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Researcher controls colleague’s motions in 1st human brain-to-brain interface

By Guest PostOctober 2, 2013Sciencealex dadgar, andrea stocco, brain computer interface, brain interfacing, bryan djunaedi, chantel prat, dev sarma, duke university, eeg, electrodes, electroencephalography, electroencephalography machine, harvard researchers, joseph wu, magnetic stimulation, matthew bryan, rajesh rao, skype connection, Technology, transcranial magnetic stimulation, university of washington, video game, vulcan mind meld

University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal via the Internet to control the hand motions of a fellow researcher.

Using electrical brain recordings and a form of magnetic stimulation, Rajesh Rao sent a brain signal to Andrea Stocco on the other side of the UW campus, causing Stocco’s finger to move on a keyboard. (more…)

Protecting 17 Percent of Earth’s Land May Preserve 67 Percent of Its Plant Species

By Guest PostSeptember 12, 2013Natureafrica, asia, biological diversity, central america, computer algorithms, duke university, earth, ecuador, England, kew, lucas n joppa, Madagascar, microsoft research, new guinea, north Carolina, northern andes, piero visconti, plant species, protecting key regions, royal botanic gardens, spatial database, state university, stuart l pimm, the caribbean

Protecting key regions that comprise just 17 percent of Earth’s land may help preserve more than two-thirds of its plant species, according to a new study by an international team of scientists, including a biologist from North Carolina State University.

The researchers from Duke University, NC State and Microsoft Research used computer algorithms to identify the smallest set of regions worldwide that could contain the largest numbers of plant species. They published their findings in the journal Science. (more…)

Mapping Out How to Save Species

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2013Natureamphibians, analytical methods, biodiversity, birds, blue moon foundation, cambridge, clinton jenkins, conservation, duke university, England, global concentration, global network, lucas joppa, mammals, map, microsoft research, north Carolina, priority areas, protected areas, saving species blog, species, state university, stuart pimm

In stunning color, new biodiversity research from North Carolina State University maps out priority areas worldwide that hold the key to protecting vulnerable species and focusing conservation efforts.

The research, published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pinpoints the highest global concentrations of mammals, amphibians and birds on a scale that’s 100 times finer than previous assessments. The findings can be used to make the most of available conservation resources, said Dr. Clinton Jenkins, lead author and research scholar at NC State University. (more…)

12 Top Universities Partner with Coursera

By Guest PostJuly 24, 2012Educationalvina lopez, andrew ng, coursera, daphne koller, duke university, edx, intellectual interaction, ivy league, johns hopkins university, online education, stanford university, university of edinburgh, university of virginia

If you were skeptical about the whole Ivy League online education thing catching on when you heard about edX, you may be surprised to learn that Coursera, an online education startup lead by two Stanford professors, just formed partnerships with 12 top universities to provide free online courses to the masses, according to The Huffington Post.

The universities that will now be providing free online courses to Coursera users are: Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, California Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Rice University, University of Illinois, UC San Francisco, University of Virginia, University of Washington, University of Toronto, University of Edinburgh, and Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne. (more…)

Scientists Trace Evolutionary History of What Mammals Eat

By Guest PostApril 17, 2012Nature, Scienceanimal ecology, antelope, bats, big cats, carnivory, cows, darwin, davis, deer, duke university, environmental biology, evolutionary race, evolutionary time, extinct, feeding habit, george gilchrist, herbivory, louise roth, macroevolutionary diversification, mammal, meat, national science foundation, omnivore, plant eater, primates, rabbits, rodents, samantha hopkins, samantha price, ungulates, university of california, university of oregon

*Feeding habits haven’t always been what they are today*

The feeding habits of mammals haven’t always been what they are today, particularly for omnivores.

Some groups of mammals almost exclusively eat meat–take lions and tigers and other big cats as examples.

Other mammals such as deer, cows and antelope are predominantly plant-eaters, living on a diet of leaves, shoots, fruits and bark. (more…)

Zinc’s Role in the Brain

By Guest PostOctober 13, 2011Health, Sciencechemical in synaptic vesicles, duke university, long-term potentiation, neuroscience, stores neurotransmitters, the role of zinc in the brain, university of toronto scarborough (utsc), xiao-an zhang, zinc, zinc’s function, zinc’s role in the brain, zx1

*Research gives insight into 50-year-old mystery – zinc important for learning and memory

TORONTO, ON – Zinc plays a critical role in regulating how neurons communicate with one another, and could affect how memories form and how we learn. The new research, in the current issue of Neuron, was authored by Xiao-an Zhang, now a chemistry professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), and colleagues at MIT and Duke University.

Researchers have been trying to pin down the role of zinc in the brain for more than fifty years, ever since scientists found high concentrations of the chemical in synaptic vesicles, a portion of the neuron that stores neurotransmitters. But it was hard to determine just what zinc’s function was. (more…)

Climate Change May Create Tipping Points for Populations, Not Just Species

By Guest PostOctober 23, 2010Environmentalpine, Arctic, biological effects of climate change, climate change, climate warms, daniel doak, duke university, earth, ecological challenges, ecologist, mountains of colorado, national science foundation, new mexico, nsf, plants, plants and animals, saran twombly, william morris

*Researchers measure survival, reproduction of thousands of arctic and alpine plants over six years*

As Earth’s climate warms, species are expected to shift their geographical ranges away from the equator or to higher elevations.

While scientists have documented such shifts for many plants and animals, the ranges of others seem stable. (more…)

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