Tag Archives: China

Cambrian Fossil Pushes Back Evolution of Complex Brains

By Guest PostOctober 10, 2012Nature, Scienceancient animal, arachnids, arizona, arthropods, brain anatomy, branchiopod brain, branchiopods, brine shrimp, cambrian fossil, cambrian period, China, common ancestor, complex brain, course, crustaceans, dna sequence, evolution, evolutionary biologist, fuxianhuia protensa, gregory edgecombe, hypothesis, insects, malacostracans, microscope, missing link, modern brain, modern malacostracan, molecular data, morphology, mudstone, multicellular animals, Nature, neural anatomy, neurobiologist, neurocladistics, neuropils, nicholas strausfeld, optic lobes, origin, sensory organ, species, taxonomic group, transformative discovery, university, xianguang hou, xiaoya ma, yunnan province, yunnan university. kunming

Complex brains evolved much earlier than previously thought, as evidenced by a 520-million-year-old fossilized arthropod with remarkably well-preserved brain structures.

The remarkably well-preserved fossil of an extinct arthropod shows that anatomically complex brains evolved earlier than previously thought and have changed little over the course of evolution. According to University of Arizona neurobiologist Nicholas Strausfeld, who co-authored the study describing the specimen, the fossil is the earliest known to show a brain.

The discovery will be published in the Oct. 11 issue of the journal Nature. (more…)

Dwarf Species of Fanged Dinosaur Emerges from Southern Africa

By Guest PostOctober 4, 2012Nature, Scienceafrica, canines, carol abraczinskas, Chicago, China, different, dinosaur, dinosaur anatomy, dinosaur era, dwarf sized, dwarf species, fanged dinosaur, harvard university, herbivore, heterodontosaurs, lifestyle, new species, parrot shaped, paul sereno, pegomastax africanus, plant eating, porcupine, punk sized, radiation, rock, sereno, skull, south african, stegosaurus, supercontinent pangaea, thick jaw, tianyulong, todd marshall, toothed reptile, triceratops, tyler keillor, university, vampire, volcanic ash, zookeys

A new species of plant-eating dinosaur with tiny, 1-inch-long jaws has come to light in South African rocks dating to the early dinosaur era, some 200 million years ago.

This “punk-sized” herbivore is one of a menagerie of bizarre, tiny, fanged plant-eaters called heterodontosaurs, or “different toothed reptiles,” which were among the first dinosaurs to spread across the planet. (more…)

U.S. Manufacturers Bringing Work Home from Overseas

By Guest PostOctober 3, 2012Economyaerospace, chain, China, cultural barrier, defense, domestic soil, Economy, electronics, erosion, expert, factor, firm, global risk, India, industry, intellectual property, kenneth petersen, labor cost, language, lisa ellram, manufacturing operation, medical, michigan, oil price, overseas, political instability, problem, product quality, state university, supply, surgical supplies, time zone, tobias schoenherr, transportation cost, united states, US, wendy tate

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Increasingly, U.S. firms are moving or considering moving their manufacturing operations back to domestic soil from overseas, finds a new study co-authored by a Michigan State University supply chain expert.

Fueling the trend are rising labor costs in emerging countries, high oil prices and increasing transportation costs, global risks such as political instability and other factors, said Tobias Schoenherr.

“Going overseas is not the panacea that it was thought of just a decade or so ago,” said Schoenherr, assistant professor in MSU’s top-ranked Department of Supply Chain Management. “Companies have realized the challenges and thus are moving back to the United States.” (more…)

Face to Face

By Guest PostSeptember 10, 2012Scienceadult, african, ann manser, anna grant, asian faces, asian infants, brian larue, canada, caucasian faces, caucasian infants, China, concept formation, cristin, daily live, dayna damico, delaware, elise coopersmith, Europe, face, face to face, facial recognition, female face, fundamental challenge, gender, infant, laurie yarzab, mckenna larue, paige valeski, parent, pathway, paul quinn, process, race, south asian, university

Research finds infants classify faces by gender, race

Long before babies can talk — even before they can sit up on their own — they are mentally forming categories for objects and animals in a way that, for example, sets apart squares from triangles and cats from dogs, psychologists say.

