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Why do we choose our mates? Ask Charles Darwin, prof says

Charles Darwin wrote about it 150 years ago: animals don't pick their mates by pure chance it's a process that is deliberate and involves numerous factors. After decades of examining his work, experts agree that he pretty much scored a scientific bullseye, but a very big question is, "What have w...

Opposites attract -- how genetics influences humans to choose their mates

Vienna, Austria: New light has been thrown on how humans choose their partners, a scientist will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Monday May 25). Professor Maria da Graa Bicalho, head of the Immunogenetics and Histocompatibility Laboratory at the Univers...

People of higher socioeconomic status choose better diets -- but pay more per calorie

St. Louis, MO, May 1, 2009 As people become more educated, studies have demonstrated that they tend to choose foods that are lower in calories but higher in nutrients. They also pay more. In a study published in the May 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association , researchers...

Fish choose their leaders by consensus

Just after Americans have headed to the polls to elect their next president, a new report in the November 13th issue of Current Biology , a Cell Press publication, reveals how one species of fish picks its leaders: Most of the time they reach a consensus to go for the more attractive of two candi...

Male cyclists risk sexual problems if they don’t choose the right bike

Men who take up cycling in an effort to stay fit, do their bit for the environment or avoid spiralling motoring costs, could be harming their health if they don't choose the right bicycle. That's the stark warning from consultant urological surgeon Mr Vinod Nargund from St Bartholomew's and Homert...

Reproductive plasticity revealed: Neotropical treefrog can choose to lay eggs in water or on land

(Boston) When frogs reproduce, like all vertebrates, they either lay their eggs in water or on land with one exception, according to new research by a team of Boston University scientists who discovered a treefrog (Dendropsophus ebraccatus) in Panama that reproduces both ways. The neotropical fr...

New folic acid seal helps women choose enriched grain foods to help prevent birth defects

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., JAN. 9, 2008 Not enough American women understand that consuming the B vitamin folic acid every day can help prevent serious birth defects, and only 40 percent are taking daily multivitamin supplements containing this essential nutrient beginning before pregnancy, two recent s...

Species still have more viable offspring if they can choose their best mate

Athens, Ga. -- When it comes to picking a mate, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young had an answer: If you cant be with the one you love, love the one youre with. As it turns out, that may be a cardinal rule in the animal kingdom, too. New research that crosses several species boundaries shows that ...

Why do oysters choose to live where they could be eaten?

There are many reasons why living in dense groups with others of your own kind is a good idea. Oftentimes, aggregations of a species serve as protection from predators and harsh environments or may be beneficial to future reproductive success. However, in the case of oyster larvae, the selection of...

Genes and biomarkers that allow doctors to choose the right therapy for the right patient

Genetic and epigenetic variations ensure that no two people are exactly alike, and the same holds true for any two cancers. Now, researchers have the tools and the knowledge to help predict how individuals will respond to cancer therapies, enabling them to create more effective therapies for indiv...

Many couples choose to donate surplus embryos for stem cell research

Nearly 50% of couples who were interviewed at least 3 years after undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) chose to donate their surplus, stored embryos for stem cell research, according to a report by the Spanish Stem Cell Bank in an April 26, 2007, advanced online publication of Cell Stem Cell, a ...

Female pronghorns choose mate based on substance as well as show

When a female animal compares males to choose a mate, she can't order a laboratory genetic screen for each suitor. Instead, she has to rely on external cues that may indicate genetic quality. Until now, biologists have focused on elaborate ornaments, such as the peacock's tail, as cues that females...

When mice choose mates, experience counts

Choosing a mate is a big decision. And, at least for mice, it's one that is best made with input from one's peers. In a series of experiments designed help scientists understand the brain chemicals that guide mate selection, Pfaff and his colleagues exposed female mice to odors of either a male m...

