Nature – Page 91 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Ribbeting Research

By Guest PostJuly 13, 2012Nature, Scienceacoustic difference, amphibians, amplexus, cocktail party problem, eardrum movement, eustachian tubes, female cope, frog ears, frogs, gray treefrog, hearing aids, jackhammer, mammalian ears, mammals, mark bee, mr right, study, university of minnesota, velocity

Studies of frogs may lead to better hearing aids

When Mark Bee talks to his 106-year-old grandmother alone, her two enormous hearing aids enable her to understand him well.

“But at a table at Thanksgiving, with everybody talking, the devices don’t do well,” says Bee, an associate professor of ecology, evolution and behavior at the University of Minnesota.

Her difficulty in a noisy situation is called the cocktail party problem, after the background babble that stymies many hearing-impaired people trying to pick out individual voices at a party. But in ponds all over the world, frogs handle a similar problem, and Bee hopes to learn enough about how they do it to put the principles to work helping people like his grandmother. (more…)

The Old Primates’ Club: Even Male Monkeys Ride Their Fathers’ Coattails to Success

By Guest PostJuly 11, 2012Naturecapuchin monkeys, juvenile phase, male monkeys, new world primates, old boys network, old primates club

If you’re a male born to a father who’s a strong and enduring community leader, you’re far more likely than your less fortunate peers to become a leader yourself, due to the wide range of social advantages accruing from your dad’s position. (more…)

Researchers Study How Cooperation Can Trump Competition in Monkeys

By Guest PostJuly 6, 2012Naturealpha male geladas, evolution of sociality, male gelada monkeys, multi male groups, reproductive career, single male system

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Being the top dog—or in this case, the top gelada monkey—is even better if the alpha male is willing to concede at times to subordinates, a new study indicated. (more…)

Motion Sensors Detect Horse Lameness Earlier Than Veterinarians, MU Study Finds

By Guest PostJuly 5, 2012Nature, Scienceailment, equine veterinarian, frequency, horse, human eye, kevin keegan, lameness, lameness locator, meghan mccracken, sensitivity level, shoes on horse

MU-developed “Lameness Locator” system helps diagnose lameness sooner, makes treatment easier

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The most common ailment to affect a horse is lameness. A University of Missouri equine veterinarian has developed a way to detect this problem using a motion detection system called the “Lameness Locator.” Now, Kevin Keegan, a professor of equine surgery in the College of Veterinary Medicine at MU, has found that his Lameness Locator can detect lameness earlier than veterinarians using the traditional method of a subjective eye test. (more…)

Gecko Feet Don’t Stick Around

By Guest PostJuly 5, 2012Natureadhesive toepads, adhesive toes, gecko adhesive, gecko feet, gecko genomes, lizard feats, lizards, pachydactylus clade

The lizards have gained and lost adhesive toes many times

Who wouldn’t envy the little gecko as it dashes up a smooth wall or hangs from a ceiling by a toe?

An engineer’s dream, gecko feet combine the best of duct tape and Post-It® Notes: They stick, but they don’t stay stuck. (more…)

Melting Sea Ice Threatens Emperor Penguins, Study Finds

By Guest PostJuly 1, 2012Environment, Natureantarctic peninsula, antarctic sea ice, Antarctica, christophe barbraud, climate models, climate variable, demographic model, dion islets, east antarctica, emperor penguins, food web, global temperature, happy feet, henri weimerskirch, ipev, krill, life cycle, marika holland, mark serreze, melting sea ice, nutrient cycle, organism, penguin colony, penguin population, sea bird, sea ice forecasts, shrimplike animal, squid, stephanie jenouvrier, terre adelie, warming temperature, whoi

At nearly four feet tall, the Emperor penguin is Antarctica’s largest sea bird—and thanks to films like “March of the Penguins” and “Happy Feet,” it’s also one of the continent’s most iconic. If global temperatures continue to rise, however, the Emperor penguins in Terre Adélie, in East Antarctica may eventually disappear, according to a new study by led by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The study was published in the June 20th edition of the journal Global Change Biology.

“Over the last century, we have already observed the disappearance of the Dion Islets penguin colony, close to the West Antarctic Peninsula,” says Stephanie Jenouvrier, WHOI biologist and lead author of the new study. “In 1948 and the 1970s, scientists recorded more than 150 breeding pairs there. By 1999, the population was down to just 20 pairs, and in 2009, it had vanished entirely.” Like in Terre Adélie, Jenouvrier thinks the decline of those penguins might be connected to a simultaneous decline in Antarctic sea ice due to warming temperatures in the region. (more…)

Scientists Urge New Approaches to Plant Research

By Guest PostJune 30, 2012Nature, Sciencearms race, Environment, evolution, genetic engineering, kurt stepnitz, metabolic pathway, metabolic reaction, michigan state university, molecular biology, new approach, nonrenewable energy, plant metabolism, plant research, robert last, ron milo, satellite image, therapeutic properties, weizmann institute

EAST LANSING, Mich. — You’d be amazed at how much you can learn from a plant.

In a paper published this week in the journal Science, a Michigan State University professor and a colleague discuss why if humans are to survive as a species, we must turn more to plants for any number of valuable lessons.

“Metabolism of plants provides humans with fiber, fuel, food and therapeutics,” said Robert Last, an MSU professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. “As the human population grows and nonrenewable energy sources diminish, we need to rely increasingly on plants and to increase the sustainability of agriculture.” (more…)

New Findings of Endangered Birds at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge Give Hope to Recovery Efforts

By Guest PostJune 27, 2012Naturebirds, endangered birds, habitat destruction, hakalau forest, hawaiian forest

HAWAI’I ISLAND, Hawai‘’— Three of Hawai’i Island’s rarest endangered forest birds have been detected at lower elevations of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge for the first time in 30 years. (more…)

Category Archives: Nature