review of Microbiology, 66 (1), 391-409 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-micro-092611-150104... Read more »
Lovley, D. (2012) Electromicrobiology. Annual Review of Microbiology, 66(1), 391-409. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-micro-092611-150104
- May 12, 2013
- 07:55 AM
- 43 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 12, 2013
- 06:51 AM
- 50 views
An interesting case report on autism and diet
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
Nodding syndrome.Ever heard of it? Well, up until a few days ago I hadn't. That is before coming across articles on the topic by Richard Idro and colleagues* (open-access) and Angelina Kakooza-Mwesige and colleagues** (open-access). Whilst not specifically my line of expertise or interest, I was intrigued to read about how nodding and other symptoms of the epileptic variety, at least in some cases, seemed to be precipitated by food and showed a potential nutritional angle.Curving spacetime @ Wikipedia Granted, the hows and whys of nodding syndrome are still a mystery, but the first thought that went through my mind was whether any specific types of food(s) might be implicated. Y'know in a similar vein to Marios Hadjivassiliou and the notion of gluten ataxia*** for example? Just speculating...With all that talk of food and behaviour in mind there are a few things that piqued my attention towards the paper by Herbert & Buckley**** seemingly part of a string of articles looking at the topic of dietary intervention published in the Journal of Child Neurology. The first thing was the title of the paper: "Autism and Dietary Therapy" simply because I have some research interest in this area. Perhaps I might have mentioned it before...Next was the authorship list, focused on at least one of the authors, Dr Martha Herbert (no disrespect intended to Dr Buckley). Alongside an already distinguished career in autism research, Dr Herbert is also making some waves with her new book: 'The Autism Revolution' co-authored with Karen Weintraub who wrote that very interesting Nature article on autism prevalence a few years back.Finally, a sentence from the paper abstract: "Over the course of several years following her initial diagnosis, the child’s Childhood Autism Rating Scale score decreased from 49 to 17, representing a change from severe autism to nonautistic, and her intelligence quotient increased 70 points".Such a dramatic description of change in presentation might once have been received with a very, very sceptical eye. Indeed I assume that still might be the case in some quarters. The publication of the Deborah Fein study (see here and here) on optimal outcome in relation to autism in conjunction with the rising tide of research looking at the potential benefits of early intervention for cases of autism, have perhaps made such observations slightly more 'acceptable', at least to some elements of the autism research community. Indeed I was also very taken by the recent BBC interview of Kristine and Jacob Barnet which discussed similar changes to symptom presentation in a young man now tipped for some absolutely amazing things. The fact that said changes detailed in the Herbert & Buckley paper seemed to occur at the same time that a "gluten-free casein-free ketogenic diet" was being followed is... interesting.Now round about this time, some people might be thinking what does this study actually show? A case study of a girl / young woman with autism where comorbid epilepsy was controlled both by anti-seizure medication and a ketogenic diet (yes, such a diet has been linked to the control of cases of epilepsy). Said dietary intervention originating in the gluten- and casein-free (GFCF) dietary domain. As time went on, seizures dissipated and over time her clinical scores on the CARS reduced indicative of quite a change in her autism presentation.One of course might say, a single case study, it means very little in the grand methodological scheme of things. That is unless you think back to the mantra 'if you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism' highlighting the power of the N=1 where autism is concerned (see here). That and the interesting viewpoint expressed by people like Gary Mesibov on the issue of evidence-based medicine when applied to a extremely heterogeneous condition like autism, sorry the autisms.I am interested in the coincidental factors reported in this paper. I have questions: did the (almost) resolution of the epileptic symptoms carry any influence on the presentation of autism? In particular, I'm thinking back to that very interesting piece of research which suggested one particular type of autism (and epilepsy) might be related to a metabolic issue with the branched-chain amino acids (see here). Is this a potential model for that epilepsy-autism relationship for some people on the spectrum? What about the "resolution of morbid obesity" also reported; could this similarly have had any effect on symptom presentation?I have questions about the role of the diet adopted in this case. A ketogenic diet, as well as finding some value in cases of epilepsy or seizure disorders, has also been looked at with autistic behaviours in mind. Yep, at least one trial***** albeit preliminary, suggested that this might be an option for some people on the spectrum bearing in mind I'm not making any recommendations. Down the years I've also heard anecdotal reports about how the GFCF diet might have