Women often opt to surgically remove their breasts, ovaries to reduce cancer risk

...utations also had a documented increase in risk-reduction surgery. Women who had a biopsy after undergoing risk evaluation were twice as likely to choose a risk-reducing mastectomy. Forty percent of the women who were mutation carriers underwent bilateral risk-reducing mastectomy; 45 percent had bilater...

University has grand designs to build a house of straw

...aleHaus is a living, breathing home that is cool in summer and warm in winter, helps families reduce their CO2 footprint without compromising how they choose to live their lives and sets a new and very different benchmark for sustainable homes in the 21st century." ...

Disease threat may change how frogs mate

...mate choice based on MHC type is not uncommon in other species, with research indicating that a number of vertebrates, including humans, may use it to choose prospective mates, and improve their immunity to diseases. 'The situation requires directed behavioural research', says Dr Teacher. This discovery ...

Mystery E. coli genes essential for survival of many species

...ecent years to sequence genomes of various important species has uncovered many previously unknown genes. This has given scientists the opportunity to choose to study these genes now, rather than waiting for them to make themselves known serendipitously e.g. when they are implicated in disease. Professor Tr...

Spontaneous assembly

...en computationally assemble the locations of all proteins into a composite, high-precision image," said Liphardt. "With other technologies, we have to choose between observing large clusters or observing single proteins. With PALM, we can examine a cell and see single proteins, protein dimers, and so forth,...

The sound of light: Innovative technology shatters the barriers of modern light microscopy

...past, understanding the evolution of development or of disease required numerous animals to be sacrificed. With a plethora of fluorochrome pigments to choose from including pigments using the fluorescence protein technology for which a Nobel Prize was awarded in 2008 and clinically approved fluorescent age...

Ovarian transplantation: New technique gives greatly improved results in this delicate operation

...rth of seven healthy babies. "We are in the middle of a massive global infertility epidemic, caused by the new structure of our society where women choose not to have children until they are older," said Dr. Silber. "As a result, many of them become infertile because of the ageing of their eggs and ovari...

NYC science symposium marks Gruber Prize program 10th anniversary

...aking work in those five fields provides new models that inspire and enable fundamental shifts in knowledge and culture. The Selection Advisory Boards choose individuals whose contributions in their respective fields advance our knowledge, potentially have a profound impact on our lives, and, in the case of...

RSA Designated as the Leader in One-Time Password Market by Frost & Sullivan

...ware tokens, SMS authentication, hybrid authenticators and virtual credentials as well as biometric and USB Flash solutions, allowing organizations to choose the solution that best meets their user, risk and security requirements." The white paper also noted, "RSA continues to invest in the RSA(R) Aut...

Common fish species has 'human' ability to learn

...n the one the fish previously got their food from or giving roughly the same or less. In the second test, the fish were again free to swim around and choose their feeder. Around 75 per cent of fish were 'clever' enough to know from watching the other fish that the rich feeder, previously experienced f...

UBC researchers develop new method to study gambling addictions

...er to the goal of drug-based treatments for people suffering from gambling disorders." For the study, rats had a limited amount of time in which to choose between four gambling options which were associated with the delivery of different numbers of sugar pellets. If the animals won the gamble, they rece...

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

...etween 2 to 7.5% of infants worldwide.1 With the launch of Neocate Nutra, parents of CMPA infants of a weaning age and above can, for the first time, choose with confidence a weaning product that is made from 100% non-allergenic amino acids, ruling out any possible allergic reactions caused by an exposure ...

Scientists explain how 'death receptors' designed to kill our cells may make them stronger

...s involved in the processes, may allow researchers to develop entirely new therapeutics. These therapeutics not only would give doctors the ability to choose when and if certain cells are taken out of service, but they would also give doctors the ability to trigger cells to shift into "survival mode." "...

Yale study: Most polluted ecosystems recoverable

...hool of Forestry & Environmental Studies and co-author of the meta-analysis with Yale Ph.D. student Holly Jones. "But the message is that if societies choose to become sustainable, ecosystems will recover. It isn't hopeless." The Yale analysis focuses on seven ecosystem types, including marine, forest, t...

