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- Hox Genes Responsible for Firefly Lantern Development
- A diet to make you fat or fit? The role of 'sumo stew' in shaping a sumo wrestler
- Football displays fractal dynamics: Real-time dynamics in a football game subject to self-similarity characteristics
- A majority prefers letting computers decide
- Humans drive evolution of conch size
- Cultural hitchhiking: How social behavior can affect genetic makeup in dolphins
- Owl monkeys don't cheat: Intensive fathering plays a role
- Looking to have fun during March madness? Don't bet on it!
- Form of epilepsy in sea lions similar to that in humans, researchers find
- When the flu bug bit the Big Apple, Twitter posts told the tale
- High-strength materials from the pressure cooker: New materials made quickly and in eco-friendly manner
| Hox Genes Responsible for Firefly Lantern Development Posted: 19 Mar 2014 08:46 AM PDT Perhaps no single evolutionary novelty in the animal kingdom has fascinated scientists more than the lantern of the firefly. Yet to this day, nothing has been known about the genetic foundation for the formation and evolution of this luminescent structure. But now, new work offers for the first time a characterization of the developmental genetic basis of this spectacular morphological novelty -- the firefly's photic organ -- and the means by which this beetle successfully uses ancient and highly conserved regulatory genes to form its lantern.  |
| A diet to make you fat or fit? The role of 'sumo stew' in shaping a sumo wrestler Posted: 19 Mar 2014 06:39 AM PDT A recent study explores the meanings of 'fat' and obesity in sumo and Japanese culture and the part that chanko, or 'sumo stew', plays in this.  |
| Posted: 19 Mar 2014 05:54 AM PDT Football fascinates millions of fans, almost all of them unaware that the game is subject to the laws of physics. Despite their seemingly arbitrary decisions, players obey certain rules, as they constantly adjust their positions in relation to their teammates, opponents, the ball and the goal.  |
| A majority prefers letting computers decide Posted: 19 Mar 2014 05:54 AM PDT When individuals engage in risky business transactions with each other, they may end up being disappointed. This is why they'd rather leave the decision on how to divvy up jointly-owned monies to a computer than to their business partner. This subconscious strategy seems to help them avoid the negative emotions associated with any breaches of trust, according to a new study.  |
| Humans drive evolution of conch size Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:22 PM PDT Scientists found that 7,000 years ago, the Caribbean fighting conch contained 66 percent more meat than its descendants do today. Because of persistent harvesting of the largest conchs, it became advantageous for the animal to mature at a smaller size, resulting in evolutionary change.  |
| Cultural hitchhiking: How social behavior can affect genetic makeup in dolphins Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:22 PM PDT Researchers studying bottlenose dolphins that use sponges as tools to protect their sensitive beaks has shown that social behavior can shape the genetic makeup of an animal population in the wild. The research on dolphins in Shark Bay in Western Australia is one of the first studies to show this effect -- which is called cultural hitchhiking -- in animals other than people.  |
| Owl monkeys don't cheat: Intensive fathering plays a role Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:22 PM PDT A new study shows that Azara's owl monkeys (Aotus azarae) are unusually faithful. The investigation of 35 offspring born to 17 owl monkey pairs turned up no evidence of cheating; the male and female monkeys that cared for the young were the infants' true biological parents.  |
| Looking to have fun during March madness? Don't bet on it! Posted: 18 Mar 2014 12:47 PM PDT Planning to enter an office pool during this year's NCAA March Madness tournament? Be careful. You might not enjoy the games very much if you bet, says a researcher.  |
| Form of epilepsy in sea lions similar to that in humans, researchers find Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:37 AM PDT California sea lions exposed to a toxin in algae develop a form of epilepsy that is similar to one in humans, according to a new study. Every year, hundreds of sea lions wash up along the California coast, suffering seizures caused by exposure to domoic acid, a neurotoxin that can produce memory loss, tremors, convulsions and death. Domoic acid is produced by algae blooms that have been proliferating along the coast in recent years, accumulating in anchovies and other small fish that the sea lions feed on.  |
| When the flu bug bit the Big Apple, Twitter posts told the tale Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:36 AM PDT Sifting flu-related tweets can help track the illness at the local level, not just on a national scale, researchers have found. The finding is important because key decisions on how to prepare for and treat a flurry of flu patients are made mostly in the cities and towns where the disease is spreading. An early alert can lead local health officials to boost efforts to vaccinate healthy residents to help contain the virus.  |
| Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:32 AM PDT Materials for lightweight construction, protective clothing or sports equipment can be produced at high temperatures and high pressures. This process is faster, better and more eco-friendly than other techniques, according to new research.  |
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