- March 12, 2010
- 12:46 AM
- 2 views
Friday Weird Science: Ejaculation 1, 2, 3...
by Evil Monkey in Neurotopia
Well well well. Here we are. It's Friday. And we've been talking about SPERM ALL WEEK.
What to do...what to do...
Nel-Themaat et al. "Quality and freezing qualities of first and second ejaculates collected from endangered Gulf Coast Native rams" Animal Reproduction Science, 2006.
Heh.
So it turns out that the people who wrote the study Sci covered the other week wrote ANOTHER one. Also, it turns out the eland is not endangered, but the other species they were working with, the Gulf Co........ Read more »
NELTHEMAAT, L., HARDING, G., CHANDLER, J., CHENEVERT, J., DAMIANI, P., FERNANDEZ, J., HUMES, P., POPE, C., & GODKE, R. (2006) Quality and freezing qualities of first and second ejaculates collected from endangered Gulf Coast Native rams. Animal Reproduction Science, 95(3-4), 251-261. DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2005.09.014
- March 11, 2010
- 10:18 PM
- 11 views
You know your ‘type’? It’s stress dependent…
by aimee in misc.ience
A number of interesting revelations to be had here, and all to do with our choices of ‘mate’.
And by mate, I don’t mean the antipodean colloquialism meaning ‘friend’. Nope, I mean mate as in, you know, someone you want to shag. As it were.
The first revelation in this paper* is that, for the most part, [...]
[Click on the hyperlinked headline for more of the goodness]... Read more »
Lass-Hennemann, J., Deuter, C., Kuehl, L., Schulz, A., Blumenthal, T., & Schachinger, H. (2010) Effects of stress on human mating preferences: stressed individuals prefer dissimilar mates. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.0258
- March 11, 2010
- 09:43 PM
- 9 views
The Conservative View of Progress in Applied Cancer Research
by Reason in Fight Aging!
Via FuturePundit, I see that a recent open access paper outlines the results of applied cancer research over the past four decades. Declining Death Rates Reflect Progress against Cancer The success of the "war on cancer" initiated in 1971 continues to be debated, with trends in cancer mortality variably presented as evidence of progress or failure. We examined temporal trends in death rates from all-cancer and the 19 most common cancers in the United States from 1970-2006. ... Progress in reduci........ Read more »
Jemal, A., Ward, E., & Thun, M. (2010) Declining Death Rates Reflect Progress against Cancer. PLoS ONE, 5(3). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009584
- March 11, 2010
- 09:16 PM
- 10 views
Neury Thursday: Neural Evidence For Why I Can't Remember the Lyrice to my Favorite Rap Songs
by Allison in Dormivigilia
Neuroscientists have uncovered differential encoding of a tune and its lyrics within the superior temporal sulcus and gyrus. ... Read more »
Sammler, D., Baird, A., Valabregue, R., Clement, S., Dupont, S., Belin, P., & Samson, S. (2010) The Relationship of Lyrics and Tunes in the Processing of Unfamiliar Songs: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Adaptation Study. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(10), 3572-3578. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2751-09.2010
- March 11, 2010
- 08:16 PM
- 10 views
Watch This Space
by Roberta Kwok in Journal Watch Online
Small cities gobble large amounts of land per person
... Read more »
McDonald, R., Forman, R., & Kareiva, P. (2010) Open Space Loss and Land Inequality in United States' Cities, 1990–2000. PLoS ONE, 5(3). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009509
- March 11, 2010
- 05:44 PM
- 11 views
A hierarchical framework for assessing environmental impacts of dam operation
by JL in Analyze Everything
The effects of impoundments are big one for people working in aquatic ecosystems. In Kansas, a large number of dams are still being built (and a lot more are in the discussion stages). So I am constantly trying to understand more about the effects of dams and the impacts they have on upstream and downstream aquatic ecosystems. I was recently forwarded the an article by Burke, Jorde and ... Read more »
Burke, M., Jorde, K., & Buffington, J. (2009) Application of a hierarchical framework for assessing environmental impacts of dam operation: Changes in streamflow, bed mobility and recruitment of riparian trees in a western North American river. Journal of Environmental Management. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.07.022
- March 11, 2010
- 04:49 PM
- 16 views
Moving (carefully!) beyond molecular typing
When they take a look at teaching science and how kids learn, they will be much better prepared and much more focused.
