The Role Predator Selection On Polymorphic Aposematic Poison-frogsPhenotypic variation between populations of the poison frog Dendrobates tinctorius is extremely high throughout their distribution in northern South America. As the bright colors are assumed to act as a warning signal to potential predators, the evolution of this variation within a species raises some interesting questions. On pp. xxx-xxx B.P. Noonan & A.A.
Warning Displays May Function As Honest Signals Of ToxicityAre warning signals honest? We are familiar with the fact that dangerous prey animals advertise their toxins with bright colouration (bees, wasps, ladybirds etc). The (antioxidant) molecules used by prey to make themselves brightly pigmented may also be used to prevent them poisoning themselvse with their own toxins. We show that this joint use of antioxidants may cause the brightness of a prey's warning signals to act as honest indicator's of its toxicity.
Quantum Computers Could Excel In Modeling Chemical ReactionsQuantum computers would likely outperform conventional computers in simulating chemical reactions involving more than four atoms, according to scientists at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Haverford College. Such improved ability to model and predict complex chemical reactions could revolutionize drug design and materials science, among other fields.
Tumors Fuelled By Lactic AcidA team of researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) has found that lactic acid is an important energy source for tumor cells. In further experiments, they discovered a new way to destroy the most hard-to-kill, dangerous tumor cells by preventing them from delivering lactic acid.
On The Relationship Between Farmland Biodiversity And Land-use Intensity In EuropeEffective conservation strategies of farmland biodiversity depend on the type of relationship between biodiversity and land-use intensity. To date the shape of this relationship is unknown. On 130 grasslands and 141 arable fields in six European countries we linked plant species richness with nitrogen input as an indicator of land-use intensity. On both field types, plant species richness declined exponentially with increasing land-use intensity.
Outline And Surface Disruption In Animal CamouflageCamouflage is an important strategy in animals to prevent predation. This includes disruptive coloration, where high contrast markings at an animal's edge break up the body shape. Successful disruption may also involve markings found away from the body outline that create 'false edges' more salient than the true body form ('surface disruption'). However, this idea has not been previously tested.
Using The Ant To Model Human AgingAging - we are all doing it. It is relentless and terminal. Auguries and alchemists, mendicants and magicians, philosophers and science fiction writers, researchers and plastic surgeons have employed all their various arts in the pursuits of "turning back the clock." Yet, we stand in modern times with a span of a century to our name, at most.
The Strength Of A Female Mate Preference Increases With Predation RiskFemales often encounter predators as they look for mates. Not surprisingly, as predation risk increases, females usually search less and they less often prefer males that use conspicuous signals. To the contrary, when we experimentally increased predation risk perceived by mate-searching female fiddler crabs, they continued to search and they expressed a stronger preference for males that built conspicuous mud pillars by their burrows, in which crabs mate.
Scientists Discover New Species Of Ebola Virus Scientists report the discovery of a new species of Ebola virus, provisionally named Bundibugyo ebolavirus, November 21 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens. The virus, which was responsible for a hemorrhagic fever outbreak in western Uganda in 2007, has been characterized by a team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia the Uganda Virus Research Institute; the Uganda Ministry of Health; and Columbia University.
Relict Or Colonizer? Extinction And Range Expansion Of Penguins In The Southern New ZealandA startling discovery may change the way we view extinctions. While conducting research on New Zealand's iconic yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) a team of ancient DNA and palaeontology experts identified a previously unknown penguin species that became extinct before 1500 AD. The new species, the Waitaha Penguin, identified from prehistoric bones was closely related to the yellow-eyed penguin.
Range-wide MtDNA Phylogeography Yields Insights Into The Origins Of Asian ElephantsWe analyse endangered Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) across their range to explain the unusual coexistence of ancient maternal genetic lineages. Such coexistence could result from hybridization between ancestral species, or population isolation and subsequent contact naturally or through trade. Estimating ages of lineages, inferring areas of origin, and examining fossil records, we find that both lineages probably originated in the ancestral species Elephas hysudricus, 1.6-2.
Leeds Researchers Reshape The Future Of Drug DiscoveryScientists in Leeds have devised a new way to create the next generation of man made molecules in a breakthrough that could revolutionise drug development. Creating new drugs to combat disease and illness requires the completion of a complex 3D jigsaw. The shape of the drug must be right to allow it to bind to a specific disease-related protein and to work effectively, and this shape is determined by the core framework of the molecule.
Harnessing Nature's Diagnostic Tools For Disease PreventionThe earlier cancer is diagnosed, the better the chance of effecting a cure. A revolutionary new hybrid technology offers the possibility of detecting this and other diseases right at inception. Within a few years, when the technology comes to market, every doctor's surgery could have a small, inexpensive device which can test blood on the spot and warn of impending illness before any symptoms become apparent.
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