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New Technologies (and Tires) Reconstruct Ancient Bison Hunts

By Guest PostAugust 2, 2011Scienceamerican indian, american indian tribes, ancient hunters, benjamin curry, bison kill sites in montana, blackfeet tribe, christopher roos, cliff edge, climate change, dale fenner, humans, jeff jones, jesse ballenger, kacy hollenback, kutoyis archaeological project, kutoyis project, landscape, maria nieves zedeño, matt pailes, meriwether lewis, montana, northern great plains, old tires, prehistoric bison hunting societies, school of anthropology, traditional bison hunt, two medicine valley, university of arizona, william clark

*UA researchers are looking for, among other things, how fire changed the landscape of the Northern Great Plains as ancient hunters went after big game.*

Researchers from the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona are investigating the complex relationship between climate change and modifications that humans have made to the landscape. And among the tools they are using in the pursuit of this knowledge are a bunch of old tires.

Led by Maria Nieves Zedeño from the UA Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, the Kutoyis Archaeological Project is a four-year collaboration focused on prehistoric bison hunting societies in the Northern Great Plains. The project is funded by the National Park Service and the National Science Foundation. (more…)

Hips Take Walking in Stride; Ankles Put Best Foot Forward in Run

By Guest PostMay 30, 2011Scienceankles, applied force, captured data, dominic farris, energy, gregory sawicki, hips, human power lab, human walking, humans, knees, motors, next generation robotics, north carolina state university, physiology of wearable robotics, prosthetic devices, royal society scientific journal, running motions, sawicki and farris, treadmill, walk

In a first-of-its-kind study comparing human walking and running motions – and whether the hips, knees or ankles are the most important power sources for these motions – researchers at North Carolina State University show that the hips generate more of the power when people walk, but the ankles generate more of the power when humans run. Knees provide approximately one-fifth or less of walking or running power.

The research could help inform the best ways of building assistive or prosthetic devices for humans, or constructing next-generation robotics, say NC State biomedical engineers Drs. Dominic Farris and Gregory Sawicki. The co-authors of a study on the mechanics of walking and running in the journal Interface, a Royal Society scientific journal, Sawicki and Farris are part of NC State’s Human PoWeR (Physiology of Wearable Robotics) Lab. (more…)

“Fool’s Gold” from The Deep is Fertilizer for Ocean Life

By Guest PostMay 10, 2011Environment, Scienceamy gartman, atmospheric oxygen, bacteria, barbara ransom, carbon dioxide levels, clara chan, deep sea, fools gold, george luther, humans, hydrothermal vents, iron, iron disulfide, microscopic pyrite particles, mineral pyrite, multivitamins, mustafa yucel, nanoparticles, ocean, ocean bottom, organisms, phytoplankton, pyrite nanoparticles, pyrite particles, seawater, tiny plants, university of delaware

*Pyrite nanoparticles from hydrothermal vents are a rich source of iron in the deep sea*

Similar to humans, the bacteria and tiny plants living in the ocean need iron for energy and growth. But their situation is quite different from ours–for one, they can’t turn to natural iron sources like leafy greens or red meat for a pick-me-up.

So, from where does their iron come? (more…)

UF Study Traces Global Red Imported Fire Ant Invasions to Southern U.S.

By Guest PostFebruary 27, 2011Environment, Natureallergic, ant stings, australia, california, China, dewayne shoemaker, effective biological control agents, fire ant, global trade, globe, humans, invasive species, marina ascunce, molecular genetic markers, mound, new zealand, pesticides, pests, phorid flies, red fire ant invasions, solenopsis invicta, south america, southern u s, taiwan, travel network

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Red imported fire ant invasions around the globe in recent years can now be traced to the southern U.S., where the nuisance insect gained a foothold in the 1930s, new University of Florida research has found.

