Feedback in Biological News

AGU journal highlights -- March 25, 2009

... pressure links in North Atlantic feedback effects between the ocean and atmosphere are ... variations. Mochizuki et al. identify oceanic feedback signals poleward of the tropics, taking a new ... Their results reveal that oceanic thermal feedback beyond the tropics is an important process ...

Intervention method reduces binge drinking

... (SMART) found that motivational interviewing with feedback (MIF) significantly reduced drinking among a ... The MIF intervention includes a personalized feedback profile and a 45-minute counseling session. The feedback profile, produced by e-CHUG (www.e-chug.com), ...

Practice as well as sleep may help birds learn new songs

... both about the tutor song and auditory feedback the birds hear while singing. These nighttime ... then extended that work to the role of auditory feedback in driving learning. They wanted to see whether ... sing new calls. To test the role of auditory feedback on the bird's learning, the team used white noise ...

Rice University study finds possible clues to epilepsy, autism

... and cell biology, discovered that negative feedback mediated by PI3K regulates the excitability of ... breakthrough was identifying the negative feedback loop that acts to maintain neuronal excitability ... in tumor formation." Discovering the negative feedback loop that keeps neurons stable was key, said ...

AGU journal highlights: Nov. 11, 2008

... 9. Observations imply water vapor-climate feedback Warming temperatures evaporate water, ... is a potent greenhouse gas. This water vapor feedback has the capacity to about double the direct ... of atmospheric water vapor and the water vapor feedback during variations of the Earth's climate between ...

UNC study: Text messaging may help children fight off obesity

... via cell phone text messaging and receive feedback messages in return. "Cell phone text messaging ... sent, the sender received an immediate, automated feedback message based on what the sender reported. The researchers generated hundreds of feedback messages for the study. One example was, "Wow, ...

Study reveals how viruses collectively decide the fate of a bacterial cell

... circuit involved both negative and positive feedback loops, which responded differently to changes in ... of viral genomes inside a cell. The positive feedback loop was linked to the lysogenic pathway and the negative feedback loop was linked to the lytic pathway. With a ...

Study: Future snowmelt in West twice as early as expected; threatens ecosystems and water reserves

... discovered that a critical surface temperature feedback is twice as strong as what had been projected by ... the paper, said the melting snow contributes to a feedback loop that accelerates warming. "Because snow ... is absorbed by the ground, warming the surface. A feedback loop is created because the warmer ground then ...

Emissions irrelevant to future climate change?

... theories suggest that climate change will have a feedback effect on the rate that atmospheric CO2 ... a climate model known as IAP RAS CM to study how feedback between our climate and the carbon cycle changes ... Eliseev found that although climatecarbon cycle feedback grows initially, it then peaks and eventually ...

Two new studies on circadian rhythms

... activities through an elaborate network of interactive proteins and feedback loops. All clocks rely on transfer of phosphate groups, called ... looked at phosphorylation of the frequency (FRQ) clock protein, a central feedback cog in the fungal clock system. They build on the research of team ...

Scientists shed light on inner workings of human embryonic stem cells

... with other diseases and injuries. The study describes nature's negative feedback loop in cell biology. "We have found an element in the cell that ... factor known as OCT4, they found. "It's a beautiful double negative feedback loop," Kosik said. "They control each other. That is the essence of this ...

Missing piece of plant clock found

... as a genetic model. Scientists previously had identified two primary feedback loops in the plant daily clock one that detects the onset of light in the ... author of the study. "In the clock, on top of the redundancies, you have feedback loops that are interconnected. So it's difficult to perturb the system." ...

Evolution's new wrinkle

... governor was one of the only examples of what is now referred to as feedback control. Examples abound, however, in modern technology, including cruise ... actors," Smith said. "Wallace never really came to grips with the positive feedback part of the cycle, however, and it is instructive that through optimal ...

Coming soon: Self-guided, computer-based depression treatment

... process called Problem-Solving Treatment. The system provides feedback based upon the information provided when answering a series of questions. ... the rest of the world, length of stay and team composition. Cartreine said feedback from that early test run has been positive, and a clinical evaluation of ...

