drexel university – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Discovery of new fossils reveals key link in evolution of hind limbs

By Guest PostJanuary 19, 2014Natureafrican lungfish, brinson foundation, crocodile, data, discovery, drexel university, edward daeschler, evolution, first legged animals, fish, front wheel drive, harvard university, hind legs, hind limbs, key link, land dwelling tetrapods, large forefins, locomotion, neil shubin, new fossils, partial pelvic fin, pelves, shallow freshwater environments, tetrapods, tiktaalik roseae, transitional species, your inner fish

Researchers have discovered well-preserved pelves and a partial pelvic fin from Tiktaalik roseae, a 375 million-year-old transitional species between fish and the first legged animals, which reveal that the evolution of hind legs actually began as enhanced hind fins. This challenges existing theory that large, mobile hind appendages were developed only after vertebrates transitioned to land.

The scientists describe the fossils in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, online on Jan. 13. The piece marks the inaugural article for Prof. Neil Shubin, Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, as a member of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

The Original Twitter? Tiny Electronic Tags Monitor Birds’ Social Networks

By Guest PostSeptember 24, 2012Nature, Sciencearchipelago, bird, brian otis, broadcast, costa rica, crow, drexel university, ecology, encounternet, forest, frequency, galapagos islands, german, internet, islands, john burt, lysanne snijders, Netherlands, new caledonia, radio tracking, radio transmitter, scotland, social behavior, social mobility, social network, South Pacific, st andrews, Technology, university, Washington, wireless sensor, woodland bird

If two birds meet deep in the forest, does anybody hear? Until now, nobody did, unless an intrepid biologist was hiding underneath a bush and watching their behavior, or the birds happened to meet near a research monitoring station. But an electronic tag designed at the University of Washington can for the first time see when birds meet in the wild.

A new study led by a biologist at Scotland’s University of St. Andrews used the UW tags to see whether crows might learn to use tools from one another. The findings, published last week in Current Biology, supported the theory by showing an unexpected amount of social mobility, with the crows often spending time near birds outside their immediate family. (more…)

Software You Can Eat: College Students Build Tool to Feed the Hungry

By Guest PostApril 24, 2012Technologyacer laptop, arizona state university, brigham young university, carnegie mellon university, cloud computing, drexel dragons, drexel university, ecstatic, elated, eric lehnhardt, excited, flashfood, food deserts, game design, hungry, imagine cup, jake irvin, katelyn keberle, kinect, legendairy, mark hindsbo, math dash, Microsoft, mobile, nokia lumia 800, redmond campus, silverlight, software design, steven hernandez, stunned, team dr fishbowl, team flashfood, Technology, us imagine cup, visual studio, windows 8, windows azure award, windows phone, xbox game

A team of Arizona State University Students won the U.S. Imagine Cup’s Software Design category with a program that takes uneaten restaurant and catered event meals and reroutes it to nearby families that would otherwise go without.

REDMOND, Wash. — A team of students from Arizona State University aims to use Microsoft technology to get uneaten meals from restaurants and catered events to nearby families who would otherwise go hungry.

Team FlashFood with its solution, FlashFood, was the winning team in the prestigious software design category at Microsoft’s U.S. Imagine Cup finals on Monday. The team will advance to compete in the Imagine Cup 2012 Worldwide finals in Sydney, Australia July 6-10. (more…)

Tag Archives: drexel university

Discovery of new fossils reveals key link in evolution of hind limbs

The Original Twitter? Tiny Electronic Tags Monitor Birds’ Social Networks

Software You Can Eat: College Students Build Tool to Feed the Hungry