While doing my PhD, I am a teacher assistant for undergrads students. When mining recent paper to help them along with their phylogenetic studies, I found one focused for veterinary students. When reading at the title (Applying phylogenetics analysis to viral livestock diseases: ... Read more »
Olvera, A., & et al. (2010) Applying phylogenetic analysis to viral livestock diseases: Moving beyond molecular typing. The Veterinary Journal, 184(2), 130-137. DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2009.02.015
- March 11, 2010
- 03:36 PM
- 21 views
It’s Official – Fathers ARE Important to their Childrens’ Upbringing
by Isabelle Winder in Going Ape
David Cameron’s “Broken Britain”, with its image of moral decay driven by the breakdown in family life and poverty, may be inciting a lot of debate in parliament and the public press, but to read many studies of human evolution, you might be mistaken for thinking that the human male has never actually played a meaningful role in childcare. Most evolutionary studies focus on female life history – age at first reproduction, number of offspring and interbirth interval, for example – to th........ Read more »
Gettler, L.T. (2010) Direct male care and hominin evolution: why male-child interaction is more than just a nice social idea. . American Anthropologist, 112(1), 7-21. info:/10.1111/j.1548-1433.2009.01193.x
- March 11, 2010
- 03:30 PM
- 16 views
When You Expect Rapid Feedback, the Fire to Perform Gets Hotter
by David DiSalvo in Neuronarrative
Let’s say that you’re preparing for an extremely important test that you and roughly 100 other classmates will be taking in a week. A few days before the test, you find out that your instructor will be going on a trip not long after the test is over and will be providing written and verbal feedback to the students within a day of the test.
This is unusual, because ordinarily the instructor waits a week or more before providing feedback. About half of the class finds out that the........ Read more »
Kettle, K., & Haubl, G. (2010) Motivation by Anticipation: Expecting Rapid Feedback Enhances Performance. Psychological Science. DOI: 10.1177/0956797610363541
- March 11, 2010
- 02:26 PM
- 15 views
Norovirus and Clinical Research
I've written a lot about bacteria and plants over the last few weeks, so in celebration of the fact that my project is finally on it's way out (with a whimper rather than a bang, unfortunately, but that's how it goes sometimes) I've decided to descend into the world of viruses. I've also decided to have a go at deconstructing some clinical papers, to make a change from academia. The difference between clinical and academic research can probably be described as follows (and I'm pretty sure I've s........ Read more »
Hane Htut Muang. (2008) Norovirus Infection: An Underestimated Danger. Cambridge Medicine, 22-24. info:/
Lopman BA, Reacher M, Gallimore C, Adak GK, Gray JJ, & Brown DW. (2003) A summertime peak of "winter vomiting disease": surveillance of noroviruses in England and Wales, 1995 to 2002. BMC public health, 13. PMID: 12659651
- March 11, 2010
- 02:10 PM
- 14 views
The phrenologist’s guide to ecological competence
by Katie Kline in EcoTone
Since Darwin, scientists have been theorizing as to why there is variation in brain size between species and individuals. Does a larger brain, in say humans, indicate advanced cognitive abilities and complex language processing? Or is a smaller brain, such as the Olive-backed thrush’s, adapted to weigh less to accommodate lengthy flights?
In psychology, the field of phrenology has generally been dissolved, and with it, the idea that variations in brain size could indicate differences ........ Read more »
Cristol, D. (2003) Migratory dark-eyed juncos, Junco hyemalis, have better spatial memory and denser hippocampal neurons than nonmigratory conspecifics. Animal Behaviour, 66(2), 317-328. DOI: 10.1006/anbe.2003.2194
Sol, D., Garcia, N., Iwaniuk, A., Davis, K., Meade, A., Boyle, W., & Székely, T. (2010) Evolutionary Divergence in Brain Size between Migratory and Resident Birds. PLoS ONE, 5(3). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009617
Shultz, S., & Dunbar, R. (2006) Both social and ecological factors predict ungulate brain size. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 273(1583), 207-215. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2005.3283
- March 11, 2010
- 01:42 PM
- 11 views
Science in Russia
by Olexandr Isayev in isayev.info
Ever since the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, Russian leaders have been vowing to transform their old-line, industrial society into a modern, knowledge-based economy driven by innovative science and technology. The current Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, has repeated that ambition frequently — not least as a way to overcome Russia’s dependence on oil and [...]... Read more »
Editorial. (2010) Scientific glasnost. Nature, 464(7286), 141-142. DOI: 10.1038/464141b
News. (2007) Russian science: What the scientists say. Nature, 449(7162), 528-530. DOI: 10.1038/449528a
- March 11, 2010
- 01:00 PM
- 21 views
A Synthetic Nose for Coffee and Other Highly Complex Mixtures
by Michael Long in Phased
Kenneth Suslick (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, United States) and coworkers have discriminated between 10 different brands of coffee, based on the volatile chemicals they emit under roasting, within two minutes with a cheap, disposable synthetic nose. This news feature was written on March 11, 2010.... Read more »
Suslick, B. A., Feng, L., & Suslick, K. S. (2010) Discrimination of Complex Mixtures by a Colorimetric Sensor Array: Coffee Aromas. Analytical Chemistry, 82(5), 2067-2073. DOI: 10.1021/ac902823w
- March 11, 2010
- 11:00 AM
- 31 views
Coca-Cola and Water Use in India: "Good Till the Last Drop"
by Eric Michael Johnson in The Primate Diaries
Coca-Cola sucks India dry. Image: Carlos Latuff / Wikimedia CommonsThe marketing executive who came up with Coca-Cola's popular slogan in 1908 most likely never expected it would be taken so literally. However, a hundred years ago there probably weren't many who imagined a term like "water wars" could exist in a region that experiences annual monsoons.