aided in the reduction/amelioration of certain signs and symptoms linked to autism. The paper by Stephen Genuis (see this post) is one example. Just before you say something along the lines of 'there is no methodologically sound experimental evidence for dietary effect'; well, yes and no (see here) accepting the need for much more rigorous experimental study and that the evidence is not all one-way (see here).If anyone has alternative explanations for the change in symptoms outside of just healthier eating, any placebo effect or just the research attention paid to the participant in question, please feel free to post them in the comments section. That being said, no mumbo-jumbo please like I've being reading today which has been roundly answered by psychiatry. Going back to the Fein study and the promise of more details to come, I'll be interested to see whether they report any of their optimal outcomers were following such a dietary intervention alongside other interventions.A... Read more »
Herbert, M., & Buckley, J. (2013) Autism and Dietary Therapy: Case Report and Review of the Literature. Journal of Child Neurology. DOI: 10.1177/0883073813488668
- May 12, 2013
- 05:49 AM
- 48 views
Visualizing the Connectome
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
Last year, I blogged about a new and very pretty way of displaying the data about the human ‘connectome’ – the wiring between different parts of the brain. But there are many beautiful ways of visualizing the brain’s connections, as neuroscientists Daniel Margulies and colleagues of Leipzig discuss in a colourful paper showcasing these techniques. Here, [...]... Read more »
Margulies DS, Böttger J, Watanabe A, & Gorgolewski KJ. (2013) Visualizing the Human Connectome. NeuroImage. PMID: 23660027
- May 12, 2013
- 05:01 AM
- 38 views
Online skeletal and dental datasets (links links links!)
by zacharoo in Lawn Chair Anthropology
Jean Jacques Hublin has a commentary [1] in the current issue of Nature, about making fossils available for scanning, digital replication, and ultimately hopefully open dissemination. As Hublin points out, it's a bit ridiculous that a fossil is a rare enough thing as it is, but even after their discovery, fossils "can become unreachable relics once they are in storage." Fortunately, Hublin goes on to point to online collections that are available to anyone interested. Somewhat ironically, the article about free-ish data is behind a paywall, so here are the resources Hublin describes:The Ditsong CT Archive, created by the collaboration of Hublin's group at Max Planck and the Ditsong (formerly Transvaal) Museum in South Africa, which contains digitized hominin fossils from the site of Kromdraai (see also [2]).You can download CT scans of the Skhul V early human fossil, thanks to the Harvard Peabody Museum.Wanna see the the oldest possible animal embryos, early humans, insects, and other crazy fossils? Check out the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility's microCT database.Get free CT scans of 2 human skulls, thanks to the Virtual Anthropology program at the University of Vienna.Finally, the NESPOS initiative is a large repository of Pleistocene hominin fossil scans, which I somehow don't know enough about.In addition to these sources, here are 2 other datasets that are pretty badass:As I've pointed out before, the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University has a very impressive collection of primate CT scans on their website. You can manipulate & look inside the 3D images online, and potentially download the original scans (although I've not had luck with registering with them).The American Association of Orthodontists Foundation has published several sets of X-rays from longitudinal studies of craniofacial growth. It's quite a remarkable and useful collection for both research and teaching.I haven't had much opportunity to look into these datasets Hublin pointed out, but they look promising. If you know of other good resources, please do share!References[1] Hublin, J. (2013). Palaeontology: Free digital scans of human fossils Nature, 497 (7448), 183-183 DOI: 10.1038/497183a[2] Skinner MM, Kivell TL, Potze S, & Hublin JJ (2013). Microtomographic archive of fossil hominin specimens from Kromdraai B, South Africa. Journal of human evolution, 64 (5), 434-47 PMID: 23541384... Read more »
Hublin, J. (2013) Palaeontology: Free digital scans of human fossils. Nature, 497(7448), 183-183. DOI: 10.1038/497183a
Skinner MM, Kivell TL, Potze S, & Hublin JJ. (2013) Microtomographic archive of fossil hominin specimens from Kromdraai B, South Africa. Journal of human evolution, 64(5), 434-47. PMID: 23541384
- May 12, 2013
- 02:00 AM
- 61 views
Quasi-magical thinking and the public good
by Marcel Montrey in Evolutionary Games Group
Cooperation is a puzzle because it is not obvious why cooperation, which is good for the group, is so common, despite the fact that defection is often best for the individual. Though we tend to view this issue through the lens of the prisoner’s dilemma, Artem recently pointed me to a paper by Joanna Masel, […]... Read more »
Masel, J. (2007) A Bayesian model of quasi-magical thinking can explain observed cooperation in the public good game. Journal of Economic Behavior , 64(2), 216-231. DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2005.07.003
- May 11, 2013
- 12:09 PM
- 56 views
Undercover For Forty Years: Does the Black Swamp Snake Still Exist in Alabama?
