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Science in Seconds
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- February 28, 2011
- 08:00 AM
- 498 views
Blog: The Golden Shower
by Torah Kachur, Rheanna Sand and Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
Our sense of smell has a undeniable role in sexual arousal, from oxytocin to that sexy smell just called 'man'. In the case of the capuchin monkey, attaining this irresistable the smell of maleness is pretty simple: a pee bath.
Several different species of New World monkey have been observed giving themselves golden showers, mostly just by washing their hands and feet in their own urine. Various explanations for this behaviour have floated aroun........ Read more »
Phillips, K., Buzzell, C., Holder, N., & Sherwood, C. (2011) Why do capuchin monkeys urine wash? An experimental test of the sexual communication hypothesis using fMRI. American Journal of Primatology. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20931
- February 2, 2011
- 06:14 PM
- 446 views
Don't Smash the Mummies
by Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
If you find yourself rioting in Egypt in the near future, allow me to make a suggestion: please don't smash the mummies.
First, you run the risk of unleashing an evil curse that will haunt you for centuries. But more importantly, you're robbing the scientific community of an incredibly important resource. ... Read more »
Donoghue, H., Lee, O., Minnikin, D., Besra, G., Taylor, J., & Spigelman, M. (2009) Tuberculosis in Dr Granville's mummy: a molecular re-examination of the earliest known Egyptian mummy to be scientifically examined and given a medical diagnosis. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277(1678), 51-56. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1484
Hawass, Z., Gad, Y., Ismail, S., Khairat, R., Fathalla, D., Hasan, N., Ahmed, A., Elleithy, H., Ball, M., Gaballah, F.... (2010) Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 303(7), 638-647. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2010.121
- January 31, 2011
- 10:58 AM
- 528 views
I Smell a Rat.. and it Smells Your Lung Infection
by Eva Gusnowski in Science in Seconds
Tuberculosis is a bastard. Approximately 1/3 of the human population is infected with the mycobacteria that causes tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with new infections thought to occur once every second.
However, many of the people that are infected do not show disease symptoms, resulting in a latent (asymptomatic) infection.... Read more »
Poling A, Weetjens BJ, Cox C, Mgode G, Jubitana M, Kazwala R, Mfinanga GS, & Huis In 't Veld D. (2010) Using giant African pouched rats to detect tuberculosis in human sputum samples: 2009 findings. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 83(6), 1308-10. PMID: 21118940
- January 7, 2011
- 04:58 PM
- 645 views
Don't Cry or You'll Die Alone
by Rheanna Sand in Science in Seconds
Listen up, women! Science has a very important message. DON'T CRY OR YOU'LL DIE ALONE. Or, at least, that's what I gather from the headlines.
"Women's tears tank men's libido!" (LA Times), "A woman's tears are biggest turn-off for men!" (The Mirror), "Stop the waterworks, ladies. Crying chicks aren't sexy!" (MSNBC), and my personal favourite, "Lonely teardrops" (Science News)... all are trumpeting a strange study publ........ Read more »
Gelstein, S., Yeshurun, Y., Rozenkrantz, L., Shushan, S., Frumin, I., Roth, Y., & Sobel, N. (2011) Human Tears Contain a Chemosignal. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1198331
- December 6, 2010
- 03:19 AM
- 523 views
Blog: Qubits and Crypto
by Torah Kachur, Rheanna Sand and Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
Secrets and lies define the government and military, that and being led by bumbling fools. There is no doubt that some military information should be kept secret like technological advances, battle locations and strategies and George W. Bush's IQ. For secrets to be kept away from Wikileaks, cryptography is essential. The new type of cryptography that is being tested by the US military research division, DARPA, is quantum cryptography. Because if codes like DaVinci&........ Read more »
Leach J, Jack B, Romero J, Jha AK, Yao AM, Franke-Arnold S, Ireland DG, Boyd RW, Barnett SM, & Padgett MJ. (2010) Quantum correlations in optical angle-orbital angular momentum variables. Science (New York, N.Y.), 329(5992), 662-5. PMID: 20689014
- November 24, 2010
- 04:42 PM
- 552 views
Playing God with Fruity Flies
by Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
Picture a manly male. He's a little aggressive, the first to initiate courtship. And of course he's got a nice row of sexcombs to go with that black patch on his abdomen.
What female could resist a stud like that?
