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Bird Song Yields a New Understanding of Cooperation

By Guest PostNovember 5, 2011Nature, Scienceecuador, eric fortune, humans, johns hopkins university, neuroscientist, site of a volcano, slopes of antisana volcano, tango

*A bird duet springs forth from each bird’s knowledge of the entire song*

The site of a volcano isn’t the first place one might think of to study cooperation. But neuroscientist Eric Fortune of Johns Hopkins University and colleagues went to the slopes of Antisana volcano in Ecuador to study cooperation as it plays out with a very special songbird, the plain-tailed wren. Funded in part by the National Science Foundation, the researchers report their observations in the Nov. 4, 2011, issue of Science.

Rapidly alternating their singing back and forth, female and male wrens cooperate to sing a duet that sounds as if a single bird sang it. The researchers assumed that the brain of each bird would have a memory of its own part of the duet, and also have a memory of the cues from its partner. They were surprised to find that both brains had a record of the complete duet–a performance that neither bird can do by itself. (more…)

Oil Exploration Would Endanger The Most Biodiverse Region in The Western Hemisphere, Say Scientists

By Guest PostOctober 14, 2011Environmentamphibians, anthony di fiore, australia, biodiverse region, biodiversity, birds, canada, Colombia, ecuador, ecuadorian amazon, italian government, mammals, oil exploitation, peak diversity of plants, peru, peter english, president rafael correa, reserves of oil, royal bank of canada, turkey, united nations general assembly, united states, university of texas at austin, western hemisphere, yasuní ishpingo tambococha tiputini trust fund, yasuní itt initiative, yasuní national park

AUSTIN, Texas — An international team of scientists that includes two University of Texas at Austin researchers has found that Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park, which sits on top of massive reserves of oil, is in the single most biodiverse region in the Western Hemisphere.

The announcement is part of a final push for the Yasuní-ITT Initiative at the United Nations General Assembly. The initiative proposes that Ecuador receive compensation for half of the revenues the nation would lose by protecting the estimated 846 million barrels of oil that lie beneath the forest. (more…)

Patient Privacy Should be Respected Abroad and Online

By Guest PostFebruary 15, 2011Culture, Healthamerican medical student, developing countries, dominican republic, ecuador, erik black, ethical gray area, Facebook, federal guidelines, haiti, health care providers, lindsay thompson, medical students, patient, patient privacy, reed van deusen, social media, spring break, terry kind, unauthorized photo, united states, web

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Taking an unauthorized photo of a patient and posting it on Facebook is a giant no-no for health-care providers, who follow strict federal guidelines protecting patient privacy.

But what if the patient is a little girl in Ecuador receiving a vaccine from an American medical student, who’s in the country on a medical outreach trip? Although taking photos of patients in developing countries and posting them on the Web may not be illegal, it’s not ethical, say researchers from the University of Florida.

It’s long been a common practice for health care providers to snap photos while volunteering their time in developing countries, generally to bring back evidence of the conditions patients face there. But reporting in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, UF College of Medicine researchers say providers should treat patients’ privacy with the same reverence no matter where the care takes place. (more…)

For Longer-Life, Disease-Free Roses, NC State Researchers Insert Celery Gene

By Guest PostFebruary 12, 2011Sciencealcohol, botrytis, bryon sosinski, celery, Colombia, disease, ecuador, environmental factors, fungal pathogens, gene, george allen, grocery stores, john dole, john williamson, lettuce, mannitol, petal blight, plant diseases, post harvest diseases, rose, rose plants, valentine day, vase life

A rose by any other name would smell … like celery?

North Carolina State University research intended to extend the “vase life” of roses inserts a gene from celery inside rose plants to help fight off botrytis, or petal blight, one of the rose’s major post-harvest diseases.

Some fungal pathogens, the bad guys that infect plants, produce a sugar alcohol called mannitol that interferes with the plant’s ability to block disease like petal blight, which produces wilty, mushy petals – an effect similar to what happens to lettuce when it’s been in the crisper too long. (more…)

Tag Archives: ecuador

Bird Song Yields a New Understanding of Cooperation

Oil Exploration Would Endanger The Most Biodiverse Region in The Western Hemisphere, Say Scientists

Patient Privacy Should be Respected Abroad and Online

For Longer-Life, Disease-Free Roses, NC State Researchers Insert Celery Gene