by David Steen in Living Alongside Wildlife
One of the most valuable ponds in Alabama, if you ask me
It
was a drive from Auburn University to a conference in the Florida panhandle
that allowed us a short detour to visit one of the most storied wetlands in
Alabama herpetological history. But, I didn’t realize that at the time.
You
wouldn’t know it by looking at them now, but there are a... Read more »
Willson, J., Winne, C., Dorcas, M., & Gibbons, J. (2006) Post-drought responses of semi-aquatic snakes inhabiting an isolated wetland: Insights on different strategies for persistence in a dynamic habitat. Wetlands, 26(4), 1071-1078. DOI: 10.1672/0277-5212(2006)26[1071:PROSSI]2.0.CO;2
Winne, C., Dorcas, M., & Poppy, S. (2005) Population Structure, Body Size, and Seasonal Activity of Black Swamp Snakes (Seminatrix pygaea). Southeastern Naturalist, 4(1), 1-14. DOI: 10.1656/1528-7092(2005)004[0001:PSBSAS]2.0.CO;2
Dodd Jr., C.K. (1993) Population structure, body mass, activity, and orientation of an aquatic snake during a drought. . Canadian Journal of Zoology, 71(7), 1281-1288. DOI: 10.1139/z93-177
- May 11, 2013
- 09:43 AM
- 42 views
Arm and leg modelling
by zacharoo in Lawn Chair Anthropology
No, I'm not looking for people with lithe limbs to be photographed for money. Much more sexily, I'm referring to a recent paper (Pietak et al., 2013) that's found that the relative length of the segments of human limbs can be modeled with a log-periodic function:Figure 2 from Pietak et al. 2013. Human within-limb proportions are such that the length of each segment (e.g., H1-6) of a limb, from fingertip to shoulder (A) and to to hip (B), can be predicted by a logarithmic periodic function (C).In other words, within a limb, the length of each segment is mathematically fairly predictable on the basis of the segment(s) before and after it. As the authors state, "Being able to describe human limb bone lengths in terms of a log-periodic function means that only one parameter, the wavelength λ, is needed to explain the proportional configuration of the limb."The biological significance of this pattern is difficult to discern. The length of a limb segment is determined by a number of factors, including the spacing between the initial limb condensations embryonically, and thereafter the growth rates and duration of growth at proximal and distal epiphyses. As a result, limb proportions aren't static throughout life, but change from embryo to adult. For instance, here are limb proportion data for the coolest animal ever - gibbons! - from the great anatomist Adolf Schultz.An important question, and follow-up to Pietak et al's study, is whether human limb proportions can be described by such log-periodic functions throughout ontogeny, and if so how these change. Plus, it's also not clear to what extent human proportions might happen to be describable by log periodic functions, simply because each segment is shorter than the one preceding it proximally. In short, this study raises really interesting and pursuable questions about how and why animal limbs grow to the size and proportions that they do.ReferencesPietak A, Ma S, Beck CW, & Stringer MD (2013). Fundamental ratios and logarithmic periodicity in human limb bones. Journal of anatomy, 222 (5), 526-37 PMID: 23521756Schultz, A. (1944). Age changes and variability in gibbons. A Morphological study on a population sample of a man-like ape American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2 (1), 1-129 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.1330020102... Read more »
Pietak A, Ma S, Beck CW, & Stringer MD. (2013) Fundamental ratios and logarithmic periodicity in human limb bones. Journal of anatomy, 222(5), 526-37. PMID: 23521756
Schultz, A. (1944) Age changes and variability in gibbons. A Morphological study on a population sample of a man-like ape. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2(1), 1-129. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.1330020102
- May 11, 2013
- 08:00 AM
- 46 views
Cellular Alchemy: Converting Fibroblasts Into Heart Cells
by Jalees Rehman in The Next Regeneration