Now, research conducted by the University of Delaware’s Paul Quinn, professor of psychology, and others indicates that babies as young as 3 months are also classifying faces by race and gender, showing a visual preference for the category they see most often in their daily lives, and that by 9 months they have difficulty recognizing the faces of people from less-familiar races. (more…)

UCLA Research Makes Possible Rapid Assessment of Plant Drought Tolerance

By Guest PostAugust 2, 2012Environmentassessment, carbon dioxide, China, christine scoffoni, drought tolerance, evaporation, lawren sack, megan bartlett, method, osmometer, osmometry, osmotic potential, p v curve, photosynthesis, plant drought tolerance, pressure volume curve, stomata, temperature, turgor loss point, ucla, xtbg, yunnan

UCLA life scientists, working with colleagues in China, have discovered a new method to quickly assess plants’ drought tolerance. The method works for many diverse species growing around the world. The research, published in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution, may revolutionize the ability to survey plant species for their ability to withstand drought, said senior author Lawren Sack, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

“This method can be applied rapidly and reliably for diverse species across ecosystems worldwide,” he said of the federally funded research by the National Science Foundation. (more…)

IBM THINK Exhibit App for iPad and Android Tablets Traces Ancient Roots of Modern Innovation

By Guest PostJuly 26, 2012Technology2011 think, ancient roots, android tablet, breath sensor, charles, China, computer watson, diabetes detector, epcot center, exhibit app, ibm think, India, indonesia, ipad, jeopardy, lee green, lincoln center, mathematica, microscope, modern art, modern innovation, museum, new york city, orlando, plane prototype, ray eames, rfid chips, russia, Thailand, turkey, walt disney, wright brothers

ARMONK, NY – 26 Jul 2012: To celebrate centuries of science and technology innovations, IBM has reinvented its award-winning 2011 THINK exhibit at New York City’s Lincoln Center as a free interactive app for iPad and Android tablets. Geared to tech fans and educators, the IBM THINK exhibit app is an “innovation time machine” that shows how early tools have evolved into modern advances that create healthier populations, greener energy and safer, less congested cities.

Through interactive content and thousands of images and historical anecdotes, the IBM THINK Exhibit app is filled with stories of progress, from space exploration to weather prediction and medical advances. It documents the roots of Big Data, from early charts, clocks and scales to microscopes and telescopes, from RFID chips and biomedical sensors in clothing to breath-sensor diabetes detectors. (more…)

Going Big

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2012Scienceamanda wu, behavior of materials, carbon nanotube, China, chou research group, composite applications, fiber, force, go big, macroscale, nanoscale, sensor, strain, strain rate, tsinghua university, tsu wei chou, university of delaware, van der waals, weibang lu

UD researchers report progress in development of carbon nanotube-based continuous fibers

The Chou research group in the University of Delaware’s College of Engineering recently reported on advances in carbon nanotube-based continuous fibers with invited articles in Advanced Materials and Materials Today, two high impact scientific journals.

According to Tsu-Wei Chou, Pierre S. du Pont Chair of Engineering, who co-authored the articles with colleagues Weibang Lu and Amanda Wu, there has been a concerted scientific effort over the last decade to “go big” – to translate the superb physical and mechanical properties of nanoscale carbon nanotubes to the macroscale. (more…)

Weevils and Weeds

By Guest PostJuly 3, 2012Environmentamanda stout, chester county, China, coverdale farm preserve, creek state park, dave pro, delaware, doug tallamy, judy hough goldstein, margo mcdonough, mile a minute, pea patch island, photosynthesize, rhinoncomimus latipes, shrubs, weed, weeds, weevil, weevils, white clay, yard

UD researchers use weevils to check spread of prolific mile-a-minute weed

Mile-a-minute weed has declared war on Doug Tallamy’s yard. This non-native, invasive vine is growing up his trees, scrambling over shrubs and smothering tree seedlings. By blocking sunlight, it weakens a plant by reducing its ability to photosynthesize.

Mile-a-minute doesn’t care one whit that Tallamy, professor and chair of the University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, is a highly respected proponent of native gardening who doesn’t believe in planting any non-natives, let alone a highly invasive non-native.

“The deer brought mile-a-minute from our neighbor’s yard three years after we moved in,” says Tallamy. “We had just a few plants the first year, a few hundred the second year, and 20 trillion the third year.” (more…)