The EDGE: ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Sunday, October 2, 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Sunday, October 2, 2011

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Vicious queen ants use mob tactics to reach the top (October 1, 2011) -- Leptothorax acervorum ants' reproductive strategy depends on habitat. Colonies are functionally monogynous (only one queen reproduces) on sun-exposed slopes in Alaska, Hokkaido and the mountains of central Spain. New research demonstrates that queen ants fight by antennal boxing to become the reproductive queen, and that worker ants reinforce queen behavior by feeding dominant females and expelling, or killing, their weaker sisters. ... > full story

Mechanism uncovered for the establishment of vertebrate left–right asymmetry (October 1, 2011) -- A research team has demonstrated a mechanism by which left-right asymmetry in the body is established and maintained. The study offers a new model of how families of genes interact to promote and direct body asymmetry. ... > full story

Koalas' bellows boast about size (October 1, 2011) -- Koalas are usually slothful until the mating season when they begin bellowing. Intrigued by the marsupial's strange sound, biologists decided to find out what messages the koalas' bellows may send and discovered that they are boasting about their size. The largest koalas produce deeper resonances than smaller males, and even the smallest males produce resonances that make them sound larger than a bison, which are 100 times their size. ... > full story

Humans and sharks share immune system feature (September 30, 2011) -- A central element of the immune system has remained constant through more than 400 million years of evolution, according to new research. T-cell receptors from mice continue to function even when pieces of shark, frog and trout receptors are substituted in. The function of the chimeric receptors depends on a few crucial amino acids, found also in humans, that help the T-cell receptor bind to MHC molecules presenting antigens. ... > full story

Female promiscuity can rescue populations from harmful effects of inbreeding, beetle study finds (September 30, 2011) -- Females in inbred populations become more promiscuous in order to screen out sperm from genetically incompatible males, according to new study by the University of East Anglia (UEA). ... > full story

Autistic mice act a lot like human patients: Geneticists develop promising mouse model for testing new autism therapies (September 30, 2011) -- Scientists have created a mouse model for autism that opens a window into the biological mechanisms that underlie the disease and offers a promising way to test new treatment approaches. The research found that autistic mice display remarkably similar symptoms and behavior as children and adults on the autism spectrum. ... > full story

Small fish recover faster than large fish (September 30, 2011) -- In football, linebackers are usually the largest players and have the endurance required to get through a game plus overtime. But when it comes to fish, larger doesn't always mean stronger. A new study showed smaller fish recover from exertion faster than larger fish. ... > full story

Changes in attention and visual perception are correlated with aging: Older people find it harder to see the wood for the trees (September 30, 2011) -- When looking at a picture of many trees, young people will tend to say: "This is a forest." However, the older we get, the more likely we are to notice a single tree before seeing the forest. Researchers have found that these age-related changes are correlated with a specific aspect of visual perception, known as Gestalt perception. ... > full story

Complicated gene networks involved in fly aggression (September 30, 2011) -- Put up your dukes. A study of aggression in fruit flies aims to provide a framework for how complex gene interactions affect behavior. And these clues in flies could translate to a better understanding of human genes and behavior. ... > full story

Unprecedented insight into fighting viral infections (September 30, 2011) -- Researchers have determined the structure of a protein that is the first line of defense in fighting viral infections including influenza, hepatitis C, West Nile, rabies and measles. ... > full story

New flavors emerge from Peruvian cacao collection trip (September 30, 2011) -- New cacao types with unique flavors that are distinctly Peruvian have been identified. These new flavors could one day be marketed like wine, by geographical provenance. ... > full story

'Superfast' muscles responsible for bat echolocation (September 30, 2011) -- As nocturnal animals, bats rely echolocation to navigate and hunt prey. By bouncing sound waves off objects, including the bugs that are their main diet, bats can produce an accurate representation of their environment in total darkness. Now, researchers at the University of Southern Denmark and the University of Pennsylvania have shown that this amazing ability is enabled by a physical trait never before seen in mammals: so-called "superfast" muscles. ... > full story