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Tag: "seasonal" at biology news

A buffet for early human relatives

...heir teeth. "Hominids were taking advantage of seasonal differences in food items in a savanna environment," Cerling says. "We cannot tell if they were carnivores or scavengers, but it is possible their diet included animals. We are picking up that signal." The new study was led by Matt Sponheimer, a ...

First-time analysis reveals millions of Europeans left at risk from influenza

...d (35%) of all high risk populations are receiving seasonal influenza vaccine in Europe, resulting in avoidabl...st 50% of the elderly population to receive annual seasonal vaccines by 2006, and 75% by 2010. In October 2006, the WHO followed this with a call to all countri...

Changing length of days reverses how estrogen affects aggressiveness in mice

...ogen have opposite behavioral effects depending on seasonal light conditions? The researchers generated another hypothesis by using microarrays, small chips that examine thousands of genes at a time to see which ones are active. They compared genes from mice living in winter-like short days with those livi...

Pilot study successful in taming allergic reactions to food

...d the study on a commonly used method for treating seasonal allergy sufferers to alleviate symptoms. In this a...h food allergy. Instead of receiving shots, as seasonal allergy sufferers do, the subjects were given small doses of powdered egg orally, mixed in food. “We...

H9N2 avian flu vaccine paired with adjuvant provokes strong human immune response at low doses

...d 28 days apart. An avian flu vaccine, like the seasonal flu vaccine, should stimulate antibodies, which he...body response," says Dr. Atmar. By comparison, the seasonal flu vaccine contains 15 micrograms each of three different circulating flu strains--much higher than...

Molecular anatomy of influenza virus detailed

...sdair Steven, Ph.D., working with a version of the seasonal H3N2 strain of influenza A virus, has been able to distinguish five different kinds of influenza virus particles in the same isolate (sample) and map the distribution of molecules in each of them. This breakthrough has the potential to identify parti...

Melatonin improves mood in winter depression

...e the doldrums of winter depression, also known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. The study is publishing online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The study was led by Alfred Lewy, M.D., Ph.D., an internationally recognized pioneer in the study of circadian (24-hour) rhyt...

Mouse study reveals new clues about virulence of 1918 influenza virus

...iruses, such as the H5N1 strain." Unlike typical seasonal flu, which strikes hardest at the very young, the ...nasally with one of four types of flu virus: human seasonal flu virus from a strain that circulated in Texas in 1991; lab-made viruses containing either two or ...

Scientists discover that ancient genes dictate flowering, fall bud set

...ear delay in flowering in trees, but also controls seasonal growth cessation and bud set," said Nilsson, the corresponding author of the study. The Swedish scientists over expressed FT in poplar, and observed normal flowers on six month old trees -- in a tree species that ordinarily takes 8 to 20 years to fl...

The higher the hierarchy, the greater the aggression

...ailable to inherit the ability to breed ran out in seasonal animals. These predictions were tested on field colonies of the paper wasp Polistes dominulus by recording aggression between all group members and then repeatedly removing the dominant wasps. When individuals were experimentally promoted in rank, ...

Recent, rapid climate change is driving evolution of animal species

... These genetic changes are in response to altered seasonal events and not to the expected direct effects of i...." "Consequently, genetic shifts in the timing of seasonal events should precede genetic shifts of thermal optima or increased heat tolerance over evolutionary...

New flood-tolerant rice offers relief for world's poorest farmers

... grown inrain-fed, lowland plots that are prone to seasonal flooding. Theseseasonal flash floods are extremely unpredictable and may occur atany growth stage of the rice crop. While rice is the only cereal crop that can withstand submergence atall, most rice varieties will die if fully submerged for too lon...

Light guides flight of migratory birds

...ultiple sources of directional cues to guide their seasonal migrations, including the Sun, star patterns, the earth's magnetic field, and sky polarized light patterns. To avoid navigational errors as cue availability changes with time of day and weather conditions, these "compass" systems must be calibrated t...

Can biological traits predict diversification rates in birds?

...ms." The study found that bird families with high seasonal dispersal rates and very general feeding patterns also had the highest species diversification rates. ...

Marine 'dead zone' off Oregon is spreading

...and Atmospheric Sciences. "This change from normal seasonal patterns and the increased variability are both consistent with climate change scenarios." Barth and his colleagues are working on new circulation models that may allow scientists to predict when hypoxia and these "dead zones" will occur. No connect...

UGA study explains peaks and troughs of dengue epidemics

...ou see about an average three-year cycle with some seasonal component to it." In addition to helping resolve a long-standing debate in public health, the study, published this week in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, gives researchers a framework that ...

Alaska seal pup diet may hold key to decline of population

...results so far have been surprising: growth rates, seasonal fluctuations in body mass, and percent body fat have been generally independent of the seal's diet. Instead, the starting weight has been the critical predictor of whether the seal would add body mass and body fat, Polasek explained. Seals weighing ...

Study reveals mass migration of mormon crickets driven by hunger, fear

...h, have revealed the motivating factors behind the seasonal mass migration of Mormon crickets in western North...ckets in western North America. Throughout their seasonal migration, millions of Mormon crickets (relatives of locusts and grasshoppers) cover more than 50 mi...

Underwater listening devices yield discoveries about endangered large whales

...ff Alaska, have been used in recent years to track seasonal occurrences of blue, fin, humpback, North Pacific right, bowhead, and sperm whales, an article in the January 2006 issue of BioScience reports. Because whale calls can be detected and recognized over tens of miles, such devices (which emit no soun...

Possible brain hormone may unlock mystery of hibernation

...ent the first essential brain signal governing the seasonal adaptation, according to the researchers. As hibe... hibernation complex might also play a role in the seasonal behavior changes of animal species that do not hibernate, the researchers suggested. For example, t...

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