Native to South America, the ant had been contained there and in the southeastern U.S. before turning up in faraway places in the last 20 years — including California, China, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. (more…)

Even in a Crowd, You Remain Unique, UCLA Life Scientists Report

By Guest PostFebruary 23, 2011Sciencea face in the crowd, bigger crowds, crowd, daniel blumstein, evolution of individuality, humans, kimberly pollard, paradoxical, personal uniqueness, rodents, social creatures, social groups, species, the kinks, unique, waldo

“Am I just a face in the crowd? Is that all I’ll ever be? … Do you think I stand out?”

—The Kinks, “A Face in the Crowd”

It may seem paradoxical, but being part of a crowd is what makes you unique, according to UCLA life scientists.

Biologists Kimberly Pollard and Daniel Blumstein examined the evolution of individuality —personal uniqueness — by recording alarm-call vocalizations in eight species of rodents that live in social groups of various sizes. They found that the size of the groups strongly predicted the individual uniqueness in the animals’ voices: The bigger the group, the more unique each animal’s voice typically was and the easier it was to tell individuals apart. (more…)

Regrowing Hair: UCLA-VA Researchers May Have Accidentally Discovered a Solution

By Guest PostFebruary 18, 2011Health, Scienceaging, astressin b, bald, brain gut interactions, chronic stress, corticotrophin releasing factor, crf, gastrointestinal function, graying of hair, hair growth, hair loss, hair restoration remedies, hucksters, humans, mice age, million mulugeta, minoxidil, miracle solvents, peptide, stress, stress related hormone, treat hair loss

It has been long known that stress plays a part not just in the graying of hair but in hair loss as well. Over the years, numerous hair-restoration remedies have emerged, ranging from hucksters’ “miracle solvents” to legitimate medications such as minoxidil. But even the best of these have shown limited effectiveness.

Now, a team led by researchers from UCLA and the Veterans Administration that was investigating how stress affects gastrointestinal function may have found a chemical compound that induces hair growth by blocking a stress-related hormone associated with hair loss — entirely by accident. (more…)

MU, ASU Researchers’ Discovery Could Change Views of Human Evolution

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 2011Scienceardipithecus ramidus, australopithecus afarensis, brains, carol ward, discovery, donald johanson, ethiopia, feet arches, foot bone, fossil, fossil skeleton, hadar, hominids, human evolution, human like arches, human like walking, human locomotion, human origins, human species, humans, jaws, lucy, metatarsal, million year old, predators, predecessor, shock absorbing abilities, william kimbel

*3.2 million-year-old human predecessor had arches in feet*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Feet arches give humans a spring in their steps, shock absorbing abilities, and stiff platforms to propel themselves forward, allowing them to walk upright consistently. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri and Arizona State University have found proof that arches existed in a predecessor to the human species that lived more than 3 million years ago. This discovery could change scientists’ views of human evolution. The study is being published this week in Science.

Carol Ward, an MU researcher in the Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences at the MU School of Medicine, and William Kimbel and Donald Johanson, director and founding director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University, studied a 3.2 million-year-old fourth metatarsal of Australopithecus afarensis. A team from the Institute of Human Origins and National Museum of Ethiopia led by Kimbel discovered the fossil in Hadar, Ethiopia. The species is often referred to as “Lucy,” the nickname of the most complete fossil skeleton of the species to be discovered. (more…)

People Aren’t Born Afraid of Spiders and Snakes: Fear Is Quickly Learned During Infancy

By Guest PostFebruary 1, 2011Culturearachnophobia, arne ohman, children, electric shock, elephant, hollywood, humans, infants, monkeys, movies, poisonous, scary objects, snakes, snakes on a plane, spiders, susan mineka, toddlers, vanessa lobue

There’s a reason why Hollywood makes movies like Arachnophobia and Snakes on a Plane: Most people are afraid of spiders and snakes. A new paper published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reviews research with infants and toddlers and finds that we aren’t born afraid of spiders and snakes, but we can learn these fears very quickly.

One theory about why we fear spiders and snakes is because so many are poisonous; natural selection may have favored people who stayed away from these dangerous critters. Indeed, several studies have found that it’s easier for both humans and monkeys to learn to fear evolutionarily threatening things than non-threatening things. (more…)

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