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Monogamous Birds….Peeping on the Neighbours!

By Guest PostJanuary 28, 2012Naturecolourful plumage, courtship dance, disease, dominique drullion, female, female zebra finche, frederique dubois, hypothesis, immunosuppressive effect, laboratory, male bird, male genetic quality, monogamous species, public information, reproduction period, sexual selection, social environment, song, testosterone, zebra finch

It is well documented that male birds seduce females using their songs, colourful plumage and courtship dances. These signals reflect male genetic quality and will be graded by the female to determine a male’s potential as a mate. The stronger the grade, the better the odds of being selected.

But this basic rule isn’t the only yardstick used by females. As surprising as it seems, birds know how to use data from their social environment to maximize their chances of reproduction. Frédérique Dubois, a professor at the Université de Montréal Department of Biological Sciences, has already demonstrated that female Zebra Finches will favour a male chosen by another female. Dubois refers to this as imitation and the use of “public information” in choosing a mate. (more…)

Commentary in Nature: Can Economy Bear What Oil Prices Have in Store?

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2012Economy, Environmentfossil fuel, fracking, global economy, oil prices, shale gas, shale gas wells

Stop wrangling over global warming and instead reduce fossil-fuel use for the sake of the global economy.

That’s the message from two scientists, one from the University of Washington and one from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, who say in the current issue of the journal Nature (Jan. 26) that the economic pain of a flattening oil supply will trump the environment as a reason to curb the use of fossil fuels. (more…)

Ancient Dinosaur Nursery Oldest Nesting Site Yet Found

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2012Scienceadam yates, cretaceous periods, david evans, dinosaur eggs, dinosaur footprint, dinosaur nesting site, dinosaur record, dinosaur reproduction, early dinosaur, early jurassic period, eric roberts, evolution, evolutionary history, excavation, fossil record, hans-dieter sues, hatchling, jurassic, massospondylus, oldest known embryo, prosauropod dinosaur, reproductive behaviour, robert reisz, royal ontario museum, sauropods, sedimentary rocks, smithsonian institute, South Africa

*UTM professor unearths fossils in South Africa*

An excavation at a site in South Africa has unearthed the 190-million-year-old dinosaur nesting site of the prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus-revealing significant clues about the evolution of complex reproductive behaviour in early dinosaurs. The newly unearthed dinosaur nesting ground predates previously known nesting sites by 100 million years, according to study authors.

A new study led by University of Toronto Mississauga paleontologist Robert Reisz, with co-author, Professor David Evans of ecology and evolutionary biology and the Royal Ontario Museum, along with a group of international researchers, describes clutches of eggs, many with embryos, as well as tiny dinosaur footprints, providing the oldest known evidence that the hatchlings remained at the nesting site long enough to at least double in size. (more…)

Turtles’ Mating Habits Protect Against Effects of Climate Change

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2012Naturebaby turtles, climate change, green turtle, hatchling sex ratios, marine turtle, mating habits

The mating habits of marine turtle may help protect them against the effects of climate change, according to new research led by the University

Published on 25th January 2012 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study shows how mating patterns of a population of endangered green turtles may be helping them deal with the fact that global warming is leading to a disproportionate number of females being born. (more…)

Pairing Masks and Hand Washing Could Drastically Slow Spread of Pandemic Flu

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2012Healthflu seasons, hand hygiene, hand washing, pandemic preparedness, spread of pandemic, surgical masks

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Masks and hand hygiene could cut the spread of flu-like symptoms up to 75 percent, a University of Michigan study found. (more…)

MSU Researchers Show How New Viruses Evolve, And in Some Cases, Become Deadly

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2012Sciencedangerous mutations, lambda evolution, lambda virus, new virus, virus evolution

EAST LANSING, Mich. — In the current issue of Science, researchers at Michigan State University demonstrate how a new virus evolves, which sheds light on how easy it can be for diseases to gain dangerous mutations. (more…)

Researchers Suggest A Proximate Cause of Cancer

By Guest PostJanuary 26, 2012Healthcancer cells, cancer progression, cause of cancer, mechanical factors, softening of cells

AUSTIN, TX — Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Chemical Engineering are the first to show that mechanical property changes in cells may be responsible for cancer progression — a discovery that could pave the way for new approaches to predict, treat and prevent cancer. (more…)

Ancient Popcorn Discovered in Peru

By Guest PostJanuary 26, 2012Scienceacademia nacional de la historia, andean region, ceramic pottery, coast of peru, corn microfossils, corncobs, dolores piperno, duccio bonavia, grains, huaca prieta, human welfare, husks, kernels, maize, male flowers, Mexico, panama, panama city, paredones, phytoliths, popcorn, smithsonian tropical research institute, south america, stalks, tassels, teosinte, tom dillehay, tropical ecosystem, tropical forests, tropical nature, vanderbilt university, wild grass

People living along the coast of Peru were eating popcorn 2,000 years earlier than previously reported and before ceramic pottery was used there, according to a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences co-authored by Dolores Piperno, curator of New World archaeology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and emeritus staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Some of the oldest known corncobs, husks, stalks and tassels (male flowers), dating from 6,700 to 3,000 years ago were found at Paredones and Huaca Prieta, two mound sites on Peru’s arid northern coast. The research group, led by Tom Dillehay from Vanderbilt University and Duccio Bonavia from Peru’s Academia Nacional de la Historia, also found corn microfossils: starch grains and phytoliths. Characteristics of the cobs—the earliest ever discovered in South America—indicate that the sites’ ancient inhabitants ate corn several ways, including popcorn and flour corn. However, corn was still not an important part of their diet. (more…)

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