http://www.physorg.com/biology-news/biology-other/ en-us PhysOrg.com provides the latest news on biology, natural sciences, environment Five-year-olds can reason about the world from multiple perspectives simultaneously, according to a new theory by researchers in Japan and Australia. Using an established branch of mathematics called Category Theory, the researchers explain why specific reasoning skills develop in children at certain ages, particularly at age five. The new theory, published December 11 in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology, shows that these reasoning skills have similar profiles of development because they involve related sorts of processes. http://www.physorg.com/news179737665.html Biology - Other Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:10:28 EST news179737665 While navigating the microscopic world of immune system proteins and cells to save a patient suffering from a raging bacterial infection, young teenage players of the "Immune Attack" video game measurably improved their understanding of cell biology and molecular science, according to a study that will be presented at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 49th Annual Meeting, Dec. 5-9, 2009 in San Diego. http://www.physorg.com/news179503928.html Biology - Other Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:30:06 EST news179503928 (AP) -- An auction house says it is selling a rare first edition of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" found in a family's guest lavatory in southern England. http://www.physorg.com/news178121903.html Biology - Other Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:30:03 EST news178121903 A paper by University of Notre Dame biologist Giles Duffield and a team of researchers offers new insights into a gene that plays a key role in modulating the body's Circadian system and may also simultaneously modulate its metabolic system. The relationship between circadian and metabolic systems the researchers describe could have important implications for understanding the higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes among shift workers. http://www.physorg.com/news177268238.html Biology - Other Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:11:20 EST news177268238 (PhysOrg.com) -- Longer toes may give sprinters a leg up on other runners, according to a new study. http://www.physorg.com/news177258013.html Biology - Other Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:20:49 EST news177258013 (PhysOrg.com) -- A researcher at Iowa State University has discovered how a group of proteins from plant pathogenic bacteria interact with DNA in the plant cell, opening up the possibility for what the scientist calls a "cascade of advances." http://www.physorg.com/news177018700.html Biology - Other Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:30:03 EST news177018700 Laser labeling of fruit and vegetables is a new, patented technology in which a low-energy carbon dioxide laser beam is used to label, or "etch" information on produce, thereby eliminating the need for common sticker-type labels. The technology has been licensed for use on a variety of fruits and vegetables and is being used in New Zealand, Australia, and Pacific Rim countries. It has been been approved in Asia, South Africa, Central and South America, Canada, and the European Union. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the final stages of approving the use of laser etching in the United States. http://www.physorg.com/news176483573.html Biology - Other Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:00:02 EST news176483573 (PhysOrg.com) -- By building a tiny microscope small enough to be carried around on a rats' head, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, have found a way to study the complex activity of many brain cells simultaneously while animals are free to move around. http://www.physorg.com/news176455156.html Biology - Other Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:20:01 EST news176455156 What is it about elite sprinters that gives them the edge over non-sprinters in the 100m dash? Stephen Piazza from the Pennsylvania State University publishes his discovery, in The Journal of Experimental Biology, that the length of an elite sprinter's heel (the distance from the back of the heel to the ankle) is 25 percent shorter in elite athletes than non-sprinters, allowing them to generate more force when sprinting for gold. http://www.physorg.com/news176098750.html Biology - Other Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:21:36 EST news176098750 (AP) -- A South Korean stem cell scientist once hailed as a hero for bringing hope to people with incurable diseases and creating the world's first cloned dog was convicted Monday on criminal charges related to faked research, but avoided jail. http://www.physorg.com/news175747010.html Biology - Other Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:57:02 EST news175747010 (PhysOrg.com) -- Studies in China and Colorado by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and cooperators have revealed some interesting tactics on how to irrigate with limited water, based on a crop`s critical growth stages. http://www.physorg.com/news174287071.html Biology - Other Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:20:04 EST news174287071 (PhysOrg.com) -- Over the decades, scientists have learned a lot about the basic life processes shared by many animals - including people - by manipulating the DNA of the "lower" species, such as mice and worms. But to date, they have been unable to readily probe the genetic contribution to one higher cognitive capacity of particular interest - the ability to learn language from one another. Now scientists have worked out a method for altering the genes of the zebra finch, one of the handful of social animals that learn to "speak" in a way that is analogous to humans. http://www.physorg.com/news173979017.html Biology - Other Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:30:48 EST news173979017 (PhysOrg.com) -- Newcastle scientists Dr Catherine Douglas and Dr Peter Rowlinson have won the Ig Nobel Prize for Veterinary Medicine for their work looking at reducing stress levels in dairy cattle. In a paper published earlier this year, they described how giving a cow a name and treating her as an individual can increase a farmer`s annual milk yield by almost 500 pints. http://www.physorg.com/news173708122.html Biology - Other Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:15:42 