Feb 21 2010
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Stuffed Pig Toy From Antiques Roadshow (via BoingBoing)
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Feb 08 2010
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The Real Colors of a Dinosaur Revealed for the First Time (via Gizmodo)
The paleontologist team—who published the results of their study in last issue of Science—obtained 29 melanosome samples from all over the body of the Anchiornis, comparing them to the feathers of modern birds. The result was an accurate map of the animal’s colors, the first true-to-life picture of a dinosaur.
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Jan 24 2010
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Is the Country Ready for a Manhattan Project National Historical Park?
Unfortunately, the University of Chicago would not be included in the park (via National Parks Traveler)
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Jan 05 2010
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To a Mosquito, Matchmaking Means ‘Singing’ in Perfect Harmony (via ScienceDaily)
In finding a partner of the right species type, male and female mosquitoes depend on their ability to “sing” in perfect harmony. Those tones are produced and varied based on the frequency of their wing beats in flight.
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Licorice Root: Trip to the Candy Store Might Help Ward Off Rare, but Deadly Infections (via ScienceDaily)
…a compound from licorice root (glycyrrhizin from Glycyrrhiza glabra) might be an effective tool in battling life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections resulting from severe burns.
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New Evidence Of Culture In Wild Chimpanzees (via ScienceDaily)
A new study of chimpanzees living in the wild adds to evidence that our closest primate relatives have cultural differences, too. The study, reported online on October 22nd in Current Biology, shows that neighboring chimpanzee populations in Uganda use different tools to solve a novel problem: extracting honey trapped within a fallen log.
Kibale Forest chimpanzees use sticks to get at the honey, whereas Budongo Forest chimpanzees rely on leaf sponges — absorbent wedges that they make out of chewed leaves….
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Spectacular Mars Images Reveal Evidence of Ancient Lakes (via ScienceDaily)
Spectacular satellite images suggest that Mars was warm enough to sustain lakes three billion years ago, a period that was previously thought to be too cold and arid to sustain water on the surface, according to research published in the journal Geology.
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Jan 04 2010
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Cells Reveal Brain Chemistry Secrets (via BBC News)
Scientists have developed biological cells that can give insight into the chemistry of the brain. The cells, which change colour when exposed to specific chemicals, have been used to show how a class of schizophrenia drug works…
Schizophrenia is most commonly associated with symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations. But people with the illness also struggle to sustain attention or recall information.
A class of drugs called atypical neuroleptics has become commonly prescribed, in part because they seem to improve these problems. However, the way they altered brain chemistry was uncertain.
It was known that the drugs trigger the release of a large amount of a chemical called acetylcholine, which enables brain cells to communicate with each other. However, the drugs have also been shown to hobble a receptor on the surface of the receiving cell, which would effectively block the message.
The San Diego team designed biological cells - called CNiFERs - which changed colour when acetylcholine latched onto this particular class of receptors - an event scientists have not previously been able to detect in a living brain.
They implanted the cells into rat brains, then stimulated a deeper part of the brain in a way known to release acetylcholine nearby.
In response, CNiFERs changed colour - proving that they were working.
They then gave the rats one of two atypical neuroleptics. In both cases the drug severely depressed the response from the CNiFERs. This suggested that the drugs’ receptor-blocking action over-rides the increase they trigger in acetylcholine.
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