stones in Biological News

Sands of Gobi Desert yield new species of nut-cracking dinosaur

... parrot-beaked dinosaur and its associated gizzard stones indicate that the animal fed on nuts and/or ... Period. The quantity and size of gizzard stones in birds correlates with dietary preference. Larger, more numerous gizzard stones point to a diet of harder food, such as nuts and ...

Development of new techniques to understand marble quality and durability

... The international commerce of ornamental stones has grown all over the world in the last years, revealing a decided solid support to the aesthetics of natural stones in buildings construction and urban ornamentation. Marble is, ...

Beaked, bird-like dinosaur tells story of finger evolution

... demonstrating that the dinosaur possessed a fully developed beak. Its lack of teeth, short arms without sharp claws and possession of gizzard stones suggest that it was a plant-eater, though it is related to carnivorous dinosaurs. The newly discovered dinosaur's hand is unusual and provides ...

Drinking diet soda may reduce the risk of forming kidney stones

... of total alkali and Diet 7-Up had the greatest amount of citrate as alkali. "This study by no means suggests that patients with recurrent kidney stones should trade in their water bottles for soda cans," said Anthony Y. Smith, MD, an AUA spokesman. "However, this study suggests instead that patients ...

Laughing hyenas, wailing levees, the sound of cheese and blaring bagpipes

... deep-sea fishes also have a variety of unusual structures not found in other types of fish, like exceptionally rigid ears and stalks projecting from stones in the ear. The functions of these newly-discovered parts are unknown. Deng will present detailed images of these structures and discuss her ...

Young dinosaurs roamed together, died together

... Within an exquisite pair of the skeletons, prepared for display in Sereno's lab and airlifted back to China in late February, preserve stomach stones and the animal's' last meals are preserved. Sereno, Tan and Zhao Xijin, professor in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led the 2001 expedition that ...

A crystal clear view of chalk formation

... oxalate to test whether other minerals also follow this crystallization pathway. Calcium phosphate is the main constituent of bones and teeth; kidney stones are predominately made up of calcium oxalate. The scientists subjected these materials to the same test as calcium carbonate. Drop by drop they added ...

Primate culture is just a stone's throw away from human evolution, study finds

... passed down from elder to younger since it was observed in some of the troops in 1979. Stone-handling, in this study, included rubbing and clacking stones together, pounding them onto hard surfaces, picking them up, and cuddling, carrying, pushing, rolling and throwing them. The scientists found, for ...

Networks of small habitat patches can preserve urban biodiversity

... network since many species have quite different habitat preferences. In addition, the effect of movement barriers and the existence of stepping stones should be included in the analysis, a fact which is particularly relevant in urban areas. ...

Details of evolutionary transition from fish to land animals revealed

... but also to the internal head skeleton. "Exquisite specimens of Tiktaalik roseae discovered several years ago continue to function as rosetta stones for understanding the emergence of quadripeds on land," said H. Richard Lane, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Division of ...

Ancient whale fall from California's Ao Nuevo Island one of youngest, most complete known

... crabs and worms that feed for up to decades on the oil-rich bones and tissues. Some scientists think these random, deep-ocean oases are stepping stones for organisms moving from one ocean floor environment to another - whether a hot vent, a cold seep or a whale carcass - in search of sustenance from ...

Ancient whale fall from California's Año Nuevo Island one of youngest, most complete known

... crabs and worms that feed for up to decades on the oil-rich bones and tissues. Some scientists think these random, deep-ocean oases are stepping stones for organisms moving from one ocean floor environment to another - whether a hot vent, a cold seep or a whale carcass - in search of sustenance from ...

New evidence of 'human' culture among primates

... signs that Capuchin monkeys in Brazil bang stones as a signalling device to ward off potential ... adults and juvenile monkeys were seen banging the stones together without paying him any attention at all ... study group also appeared to be learning to bang stones from the others. Dr Moura describes the act ...

Dinosaurs -- stones did not help with digestion

... researchers have assumed that they were helped by stones which they swallowed. In their muscular stomach ... is equipped with a layer of horn and contains stones which help to break up, crush and thereby also to ... investigations, the scientists therefore offered stones such as limestone, rose quartz and granite as ...

U of M study examines kidney stone prevention in astronauts

... to reduce their risk of developing kidney stones while in space. Astronauts lose calcium in ... 14 American crew members have developed kidney stones in the last 5 years, and as missions become ... of Urology and is available online now. Kidney stones are mineral deposits in the kidneys that can ...

Protein enables discovery of quantum effect in photosynthesis

... like the interactions that occur between the ripples formed by throwing stones into a pond. The collaboration is a good illustration of ... by light-induced energy excitations, like the ripples formed when stones are tossed into a pond. Electronic spectroscopy measurements made on ...

The chimpanzee stone age

... ancestor. Julio Mercader, Christophe Boesch and colleagues found the stones at the Noulo site in Cote d'Ivoire, the only known prehistoric chimpanzee settlement. The stones they excavated show the hallmarks of use as tools for smashing nuts when ...

Researchers find 6,000-year-old fossil evidence

... tools, they were able to determine that people used the same grinding stones to grind corn, chili peppers and a root crop called manioc, and they ... stews and other dishes. Pearsall found evidence of this diet on grinding stones from four ancient households at Real Alto, leading her to conclude that ...

How to grow a bigger brain

... Hatchery-reared steelhead trout show increased growth of some parts of the brain when small stones are scattered on the bottom of their tank, according to a new study by researchers at UC Davis. The brains of those young fish were closer to those ...

Basic research leads to a novel cancer therapy

... Planck Institute of Neurobiology. There is a receptor specific to VEGF, called Flk-1/VEGFR2, found only in endothelial cells which are the building stones of new blood vessels. When Flk-1/VEGFR2 is made inoperative, this blocks the development of tumours. If no blood vessels are created in tumour ...

NASA links nanobacteria to kidney stones and other diseases

... reduce the risk for kidney stone formation in astronauts and would also be of benefit to the nearly one million Americans who are treated for kidney stones each year. ...