Rats use their whiskers in a way that is closely related to the human sense of touch: Just as humans move their fingertips across a surface to perceive shapes and textures, rats twitch their whiskers to achieve the same goal. Now, in a finding that could help further understanding of perception across species, neuroscientists have used high-speed video to reveal rat whiskers in action and show the tiny movements that underlie the rat's perception of its tactile environment.
Considerable attention has been paid to the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in aquatic environments, but rather less attention has been given to routes of contamination on land. A new study reveals that male birds foraging on invertebrates contaminated with environmental pollutants develop more complex songs, which are preferred by females, even though these males also show reduced immune function.
Two students are currently living, working and communicating with the outside world as if they were on a mission to Mars. Whenever they go outside their small, round habitat where eight people are spending a two-week "mission," they don spacesuits and pass through an airlock. When they send e-mail, it takes 20 minutes before the recipient can see it -- the time it takes for radio waves to travel to and from the red planet.
Scientists who disrupted one type of the gene ubiquitin (Ubb) in mice observed neuronal death in the hypothalamus, impaired control of energy balance and adult-onset obesity in the rodents. The study hints at a method to treat obesity and neurodegeneration.
Diltiazem, a drug used in the treatment of high blood pressure, reduces cocaine cravings in a rat model. Previous work showed that two brain chemicals, dopamine and glutamate, independently contribute to the development of cocaine addiction. This new research indicates that calcium channels provide critical links between dopamine and glutamate that drives the intense craving associated with cocaine addiction.
New research has resulted in an immediate change in the way physicians treat their patients -- giving them chewing gum to speed recovery following stomach-related surgery. Chewing the gum is thought to stimulate the smooth muscle fibers and secretion from the salivary glands and liver. The 51 patients who chewed gum recovered their bowel movement significantly faster than those who did not.
The structure and behavior of one of the most common proteins in our bodies has been resolved at a level of detail never before seen. The scientists kept the tendon tissue intact, so they could see how the collagen molecule binds to collagenases, a class of enzymes which when working properly help to regulate the normal growth and development of animals but when malfunctioning can lead to the metastasis of cancerous tumors or rheumatoid arthritis.
The main ingredients of fish feed have traditionally been of marine origin but these ingredients are becoming both scarce and expensive. The fish farming industry therefore wishes to utilise alternative lipid (fat) sources in feed used for salmon farming. Vegetable oils also tend to increase growth rate and carcase quality of fish. However, when fed to patients, notable differences were found. The fat composition of the salmon meat affected the fatty acid profile of the patients' blood and the advantageous marine omega-3 fatty acids increased markedly in those patients that ate fish fed on feed containing pure fish oils.
Bacteria that cause the bubonic plague avoid death in our bodies by injecting our cells with immune evasion proteins. Scientists have discovered a new way bacteria build and hold the syringes, according to research in the journal Microbiology.
NASA has obtained the highest resolution terrain mapping to date of the moon's rugged south polar region, with a resolution to 20 meters per pixel. The imagery generated by the data has been incorporated into animation depicting the descent to the lunar surface of a future human lunar lander and a flyover of Shackleton Crater.
London's congestion charge may have delivered a small, unexpected health bonus to the capital, say researchers. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 28 Feb 2008 | 2:48 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Like every U.S. hospital emergency room, the one at Washington Hospital Center is overwhelmed -- on any day patients lie on gurneys in the corridor, hooked up to monitors. Others wait for hours to see a doctor.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The moon's south pole region, a possible future landing site for human or robotic lunar missions, is far more rugged than had been thought, with towering peaks and deep craters, NASA said on Wednesday.
Scientists make a breakthrough in plant genes that could lead to crops that can survive drought. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 28 Feb 2008 | 12:41 am
BOSTON (Reuters) - The chance of having an appendix removed unnecessarily has plummeted since 1996 in the United States, possibly because more doctors are using CT scans to confirm appendicitis diagnoses, researchers said on Wednesday.
OSLO (Reuters) - The fossil of a 15 meter (50 ft) long "sea monster" found in Arctic Norway was the biggest of its kind known to science with dagger-like teeth in a mouth large enough to bite a small car, researchers said on Wednesday.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tiny twitches of their whiskers allow rats to "see" in the dark, helping them to find their way home or back to a particularly savory garbage pile.
European officials dismiss America's latest offer on climate change as too little, too late. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:37 pm
Britain is re-instated as a full Gemini Observatory member, giving it continued access to two major telescopes. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:30 pm
Energy Saving Day is launched with an appeal to combat climate change and its global impacts. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 9:09 pm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There was more than the obvious reason to feel blue for people offered in human sacrifice rituals by the ancient Maya to their rain god -- they were painted blue before being heaved into a watery sinkhole.
US scientists have effectively managed to rid mice of type 1 diabetes using a cocktail of drugs. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 6:15 pm
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A friendly dog can make older people feel less isolated -- and it appears to make little difference if that wagging tail belongs to a robot doggie or the real thing.
The biggest earthquake in the UK for nearly 25 years is felt across large parts of England and Wales. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 3:49 pm
Water supplies have been cut to a town in China's Hubei province after pollution turned a river red. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 27 Feb 2008 | 11:12 am