Loneliness undermines health as well as mental well-being

... ago. Cacioppo and Patrick also demonstrate how loneliness creates a feedback loop that reinforces social anxiety, fear and other negative feelings. By ... learning to reframe their response, lonely individuals can reverse the feedback loop, overcome fear and find ways to reconnect. "We try to offer some ...

'Cross fire' from the brain makes patients tremble

... in demonstrating that it is not only nerve signals from the muscles as feedback that drive the diseased 5-Hz rhythm in the brain. Headed by Prof. Volker ... brain also drive the tremor", explained Peter Tass. "The difference: the feedback from the limbs is a fast and easy stimulus transmission. The signals from ...

Forest canopies help determine natural fertilization rates

... association provides a unique model system in which to study nitrogen feedback mechanisms. The cyanobacteria reside on the leaves, thus the nitrogen ... fixation in the feather mosses. This direct expression of a nutrient feedback mechanism could not be detected in other nitrogen fixing plant species, ...

Engineer to spearhead research into cell metabolism and medical injuries

... apart -especially for an engineer, but theyre united by a common factor feedback control theory which of course is a science in its own right, said Dr ... UK each year. Dr Bates will be looking at these problems in terms of feedback control in order to find ways to optimally adjust the ventilators to ...

AGU journal highlights -- Feb. 26, 2008

... Natural ocean thermostat may protect some coral reefs Several negative feedback mechanisms have been proposed to explain the stability of sea surface ... to larger, more regional scales. During the small-scale phase, a positive feedback helps precipitation-supplied moisture to initiate more moist convection. ...

MIT applies engineering approach to studying biological pathways

... they came up with two differential equations that describe the three major feedback loops in the pathway: one that takes action almost immediately and is ... steady stream of glycerol that normally exits the cell. In the long-term feedback loop, Hog1 goes to the nucleus and activates a pathway that induces ...

New ETH Zurich article published in scientific journal 'Nature'

... of additional greenhouse gases, mainly CO 2 . Consequently the positive feedback with the atmosphere associated with the latter leads to an even greater ... our results show that anthropo-genic warming causes additional critical feedback on the CO 2 balance. ...

Amazon forest shows unexpected resiliency during drought

... a drought starts. That slowdown in plant growth would create a positive feedback loop -- as the forest shuts down more and more, it removes less and less ... dioxide, thus drawing down the levels of atmospheric CO2. That negative feedback loop would slow warming from greenhouse gases. Evolutionarily, the ...

Louisiana Tech researchers investigate tracking, sensors to assist Air Force

... he said. We usually report to them once every six weeks. Its very good feedback we get back from them. Selmics group study deals with research of ... be implemented at the sensor network base station which will provide a feedback to the network based on a real-time simulation. As part of this effort ...

Nitrogen research shows how some plants invade, take over others

... use this nitrogen to outcompete other species. Knops, a plant and ecosystems ecologist, said the higher nitrogen residence time creates a positive feedback that redistributes nitrogen from the soil into the plant's nitrogen cycling. And this strengthened the species to support its invasion. "What this ...

Pitt team finds molecule that regulates heart size by using zebrafish screening model

... on a small molecule called BCI, which hyperactivated FGF signaling. They then figured out how: BCI blocked the activity of an enzyme called Dusp6, a feedback regulator that would otherwise have tamped down the enhanced FGF signal. Knowing that, BCI could then be used as a tool to find out what effect ...

University of Leicester geologists demonstrate extent of ancient ice age

... decay accounting for the preservation of these fossils." Page added that the burial of oil shales in deglacial anoxia "may have been a negative feedback mechanism that prevented runaway warming, meaning that in the Early Palaeozoic Icehouse at least, processes eventually leading to oil formation may ...

Nutricia launches Nutra Neocate, weaning product designed for cows’ milk protein allergy

... allergies." commented Martin Pettifor, Category Director for Allergy Relief at Nutricia. "Neocate Nutra has been developed as a direct result of feedback from parents.5 Parents of children with food allergies can now wean their child with Neocate Nutra without fear of exposure to hidden allergens that ...