Courtship in flies involves a series of well-documented behaviors, mostly initiated by the male.... Read more »
Fernández, M., Chan, Y., Yew, J., Billeter, J., Dreisewerd, K., Levine, J., & Kravitz, E. (2010) Pheromonal and Behavioral Cues Trigger Male-to-Female Aggression in Drosophila. PLoS Biology, 8(11). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000541
- November 8, 2010
- 04:21 AM
- 531 views
The Secret Loves of Trees
by Torah Kachur in Science in Seconds
Falling in love is so romantic, so blissful, so cherished in our lives. Most people will fall in love more than once, first with the 'wait until we're married' sterilizer, then with the 'jealous defender' and finally you hit an age where want to settle down and find the 'practical answer'. And then, after imminent divorce you find yourself with some gold digger who just can't wait for you to die and leave him or her everything.
That darling of a fairy tale also applies to trees.
........ Read more »
Palmer TM, Doak DF, Stanton ML, Bronstein JL, Kiers ET, Young TP, Goheen JR, & Pringle RM. (2010) Synergy of multiple partners, including freeloaders, increases host fitness in a multispecies mutualism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(40), 17234-9. PMID: 20855614
- November 5, 2010
- 09:00 AM
- 672 views
Princess Leia and the Next Dimension
by Rheanna Sand in Science in Seconds
With my lightsaber and Jedi robes, this Halloween I defended the Rebel Alliance against the evil Galactic Empire with the help of Princess Leia, who faithfully acted out her hologram scene throughout the night: "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."
Well, if Leia were here now, she could actually send that holographic message. That is, if she were friends with Nasser Peyghambarian at the University of Arizona. He and his colleagues have developed a new technique for three-dim........ Read more »
P.-A. Blanche, A. Bablumian, R. Voorakaranam, C. Christenson, W. Lin, T. Gu, D. Flores, P. Wang, W.-Y. Hsieh, M. Kathaperumal.... (2010) Holographic three-dimensional telepresence using large-area photorefractive polymer. Nature, 80-83. info:/10.1038/nature09521
- November 4, 2010
- 10:15 AM
- 488 views
Man Fingers and Neanderthals
by Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
Finger length has always been a point of contention for me.
In the womb, finger development is affected by exposure to androgens like testosterone, high levels of which cause an increase in the length of the fourth finger (the ring finger) relative to the second finger (index). In other words, if your ring finger is longer than your index, you're basically a dude. ... Read more »
Nelson, E., Rolian, C., Cashmore, L., & Shultz, S. (2010) Digit ratios predict polygyny in early apes, Ardipithecus, Neanderthals and early modern humans but not in Australopithecus. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.1740
- October 27, 2010
- 09:00 AM
- 371 views
Blog: One Big, Huge Problem
by Torah Kachur, Rheanna Sand and Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
Obesity is one of the most misunderstood issues in health care. And, apologies in advance, one of the biggest. It's defined, along with "overweight" and "underweight" purely by BMI. And while most would agree that the height to weight ratio is probably not the best determinant of health, it doesn't stop most of us from using it as a measure of the general chubbiness of the population.
In Canada, a 2004 survey of adults found........ Read more »
Boutelle, K., Cafri, G., & Crow, S. (2010) Parent-Only Treatment for Childhood Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Obesity. DOI: 10.1038/oby.2010.238
- October 27, 2010
- 02:31 AM
- 368 views
One Big, Huge Problem
by Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
Obesity is one of the most misunderstood issues in health care. And, apologies in advance, one of the biggest.
It's defined, along with "overweight" and "underweight" purely by BMI. And while most would agree that the height to weight ratio is probably not the best determinant of health, it doesn't stop most of us from using it as a measure of the general chubbiness of the population.... Read more »
Boutelle, K., Cafri, G., & Crow, S. (2010) Parent-Only Treatment for Childhood Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Obesity. DOI: 10.1038/oby.2010.238
- October 13, 2010
- 09:00 AM
- 500 views
Blog: The Spider Sexual Battlefield
by Torah Kachur, Rheanna Sand and Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
Generally, sex is a risk free pastime of many people - we've got the pill to prevent pregnancy and condoms to prevent disease. And, we don't need to worry about decapitation at the end.
Not true for a male orb spider. If the woman's thirst for sex isn't satisfied, she satisfies her belly by eating him. Talk about sex wars.
Mmmmmm.... previous sex partners are yummy
&........ Read more »
Welke, K., & Schneider, J. (2010) Males of the orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi sacrifice themselves to unrelated females. Biology Letters, 6(5), 585-588. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0214
- October 7, 2010
- 09:00 AM
- 507 views
Video: Cow Farts
by Torah Kachur, Rheanna Sand and Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
For iPad/iPod users, click here.
Note: Adult Language.