On Feb........ Read more »
AIYER, A. (2007) THE ALLURE OF THE TRANSNATIONAL: Notes on Some Aspects of the Political Economy of Water in India. Cultural Anthropology, 22(4), 640-658. DOI: 10.1525/can.2007.22.4.640
- March 11, 2010
- 09:51 AM
- 32 views
The Origins of Sexual Prejudice
by Ultimo167 in Strong Silent Types
Mata et al. (2009) use social dominance orientation (SDO) theory to ponder why it is that boys in school are so prejudiced against gays. Might contact, understanding, and respect lead to more inclusive (and less homophobic) classroom settings?... Read more »
Mata, J., Ghavami, N., & Wittig, M. (2009) Understanding Gender Differences in Early Adolescents' Sexual Prejudice. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 30(1), 50-75. DOI: 10.1177/0272431609350925
Martin, C., & Ruble, D. (2010) Patterns of Gender Development. Annual Review of Psychology, 61(1), 353-381. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100511
- March 11, 2010
- 09:50 AM
- 12 views
BioSante announce positive data from GVAX leukemia vaccine in CML
by Sally Church in Pharma Strategy Blog
This morning the newswires (HT Mike Huckman) are full of the BioSante (formerly Cell Genesys) news on their leukemia vaccine, GVAX, which is being tested to see whether it is a viable approach for eradication of minimal residual disease. Accordingly,...... Read more »
Smith, B., Kasamon, Y., Kowalski, J., Gocke, C., Murphy, K., Miller, C., Garrett-Mayer, E., Tsai, H., Qin, L., Chia, C.... (2010) K562/GM-CSF Immunotherapy Reduces Tumor Burden in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients with Residual Disease on Imatinib Mesylate. Clinical Cancer Research, 16(1), 338-347. DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-09-2046
- March 11, 2010
- 09:37 AM
- 15 views
Trusting and Bargaining in Africa
by Simon Halliday in Amanuensis
Are we Africans different to the rest of the world in our giving, punishing and trusting behaviour? Three remarkable economic anthropology studies try to examine this kind of question with several ethnic groups in four countries: the Pimbwe, Sukuma and Kahama in Tanzania, the Maasai of Kenya and the Ju/'hoan Bushmen of Namibia and Botswana. I can't to do any of the papers justice with my short comments, but I thought you might find them interesting nevertheless.The three papers take quite diffe........ Read more »
Wiessner, P. (2009) Experimental Games and Games of Life among the Ju/’hoan Bushmen. Current Anthropology, 50(1), 133-138. DOI: 10.1086/595622
- March 11, 2010
- 08:00 AM
- 18 views
Profiting from invasive plants: the challenge of controlling the horticultural industry
by Rob Goldstein in Conservation Maven
... Read more »
Drew, J., Anderson, N., & Andow, D. (2010) Conundrums of a complex vector for invasive species control: a detailed examination of the horticultural industry. Biological Invasions. DOI: 10.1007/s10530-010-9689-8
- March 11, 2010
- 08:00 AM
- 16 views
Are you scummy froth or riding the business waves?
by David Bradley in Sciencetext
It’s perhaps an obvious statement perhaps needing only one word to qualify it – successful business sells. As an allegedly going concern, if you’re not selling your products or services, then you’re not likely to remain viable for very long. It seems to be too easy for companies to be distracted from this mantra by [...]Post from: David Bradley's Sciencetext Tech TalkAre you scummy froth or riding the business waves?
... Read more »
David Smallman. (2010) Without instructions or orders, there is no business. Int. J. Liability and Scientific Enquiry, 3(3), 179-182. info:/
- March 11, 2010
- 05:34 AM
- 79 views
"Why do we believe", and are atheists really more intelligent?
by Daniel in Ego sum Daniel
ResearchBlogging.org editor Dave Munger has written an article for SEED magazine entitled "Why do we believe". The article summarizes recent blog entries regarding studies on the origins of religiosity. It's really worth reading to get a good overview of the subject, and what do you know he links my entry on god's will and beliefs in it.
Among the studies that are mentioned is a controversial study entitled "Why Liberals and Atheists Are More Intelligent" (link at the end of this post).
Medic........ Read more »
Kanazawa, S. (2010) Why Liberals and Atheists Are More Intelligent. Social Psychology Quarterly. DOI: 10.1177/0190272510361602
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