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Reanalysis of Four-Winged Dinosaur May Illuminate Evolution of Bird Flight. Model of Microraptor gui, a feathered dinosaur. Image: David Krentz RALEIGH, N.C. —How did the ancestors of birds evolve the ability to fly? That birds are descended from small, meat-eating dinosaurs is established. Exactly how the creatures conquered the air remains a mystery, however. Two theories have dominated the long-running debate over how bird flight evolved. Fossil of feathered dinosaur Microraptor gui. In 2003 a feathered dinosaur fossil came to light that was purported to elucidate the question of how flight evolved. The new work paints a different picture of how Microraptor’s enigmatic hindlimbs functioned. Microraptor gui.

“This study provides a plausible mechanism by which dinosaurs that otherwise have strongly Velociraptor-like bodies could take to the air and control themselves while in flight,” Hall remarked in a statement to the press. Not everyone is convinced by the team’s arguments. The First Ever Fossils of Vertebrates Who Died During Sex. This post is written in a font made of DNA | Not Exactly Rocket Science. DNA hiçbirşeydir, cehalet herşey. Sanem Altan, 16 Mayıs 2012'deki köşe yazısında, epigenetik konusuna değinmiş. Türk basınında bilim haberciliğinin standartları göz önünde bulundurulursa, zaten beklentilerimiz çok yüksek değildi. Fakat bu kadar da dehşete düşmeyi beklemiyorduk. Başlığın resmini verip, yazıyı mercek altına alalım. Makaleyi dikkatimize sunan @turlerinkokeni'ne tesekkurler. İsteyenler için, orjinali şu adreste: Ben meraklıyımdır…Hatta çok meraklıyımdır… (Anlıyoruz…)İnsanlara, öykülerine, farklı hayatlara, hayatın ve ölümün anlamına, daha çok nasıl mutlu oluruza, bize sunulana ne katabileceğimize, tüm sorulara, tüm cevaplara, benden önce yaşayanlara, benden sonra olacaklara.

Sık sık kafamda sorular dolaşır, ben de onların peşinden dünyayı dolaşırım. Çekici değil mi? İnternette dolaşırken psikoterapist Mehmet Zararsızoğlu’nun sitesinde bununla ilgili bir makaleye rastladım. Bunu okuyunca Mehmet Zararsızoğlu’nun sitesinde gezinmeye başladım. Sürme Mucizesi. Yeni Şafak gazetesinde 24 Mayıs 2012'de yayınlanan bir bilim/sağlık haberini inceleyelim: Evet, haber henüz ikinci cümlede bomba etkisi yaratacak şekilde konuya giriyor: ''...doktor Öztekin, tedavi sürecine başlamadan önce geniş çaplı bir araştırma yapmış.

Peygamber Efendimiz Hz. Muhammed'in hadis- şeriflerinden yola çıkan doktor, "Hadislerde ismid sürmesinden, mantar suyundan ve baldan söz ediliyor. Efendimiz 'Yatacağınız zaman ismid denilen sürmeyi gözünüze sürün. Kısaca özetlemek gerekirse, göz doktoru sayın Öztekin, çeşitli göz hastalıklarında ilaç kullanımından daha etkili olduğunu iddia ettiği geleneksel ismid sürmesinin faydalarını anlatıyor, bu bilimsel kanısına da bir hadisten yola çıkarak vardığını belirtiyor. İsmid, veya diğer isimleriyle antimon veya kohl, Arap ülkelerinde kullanımı yaygın olan geleneksel bir sürme. ''Sürmenin faydaları saymakla bitmiyor. Kısa bir araştırmadan sonra, bu konuda Dr. Kohl (surma): a toxic traditional eye cosmetic study in Saudi Arabia. Earliest musical instruments in Europe 40,000 old. Www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nature11041.pdf.

Sharing Colors to Survive. At first glance, the vibrantly colored and patterned butterflies living in Central and South America wouldn’t seem to have much in common with that notorious beast of burden – the mule. In a paper published last week in Nature, though, researchers found that different species of Heliconius butterflies use interbreeding to acquire colorful wing patterns that repel predators. This may be a more rapid way of evolving desired wing colors and patterns than starting from scratch. Heliconius butterflies use interbreeding to share beneficial colors and patterns. Crossing different animal species – known in the scientific world as hybridization – is commonly known as an evolutionary dead end. The sterile mule, a cross of a horse and a donkey, is perhaps the poster child for the undesired outcomes from these types of crosses.