Scientists examine perceptions of risk and the spread of disease

... and assistant professor at Arizona State University. "When people perceive risks, they alter their behavior, which in turn, alters the risk. It's a feedback loop between people, the pathogen, and the risk." Most current attempts to model the risks of emerging infectious diseases look at the disease ...

Scientists examine human behavior and the threat of disease

... and assistant professor at Arizona State University. "When people perceive risks, they alter their behavior, which in turn, alters the risk. It's a feedback loop between people, the pathogen, and the risk." Most current attempts to model the risks of emerging infectious diseases look at the disease ...

Researcher garners major award from NIH for further exploration into the mechanisms of obesity

... Recently, Bartness, with C. Kay Song of Georgia State, and Gary J. Schwartz of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, found that fat cells give feedback to the brain in order to regulate fat burning, much the same way as a thermostat sends information to the furnace or air conditioner to regulate ...

Protective footwear for diabetics at a high-street price

... problems arising from ulcers and amputations. "The clinical trials confirmed the footwear's prophylactic efficacy, and we received excellent feedback from the test subjects," says project manager Jana Vaskova. "The prototypes also proved equally suitable for non-diabetics with other orthopaedic ...

U of Minnesota research reveals critical role of evolutionary processes in species coexistence

... these communities. What's truly exciting is how we are beginning to accumulate evidence that community structure and interactions through time can feedback to promote or constrain diversification of species," said Ken Kozak, also a professor at the University of Minnesota. "The blurring of boundaries ...

Neuroscientists discover long-term potentiation in the olfactory bulb

... between higher and lower brain areas during olfactory learning," continued Strowbridge. "We are just beginning to explore the function of the feedback circuits that inform low-level parts of the brain, like the olfactory bulb, about predictions made by higher-order brain regions. The 2-photon ...

Star Trek-like technology offers noninvasive monitor for patients and athletes

... that could benefit the most from the technology. "Eventually, we expect first-responders would have these devices, which would provide feedback on the severity of a person's injury," Soller said. "Data can be communicated directly to the hospital. Early access to this type of information may ...

Brain music

... in the project. The Brain Music component of the ROP is derived from patented technology developed at Moscow University to use brain waves as a feedback mechanism to correct physiological conditions. In British philosopher John Locke's terms, Brain Music brings new meaning to his famous phrase: "A ...

Meet-the-expert sessions on 20 key topics to enhance scientific programme of IOFWCO-ECCEO10

... lead exchanges on 20 key topics. Small groups, on a first come first served basis, will be encouraged to not only ask questions but to also provide feedback about their own experiences. The following topics and speakers are scheduled: Assessing bone strength beyond DXA, C. Gler (Germany) Optimal dose ...

LabRoots Launches Social Networking Site for Scientists & Engineers

... specifically catered for them.  Thousands of scientists signed up and have come back to the website on a regular basis.  We received great feedback and we received constructive criticisms, so we made subtle changes to appeal to the users.   “We are very excited about the launch ...

Keeping golf courses green when fresh water is limited

... water content" and "saturation extract soil salinity". The scientists concluded that proper irrigation management, based on a multi-tiered feedback system (soilplantatmospheric monitoring), should be able to maintain favorable salt balances and plant response as long as irrigation volumes are not ...

Environmental cleaning intervention reduces transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms in ICUs

... immersion for applying disinfectant to cleaning cloths; an educational campaign involving the environmental services staff at the hospital; and feedback method using removal of intentionally-applied marks visible only under UV light. "We know that environmental contamination with highly ...

ORNL, Southern Cal set sights on preventing blindness

... way to provide oxygen to the retina while avoiding the formation of potentially harmful chlorine," Greenbaum said. By using three electrodes and a feedback loop made possible by implanting a "ground" electrode behind the patient's ear, the research team is able to maintain constant pH in the area being ...