Medieval alchemists devoted their lives to the pursuit of the infamous Philosopher's Stone, an elusive substance that was thought to convert base metals into valuable gold. Needless to say, nobody ever discovered the Philosopher’s Stone. Well, perhaps some alchemist did get lucky but was wise enough to keep the discovery secret. Instead of publishing the discovery and receiving the Nobel Prize for Alchemy, the lucky alchemist probably just walked around in junkyards, surreptitiously collected scraps of metal and brought them to home to create a Scrooge-McDuck-style money bin. Today, we view the Philosopher’s Stone as just a myth that occasionally resurfaces in the titles of popular fantasy novels, but cell biologists have discovered their own version of the Philosopher’s Stone: The conversion of fibroblast cells into precious heart cells (cardiomyocytes) or brain cells (neurons).... Read more »
Nam, Y., Song, K., Luo, X., Daniel, E., Lambeth, K., West, K., Hill, J., DiMaio, J., Baker, L., Bassel-Duby, R.... (2013) Reprogramming of human fibroblasts toward a cardiac fate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(14), 5588-5593. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1301019110
- May 11, 2013
- 05:12 AM
- 54 views
True Facts About The Dung Beetle | video | @GrrlScientist
by GrrlScientist in GrrlScientist
This week's Caturday morning video smile is a lovely blend of science, animals and humour all rolled up into a short video.... Read more »
Dacke Marie, Baird Emily, Byrne Marcus, Scholtz Clarke H., & Warrant Eric J. (2013) Dung Beetles Use the Milky Way for Orientation. Current Biology, 23(4), 298-300. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.12.034
- May 11, 2013
- 01:00 AM
- 32 views
Bone Marrow Cell Infusions Do NOT Improve Cardiac Function After Heart Attack
by Jalees Rehman in The Next Regeneration
For over a decade, cardiologists have been conducting trials in patients using cells extracted from the bone marrow and infusing them into the blood vessels of the heart in patients who have suffered a heart attack. This type of a procedure is not without risks.... Read more »
Surder, D., Manka, R., Lo Cicero, V., Moccetti, T., Rufibach, K., Soncin, S., Turchetto, L., Radrizzani, M., Astori, G., Schwitter, J.... (2013) Intracoronary Injection of Bone Marrow Derived Mononuclear Cells, Early or Late after Acute Myocardial Infarction: Effects on Global Left Ventricular Function Four months results of the SWISS-AMI trial. Circulation. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.001035
Rehman, J. (2013) Bone Marrow Tinctures for Cardiovascular Disease: Lost in Translation. Circulation. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.113.002775
- May 10, 2013
- 11:30 PM
- 50 views
Learning and evolution are different dynamics
by Artem Kaznatcheev in Evolutionary Games Group
A couple of weeks ago, if you randomly woke me in the middle of the night and demanded to know the fundamental difference between evolution and learning as adaptive processes, I would probably respond: “how did you get into my house? and umm… I guess they are mostly the same, it is just a matter […]... Read more »
Brenner, T. (1998) Can evolutionary algorithms describe learning processes?. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 8(3), 271-283. DOI: 10.1007/s001910050064
- May 10, 2013
- 07:49 PM
- 39 views
Digging for Answers: The Potential of Curcumin as an Epigenetic Therapeutic Drug to Treat Cancer
by Karolyn G. in EpiBeat
The brilliant golden powder of turmeric is best known as the main spice in curry, but has also been widely used for many years in Eastern traditional medicines as an anti-inflammatory agent. Turmeric has been used as an alleviator for arthritis, stomach pain, and cancer, among many other health issues. The healing properties of turmeric ...... Read more »
Link A, Balaguer F, Shen Y, Lozano JJ, Leung HC, Boland CR, & Goel A. (2013) Curcumin modulates DNA methylation in colorectal cancer cells. PloS one, 8(2). PMID: 23460897
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.