And that’s really good for butterfly survival. You've got to SEA this - Walking frog fish. 37,000 years old: Earliest form of wall art discovered. Anthropologists working in southern France have determined that a 1.5 metric ton block of engraved limestone constitutes the earliest evidence of wall art. Their research, reported in the most recent edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows the piece to be approximately 37,000 years old and offers rich evidence of the role art played in the daily lives of Early Aurignacian humans.

The research team, comprised of more than a dozen scientists from American and European universities and research institutions, has been excavating at the site of the discovery—Abri Castanet—for the past 15 years. Abri Castanet and its sister site Abri Blanchard have long been recognized as being among the oldest sites in Eurasia bearing artifacts of human symbolism. Hundreds of personal ornaments have been discovered, including pierced animal teeth, pierced shells, ivory and soapstone beads, engravings, and paintings on limestone slabs. I want to just cuddle with it. Rs9939609. SNPedia. Genome Features of “Dark-Fly”, a Drosophila Line Reared Long-Term in a Dark Environment. Organisms are remarkably adapted to diverse environments by specialized metabolisms, morphology, or behaviors. To address the molecular mechanisms underlying environmental adaptation, we have utilized a Drosophila melanogaster line, termed “Dark-fly”, which has been maintained in constant dark conditions for 57 years (1400 generations).

We found that Dark-fly exhibited higher fecundity in dark than in light conditions, indicating that Dark-fly possesses some traits advantageous in darkness. Using next-generation sequencing technology, we determined the whole genome sequence of Dark-fly and identified approximately 220,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 4,700 insertions or deletions (InDels) in the Dark-fly genome compared to the genome of the Oregon-R-S strain, a control strain. 1.8% of SNPs were classified as non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs: i.e., they alter the amino acid sequence of gene products).

Figures Copyright: © 2012 Izutsu et al. Introduction Figure 1. Results Table 1. Stickleback genomes reveal path of evolution. Tim Howes, Stanford University Freshwater sticklebacks such as this one have evolved from marine ancestors on many different occasions. Scientists have pinpointed mutations that may help a tiny armoured fish to evolve quickly between saltwater and freshwater forms. Since the last ice age ended about 10,000 years ago, ocean-dwelling threespine sticklebacks have repeatedly colonized streams and lakes worldwide.

In as few as ten generations — an evolutionary blink of an eye — marine sticklebacks can swap their armoured plates and defensive spines for a lighter, smoother freshwater form. David Kingsley, an evolutionary biologist at Stanford University in California, and his colleagues have now identified the DNA differences that distinguish ocean and freshwater sticklebacks around the world. Even though the switch has occurred on multiple separate occasions, it seems to involve many of the same genetic changes each time. Switching controls. Gene behind van Gogh’s sunflowers pinpointed. John Burke/UGA;Christie's Images/CORBIS Researchers have identified the gene responsible for the ‘double-flowered’ (B) variations (black arrows in main picture) captured in Vincent van Gogh’s 1888 painting Sunflowers. A normal sunflower (A) and another mutation with ‘tubular’ florets (C) are shown for comparison.

A team of plant biologists has identified the gene responsible for the ‘double-flower’ mutation immortalized by Vincent van Gogh in his iconic Sunflowers series. Van Gogh’s 1888 series includes one painting, now at the National Gallery in London, in which many of the flowers depicted lack the broad dark centre characteristic of sunflowers and instead comprise mainly golden petals. This was not simply artistic licence on van Gogh’s part but a faithful reproduction of a mutant variety of sunflower. A wild sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is not so much a single flower as a composite of tiny florets. Previous studies had shown that HaCYC2c is highly expressed in ray flowers. First successful human results achieved: Implantable wireless microchip drug delivery device. Public release date: 16-Feb-2012 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Kathryn Morriskathryn@theyatesnetwork.com 914-204-6412The Yates Network Waltham, Mass. – February 16, 2012 – MicroCHIPS, Inc., a developer of implantable drug delivery devices and biosensors, announces today the results of the first successful human clinical trial with an implantable, wirelessly controlled and programmable microchip-based drug delivery device.