Cows are pretty harmless animals - they chew their cud, wait to get slaughtered or tipped and generally are inoffensive creatures.
Until you smell their farts.
Cow farts are one of the most toxic things on the planet, the amount of methane they produce makes the oil industry look like angels. So why is that people are flocking to their hybrid cars on the way to the steakhouse? New research is s........ Read more »
Pelletier, N., & Tyedmers, P. (2010) Forecasting potential global environmental costs of livestock production 2000-2050. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1004659107
- October 4, 2010
- 04:39 AM
- 656 views
Spanking the Monkey
by Torah Kachur in Science in Seconds
Charming the Snake. Choking the Chicken. Freeing Willy. The amount of slang for masturbation with animal references should be seriously disconcerting. Except that a wide-range of animals including dogs, cats, horses, all apes, lions, bears... and the list goes on... have been found to Jack off. Included on the list are elephants, donkeys and walruses that manage to flog the bishop with their fins. Even birds have been shown to rub their cloaca against pretty much anything.
........ Read more »
Waterman, J. (2010) The Adaptive Function of Masturbation in a Promiscuous African Ground Squirrel. PLoS ONE, 5(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013060
- September 22, 2010
- 09:00 AM
- 522 views
The Wolverine Leaf
by Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
What once was a man, is now the Wolverine. And what once was a leaf, is now... a magnetic leaf?
Chemists at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces have taken the next step in merging nature with technology by devising a method to convert the skeleton of a rubber tree leaf into iron carbide. And just like Wolverine, the newly converted leaves are magnetic, able to withstand extremely high amounts of stress, and looking for blood.
Okay... Everythin........ Read more »
Schnepp Z, Yang W, Antonietti M, & Giordano C. (2010) Biotemplating of metal carbide microstructures: the magnetic leaf. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English), 49(37), 6564-6. PMID: 20715026
- July 12, 2010
- 03:39 PM
- 707 views
More Vodka!
by Torah Kachur in Science in Seconds
Molecular differences between vodka brands might confirm what vodka drinkers have long suspected.... Read more »
Hu, N., Wu, D., Cross, K., Burikov, S., Dolenko, T., Patsaeva, S., & Schaefer, D. (2010) Structurability: A Collective Measure of the Structural Differences in Vodkas. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 58(12), 7394-7401. DOI: 10.1021/jf100609c
- June 30, 2010
- 09:00 AM
- 629 views
Jumping Genes, Taking Names
by Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
Everyone wants to stand out in the crowd. And thanks to new findings independently reported by three labs in this week’s Cell, we all might be a lot more unique than we thought.
The identity-inducing culprit? Everyone’s favorite jumping genes: transposons. Yes, the genes that just can’t sit still—the same ones Barbara McClintock owes a large part of her fame to—are making a comeback in a major way. Because what self-respecting gene wants to wait for that lumberi........ Read more »
Iskow, R., McCabe, M., Mills, R., Torene, S., Pittard, W., Neuwald, A., Van Meir, E., Vertino, P., & Devine, S. (2010) Natural Mutagenesis of Human Genomes by Endogenous Retrotransposons. Cell, 141(7), 1253-1261. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2010.05.020
Lupski, J. (2010) Retrotransposition and Structural Variation in the Human Genome. Cell, 141(7), 1110-1112. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2010.06.014
Beck, C., Collier, P., Macfarlane, C., Malig, M., Kidd, J., Eichler, E., Badge, R., & Moran, J. (2010) LINE-1 Retrotransposition Activity in Human Genomes. Cell, 141(7), 1159-1170. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2010.05.021
- June 22, 2010
- 07:00 AM
- 622 views
Seeing Molecules
by Rheanna Sand in Science in Seconds
In this video, Science in Seconds looks at the world's first picture of a molecule, taken by IBM researchers in 2009 and published in Science Magazine.... Read more »
Gross, L., Mohn, F., Moll, N., Liljeroth, P., & Meyer, G. (2009) The Chemical Structure of a Molecule Resolved by Atomic Force Microscopy. Science, 325(5944), 1110-1114. DOI: 10.1126/science.1176210
- June 16, 2010
- 09:37 AM
- 443 views
Life in the Machine
by Brit Trogen in Science in Seconds
New advances in nanoelectronics could change the way we view organic matter.... Read more »
Lipton-Duffin, J., Miwa, J., Kondratenko, M., Cicoira, F., Sumpter, B., Meunier, V., Perepichka, D., & Rosei, F. (2010) Step-by-step growth of epitaxially aligned polythiophene by surface-confined reaction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1000726107
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