P[acman]-generated fruit fly gene 'library': A new research tool

...fly at a specific site using phiC31-mediated transgenesis. Venken adapted the P[acman] vector to create genomic libraries, so that a researcher can choose a gene and find the corresponding clones in the library that cover that gene. Their collaborators at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Drs. Roger...

Web-based program designs more efficient farm terrace layouts

... researchers are developing a Web-based program that will design multiple farm terraces in a short time period. This technology will help farm experts choose the most efficient and cost-effective layout. "Coupled with new computerized topographical information, the program would produce more alternati...

Exhibition showcases the 'art of science'

...rinceton University's third Art of Science competition will go live Thursday, May 14, at noon EDT. An online site that allows members of the public to choose their favorite 2009 Art of Science image will go live at the same time. The juried show features 48 works chosen from more than 200 submissions, an...

Mothers give interloper's offspring a head start in life

...ermine the paternity of individual chicks in mixed broods, but we still don't understand why extra-pair offspring are laid earlier or even why females choose to mate with extra-pair males," said Dr Magrath. One explanation could be in the timing of copulations. Females may engage in extra-pair matings to...

Treatment for extreme nausea, vomiting during pregnancy

...enter. "The warning found that a previously used anti-vomiting medication might cause adverse cardiovascular effects in mothers. We had to quickly choose another treatment, which was safer. The current study looks back at the data to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment." Metoclopramide vers...

Brain protein central to both Parkinson's, drug addiction identified

...ow that blocks or boosts oct3, Tieu and Przedborski said. But such a drug might be useful for Parkinson's, drug addiction, and depression. "How you choose to manipulate the function of oct3 depends on the source of the toxic molecules," said Tieu, who is also a scientist in the University's Center for Ne...

Winners announced in the Elsevier Grand Challenge

...ic communication and point the way toward interesting new possibilities for the future. Given so many excellent submissions, it was very difficult to choose between the four finalists. All of the tools were developed with a strong sense of the community's needs." "I was impressed not only with the qual...

Nutrition experts propose new class of low-sugar drinks to help stem obesity and diabetes epidemics

...sites and homes must take action to help Americans choose healthier drinks. They propose that manufacturers ...vide consumers with information that can help them choose healthier drinks, including a chart that lists the... sectors can make changes that will help Americans choose healthier drinks. (See links to the new "Choosing ...

Free online toolkit provides standard measures for genome and population studies

...ittee, working groups and surveys. Researchers using the toolkit will soon have an option to register on the secure PhenX Web site. Researchers who choose to register will be given a password-protected account that allows them to save the measures they select for their studies. In the long term, the Phen...

2009 ASPB Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship award announcement

...udents and mentors who applied to the 2009 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program. The applications were outstanding, making it difficult to choose only 15 fellowship awardees. These 15 awardees will complete 10 consecutive weeks of SURF research and present their results at Plant Biology July 31-...

Better living through chemistry

...lored. (By contrast, the dark side of the moon has been throughly mapped.) Of all the world's unexplored marine environments, why did the Joye team choose to conduct their microbe study at the mud volcano and the brine pool? Because both environments are characterized by releases of gas and oil that are ...

NIH funds research center for women's reproductive health at Einstein

...oratory questions that arise in the clinic. The centers also serve as national resources for training and developing the careers of new scientists who choose to pursue research in high priority areas of reproduction and infertility research. Einstein's SCCPIR will concentrate on basic studies of endometr...

Researchers identify genetic markers for aggressive head and neck cancer

...or tissue. These findings may eventually be put to practical use, allowing physicians to identify potentially aggressive head and neck cancers and choose the most appropriate treatment. "A biologic marker identifying aggressive tumors would allow us to direct therapy more appropriately, minimizing over...