The MicroCHIPS study was published in today's online edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine. "These data validate the microchip approach to multi-year drug delivery without the need for frequent injections, which can improve the management of many chronic diseases like osteoporosis where adherence to therapy is a significant problem," said study lead author Robert Farra, MicroCHIPS President and Chief Operating Officer.

The device and drug combination were found to be biocompatible with no adverse immune reaction. . [ Print | E-mail. Meet MinION, the USB-powered DNA sequencer. Since the first genome was sequenced in the mid-70s, it's been getting easier and quicker to analyse DNA. Now, you can do it from the sofa. A company named Oxford Nanopore has built a disposable DNA sequencer that's the size of a thumb drive, and powered by a USB port. It's capable of sequencing 150 million base pairs in six hours, and uses the computer's own CPU to perform the analysis. It's called the MinION, and costs just $900 (£570). To do the sequencing, it employs "nanopores" -- organic molecules that have a very tiny hole in the centre -- about a single nanometre across. Once the molecule enters the pore, it blocks the flow in a characteristic way that can be detected and interpreted -- allowing the molecule to be identified.

The MinION has been used to successfully read the genome of a lambda bacteriophage, which has 48,500-ish base pairs, twice during one pass. Want one? Making sequencing simpler with nanopores. The Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) conference, one of the main go-to destinations for those who get excited by DNA sequencing technology, is currently going down in Florida. Sadly, no-one from GNZ could make it this year, but we are keeping up with the various announcements about new genomics tech as best we can.

One that caught our attention was the announcement of a brand new sequencing machine from a company that has previously kept very quiet about its technology. Oxford Nanopore, who we have written about before, today announced two new sequencing machines to come out this year. The announcement has caused quite a buzz amoungst, well, everyone. Nature, New Scientist, GenomeWeb, BioIT World and Forbes all have reported on it, and bloggers Nick Loman and Keith Robison have also had a chance to talk to some of the Oxford Nanopore peeps about their new toys. Less immediately striking, but still just as interesting, is the GridION sequencing machine. Cyanophora paradoxa Genome Elucidates Origin of Photosynthesis in Algae and Plants.

Lithium Isotope History of Cenozoic Seawater: Change... [Science. 2012. Saturn's Titan: Clues to the Origins of Life in the Universe? "When we designed the original tour for the Cassini spacecraft, we really did not know what we would find, especially at Enceladus and Titan," said Dennis Matson, the JPL Cassini project scientist. Unlike Earth, Titan's lakes, rivers and rain are composed of methane and ethane, and temperatures reach a chilly minus 180 degrees Celsius (minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit). Although Titan's dense atmosphere limits viewing the surface, Cassini's high-resolution radar coverage and imaging by the infrared spectrometer have given scientists a better look. Titan has hundreds of times more liquid hydrocarbons than all the known oil and natural gas reserves on Earth, according to new data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The hydrocarbons rain from the sky, collecting in vast deposits that form lakes and dunes. At an eye popping minus 179 degrees Celsius (minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit), Titan has a surface of liquid hydrocarbons in the form of methane and ethane with tholins believed to make up its dunes.

RNA Editing Underlies Temperature Adaptation in K+ Channels from Polar Octopuses. Uncovering Civilization's Roots. How the First Plant Came to Be. Earth is the planet of the plants—and it all can be traced back to one green cell. The world's lush profusion of photosynthesizers—from towering redwoods to ubiquitous diatoms—owe their existence to a tiny alga eons ago that swallowed a cyanobacteria and turned it into an internal solar power plant. By studying the genetics of a glaucophyte—one of a group of just 13 unique microscopic freshwater blue-green algae, sometimes called "living fossils"—an international consortium of scientists led by molecular bioscientist Dana Price of Rutgers University, has elucidated the evolutionary history of plants. The glaucophyte Cyanophora paradoxa still retains a less domesticated version of this original cyanobacteria than most other plants.

