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Expedition finds Nemo can travel great distances to connect populations

By Guest PostSeptember 25, 2014Nature, Scienceamerican, arabian peninsula, archaeal signatures, betina faist, buckingham palace, clark peters, dna fingerprinting, expedition, goettin gula, hasan qasim, human skin microbiome, keilschriftarchiv, kelli canada, klaus oppermann, kurdistan, larval stage, marine environment, mittani reich, most overlooked inventors, new york, ocean, oman, out of jail, ressourcen kulturen, sensual crime, skin moisture, steve simpson, tempel, travel, university of exeter

Clownfish spend their entire lives nestling in the protective tentacles of host anemones, but new research shows that as babies they sometimes travel hundreds of kilometres across the open ocean. Although the process of long-distance dispersal by reef fish has been predicted, this is the first time that the high level exchange of offspring between distant populations has been observed.

Dr Steve Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Marine Biology and Global Change in Biosciences at the University of Exeter, and colleagues from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (ARC COE CRS), Sultan Qaboos University (Oman) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France) have published their findings on the dispersal of Omani clownfish larvae in the journal PLOS ONE. (more…)

Hidden Florence revealed through new history tour App

By Guest PostSeptember 6, 2014Technologyandre taylor, app, assq, colors, david, Google, gps tracking, harrison pope, michelangelo, molecule squaraine, photovoltaic panels, rolf ulrich, sunlight to energy, university of exeter, venus

An opportunity to experience an unseen side of Florence is now possible via a new smartphone App which brings the past to life through the eyes of an ordinary 15^th century Florentine.

In the Italian Renaissance city of Florence, tourists often take the well-trodden routes of seeing the iconic artworks of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Michelangelo’s David.

Now, this free history App is available providing an unconventional tour in which you walk in the footsteps of wool worker Giovanni, hunting for statues, street tabernacles and piazzas whilst being told vivid tales about the city. It is based around an interactive map, complete with audio directions and storytelling. The Hidden Florence App opens up a city overlooked by conventional tourist guides. (more…)

Link between vitamin D and dementia risk confirmed

By Guest PostAugust 26, 2014Healthalzheimer, anstrengend, between, dalton conley, daniel kaiser, dementia, hendrik mothes, jason fletcher, link, mantle dynamics, nesting doll minerals, renbiao tao, sport ist mord, university of exeter, vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a substantially increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in older people, according to the most robust study of its kind ever conducted.

An international team, led by Dr David Llewellyn at the University of Exeter Medical School, found that study participants who were severely Vitamin D deficient were more than twice as likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

The team studied elderly Americans who took part in the Cardiovascular Health Study. They discovered that adults in the study who were moderately deficient in vitamin D had a 53 per cent increased risk of developing dementia of any kind, and the risk increased to 125 per cent in those who were severely deficient. (more…)

Major turtle nesting beaches protected in one of the UK’s far flung overseas territories

By Guest PostAugust 21, 2014Nature1917, annette broderick, atlantic ocean, biodiversity, liberty, picketing, risikogene, sam weber, second world war, south atlantic, treatment of pain, uk, uk government, united kingdom, university of exeter

Sea turtles are not a species one would normally associate with the United Kingdom. But on the remote UK overseas territory of Ascension Island, one of the world’s largest green turtle populations is undergoing something of a renaissance.

Writing in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation, scientists from the University of Exeter and Ascension Island Government Conservation Department report that the number of green turtles nesting at the remote South Atlantic outpost has increased by more than 500 per cent since records began in the 1970s. (more…)

Noise pollution impacts fish species differently

By Guest PostAugust 12, 2014Environmentangriffspunkte fuer entzuendungen, daniela schuster, entzuendungshemmer, fish species, impact, john mackey, justin okano, lesotho, noise pollution, ship noise, steve simpson, university of exeter

Acoustic disturbance has different effects on different species of fish, according to a new study from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol which tested fish anti-predator behaviour.

Three-spined sticklebacks responded sooner to a flying seagull predator model when exposed to additional noise, whereas no effects were observed in European minnows.

Lead author Dr Irene Voellmy of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences said: “Noise levels in many aquatic environments have increased substantially during the last few decades, often due to increased shipping traffic. Potential impacts of noise on aquatic ecosystems are therefore of growing concern.” (more…)

Jerusalem Unbound: a City in Conflict

By Guest PostAugust 2, 2014Politicsantidote for partisanship, arab, catholics, echo chamber effect, Jerusalem, juan nogueira, northern ireland, palestinians, Politics, robert fares, storing solar power, texas households, university of exeter, utility grid

A new book, Jerusalem Unbound, plots the history and examines the underlying factors that make a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians so difficult.

Written by Professor Mick Dumper, a University of Exeter politics expert with over 25 years of experience of Jerusalem, the book explores why religious property in ethnically mixed cities attract conflict and argues that holy sites are particularly difficult in peace negotiations as they cannot be exchanged or traded like other properties. It also compares Jerusalem with other divided cities like Belfast and Beirut and draws out lessons that can be learnt from the way these cities are managed. (more…)

Exeter scientist reveals secrets of Scotland’s basking sharks in new report

By Guest PostJuly 18, 2014Nature5 methoxy leoligin, aaron dollar, basking sharks, czech play, human robot relations, leoligin, malaria impfstoff, matthew witt, paris vault, pieter abbeel, robert howe, scotland, sea, siddhartha srinivasa, standard in robotics, therapie von herzinfarkt, university of exeter

Seas between the islands of Skye and Mull on Scotland’s west coast are highly important for basking sharks, according to a report published by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

Each year large numbers of basking sharks are seen in an area of the Sea of the Hebrides which is currently being assessed as part of the Scottish Marine Protected Areas Project.

The report sets out findings from the first two years of a project which aims to reveal some of the mysteries surrounding the world’s second largest fish. The project is a joint venture between SNH and the University of Exeter, and is the first known to use satellite tagging technology to track the near real-time movements of basking sharks. (more…)

Scientists unravel the genetic secrets of nature’s master of mimicry

By Guest PostJuly 8, 2014Naturecognitive health, florian mehring, Germany, harro von senger, harvard konzept, imperial college London, jena, konflikte vermeiden, listiges verhalten, liu birong, michael forster, monarch butterflies, mysterious source, nairobi, Nature, Paris, professor, richard ffrench constant, scientists, sinologe, tanpan, university of exeter

Scientists investigating how one of the greatest shape shifters in the natural world is able to trick predators to avoid being eaten have identified the gene behind the fascinating feat.

The African Swallowtail butterfly, also known as the ‘Mocker Swallowtail’ or the ‘Flying Handkerchief,’ can appear to change both colour and shape.

Males of the species fly boldly around the tree tops, their rapid flight making them look like shaking handkerchiefs, however females lurk in the bushes and pretend to be examples of Monarch butterflies that are nasty to eat. (more…)

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