EST news173708122 (PhysOrg.com) -- Entomologists at the University of California, Riverside working on fruit flies in the lab have discovered a novel class of compounds that could pave the way for developing inexpensive and safe mosquito repellents for combating West Nile virus and other deadly tropical diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news170512000.html Biology - Other Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:28:02 EST news170512000 (PhysOrg.com) -- Maintaining normal humidity around you could be the key to attractive and healthy fingernails, according to new research from The University of Manchester. http://www.physorg.com/news170354576.html Biology - Other Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:43:41 EST news170354576 Your nostrils may seem to be a happy pair, working together to pick up scents. However, a study published online on August 20th in Current Biology reveals that there can actually be a kind of rivalry between the two. http://www.physorg.com/news169993741.html Biology - Other Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:40:02 EST news169993741 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in the Multisensory Perception and Action Group at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, led by Jan Souman and Marc Ernst, have now presented the first empirical evidence that people really walk in circles when they do not have reliable cues to their walking direction. http://www.physorg.com/news169993020.html Biology - Other Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:17:29 EST news169993020 Like oil and water, two water-based liquids can mingle without mixing in a new University of Michigan technology developed for biological experiments. http://www.physorg.com/news169826269.html Biology - Other Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:58:28 EST news169826269 (PhysOrg.com) -- We see, hear and feel, and make sense of countless diverse, quickly changing stimuli in our environment seemingly without effort. However, doing what our brains do with ease is often an impossible task for computers. Researchers at the Leipzig Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging in London have now developed a mathematical model which could significantly improve the automatic recognition and processing of spoken language. In the future, this kind of algorithms which imitate brain mechanisms could help machines to perceive the world around them. http://www.physorg.com/news169467778.html Biology - Other Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:10:01 EST news169467778 Early relatives of spiders that lived around 300 million years ago are revealed in new three-dimensional models, in research published today in the journal Biology Letters. http://www.physorg.com/news168683057.html Biology - Other Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:24:56 EST news168683057 (PhysOrg.com) -- Citrus researchers at the University of California, Riverside have released a new mandarin (or tangerine) for commercial production. Named ‘DaisySL` for Daisy seedless, the new fruit is finely textured and juicy, with a rich, sweet and distinctive flavor when mature. Its rind is smooth and thin, and bears a deep orange color. http://www.physorg.com/news168615796.html Biology - Other Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:00:01 EST news168615796 (PhysOrg.com) -- It's about mosquitoes killing mosquitoes. http://www.physorg.com/news166376447.html Biology - Other Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:10:09 EST news166376447 Healthy young mice treated with erythropoietin show lasting improved performance in learning and other higher brain functions. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology tested the cognitive effects of the growth factor, finding that it improved the sequential learning and memory components of a complex long-term cognitive task. http://www.physorg.com/news166250894.html Biology - Other Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:50:15 EST news166250894 (PhysOrg.com) -- The seemingly effortless way dolphins and porpoises slice through the water and the unique capabilities of the supersonic Concorde airplane have more in common than one might think. http://www.physorg.com/news165592631.html Biology - Other Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:57:44 EST news165592631 Researchers at the University of Illinois report that a toxic molecule known to damage cells and cause disease may also play a pivotal role in bird migration. The molecule, superoxide, is proposed as a key player in the mysterious process that allows birds to "see" Earth's magnetic field. http://www.physorg.com/news164892904.html Biology - Other Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:35:51 EST news164892904 The governments of Norway and Japan are using taxpayer money to subsidize their unprofitable whaling industries, according to a first-time analysis of the economics of whaling. http://www.physorg.com/news164594941.html Biology - Other Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:49:11 EST news164594941 Throughout the animal kingdom brilliant colors or elaborate behavioral displays serve as "advertisements" for attracting mates. But, what do the ads promise, and is there truth in advertizing? Researchers at Yale theorize that when males must provide care for the survival of their offspring, the males' signals will consistently be honest - and they may devote more of their energy to caring for their offspring than to being attractive. http://www.physorg.com/news164539008.html Biology - Other Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:18:28 EST news164539008 Same-sex behavior is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom, common across species, from worms to frogs to birds, concludes a new review of existing research. http://www.physorg.com/news164376975.html Biology - Other Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:46:24 EST news164376975 Scientists here have determined that combining bed bugs' own chemical signals with a common insect control agent makes that treatment more effective at killing the bugs. http://www.physorg.com/news163165086.html Biology - Other Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:38:39 EST news163165086 A new article published in Elsevier's journal Bioscience Hypotheses suggests that our feelings in our lifetime can affect our children. http://www.physorg.com/news161518799.html Biology - Other Thu, 14 May 2009 11:20:33 EST news161518799