According to the analysis of C. paradoxa's genome of roughly 70 million base pairs, this capture must have occurred only once because most modern plants share the genes that make the merger of photosynthesizer and larger host cell possible. Meet plants' and algae's common ancestor: Primitive organisms not always so simple, researcher says. A University of Arkansas biologist has created a sketch of what the first common ancestor of plants and algae may have looked like. He explains that primitive organisms are not always simple. The image appears as part of a "Perspective" article in the Feb. 17 issue of Science. Fred Spiegel, professor of biological sciences in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, suggests what microscopic parts would have been present in this common ancestor based on findings by Dana Price of Rutgers University and his colleagues, who examined the genome of a freshwater microscopic algae and determined that it showed that algae and plants are derived from one common ancestor.

This ancestor formed from a merger between some protozoan-like host and cyanobacterium, a kind of bacteria that use photosynthesis to make energy, that "moved in" and became the chloroplast of this first alga. Price and his colleagues' studied the genome of an obscure alga called Cyanophora. Nanoreisen - Abenteuer hinterm Komma. Did life evolve in a ‘warm little pond’? | Thoughtomics. Geothermal pond near the Mutnovsky volcano, Kamtchatka. Copyright Anna S. Karyagina “But if (and oh what a big if) we could conceive in some warm little pond with all sorts of ammonia and phosphoric salts, light, heat, electricity etcetera present, that a protein compound was chemically formed, ready to undergo still more complex changes [..] ” ~Charles Darwin, in a letter to Joseph Hooker (1871) All life on earth is related.

Trace back the separate lines of descent of all organisms that ever lived, and they will converge to a single point of origin – the beginning of life. Charles Darwin was reluctant to publish his views on life’s origin. A new and controversial study suggests Darwin’s stab in the dark hit close to truth. The researchers, led by Armen Mulkidjanian, presume that the chemistry of modern cells mirror the original environment in which life first evolved. The occurrence of some key ions in oceans and cells. This is not a new approach. 'New frontier' of Antarctic lake exploration. Climate change threatens tropical birds. Prions point to a new style of evolution - life - 15 February 2012. Amazing Animal Kingdom oddities. Evolution is written all over your face. Modular regulatory principles of large non-coding RNAs : Nature. World's Tiniest Chameleon Discovered ǀ Tiniest Lizards on Earth, Tiniest Chameleons l World's Smallest Vertebrates.

Carbon monoxide in the cosmos mapped for the first time. 50 new alien planets discovered, including one that might support life. Plants use circadian rhythms to prepare for battle with insects. Plants use circadian rhythms to prepare for battle with insects. Scientists prove plausibility of new pathway to life's chemical building blocks. Not the black sheep of domestic animals. Buzul altında büyük keşif - Yerbilim. Do Humans Matter? Amasia: As next supercontinent forms, Arctic Ocean, Caribbean will vanish first. America and Eurasia 'to meet at north pole' Amasia: As next supercontinent forms, Arctic Ocean, Caribbean will vanish first. Nature Publishing Group : science journals, jobs, and information.

Look North for the Next Supercontinent Amasia. Study shows how DNA finds its match. How DNA finds its match. Elsevier Publishing Boycott Gathers Steam Among Academics - Wired Campus. Oldest Animal Discovered—Earliest Ancestor of Us All? Entire genome of extinct human decoded from fossil. Entire genome of extinct human decoded from fossil. 20 Million Years Later, Russians Work To Drill Into Lake. A bug's (sex) life: Diving beetles offer unexpected clues about sexual selection. Study of diving beetles suggest sperm evolution may be driven by changes in female reproductive organs.

Whoops! Copulation duration is not a good proxy of sperm transfer: evidence from a marine sea slug | Nature Afield: notes on biophilia. Coelacanths are not living fossils. Like the rest of us, they evolve | Thoughtomics. Mouse to elephant? Just wait 24 million generations. Study measures mammalian growth spurt. First plants caused ice ages: research. Ancient DNA holds clues to climate change adaptation. Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes. Smallest tools could give biggest results in bone repair.

Lake Vostok is (Almost) Breached After 20 Million Years | Life, Unbounded. Russian Scientists Poised to be First to Reach Ice-Buried Antarctic Lake. New species of ancient crocodile discovered. Tulip-Shaped Creature Found in Canadian Rockies. Scientists discover unusual 'tulip' creature.