Migration in Biological News

NOAA researchers: Blue whales re-establishing former migration patterns

Scientists have documented the first known migration of blue whales from the coast of California to areas off British Columbia and the Gulf of Alaska since the end of commercial whaling in 1965. In the scientific journal Marine Mammal Science , researchers from Cascadia Research Collective in ...

UIC biologists use DNA to study migration of threatened whale sharks

Whale sharks -- giants of the fish world that strike terror only among tiny creatures like the plankton and krill they eat -- are imperiled by over-fishing of the species in parts of its ocean range. That threat is underscored in a new study from geneticists led by Jennifer Schmidt, University ...

Study of polar dinosaur migration questions whether dinosaurs were truly the first great migrators

EdmontonContrary to popular belief, polar dinosaurs may not have traveled nearly as far as originally thought when making their bi-annual migration. University of Alberta researchers Phil Bell and Eric Snively have suggested that while some dinosaurs may have migrated during the winter season, ...

Leatherback turtles' newly discovered migration route may be roadmap to salvation

With a name like "Leatherback Turtle" you might think the sea turtles could stand up to just about anything the ocean can throw at them, and for more than a hundred million years, they have. But tough, long-lived critters though they are, the population of leatherbacks in the eastern Pacific Ocean...

Y chromosome study sheds light on Athapaskan migration to southwest US

A large-scale genetic study of native North Americans offers new insights into the migration of a small group of Athapaskan natives from their subarctic home in northwest North America to the southwestern United States. The migration, which left no known archaeological trace, is believed to have o...

Asia's odd-ball antelope faces migration crisis

NEW YORK (MARCH 17, 2008) Take a deers body, attach a camels head and add a Jimmy Durante nose, and you have a saiga the odd-ball antelope with the enormous schnoz that lives on the isolated steppes of Central Asia. Unfortunately, they are as endangered as they are strange-looking d...

Early environment may be key to determining bird migration location

How young migratory birds choose the nesting location of their first breeding season has been something of a mystery in the bird world. But a new University of Maryland/National Zoo study of the American redstart suggests that the environmental conditions the birds face in their first year may he...

Gene study supports single main migration across Bering Strait

Did a relatively small number of people from Siberia who trekked across a Bering Strait land bridge some 12,000 years ago give rise to the native peoples of North and South America? Or did the ancestors of todays native peoples come from other parts of Asia or Polynesia, arriving multiple time...

Transporting juvenile salmon hinders adult migration

Scientists have discovered that management efforts intended to assist migrations of salmon and steelhead trout can have unintended consequences for fish populations. Juveniles that are transported downstream on boats can lose the ability to migrate back to their breeding grounds, reducing their su...

6,000km trip to reveal clues to ancient migration

Two Durham University scientists are to play a key part in a 6000km trip following the migration route of ancient Pacific cultures. Drs Keith Dobney and Greger Larson, both from the Department of Archaeology, will be joining the voyage, which will be the first ever expedition to sail in two...

Mummy lice found in Peru may give new clues about human migration

GAINESVILLE, Fla. Lice from 1,000-year-old mummies in Peru may unravel important clues about a different sort of passage: the migration patterns of Americas earliest humans, a new University of Florida study suggests. Its kind of quirky that a parasite we love to hate can actually inform us ho...

UCI scientists reconstruct migration of avian flu virus

UC Irvine researchers have combined genetic and geographic data of the H5N1 avian flu virus to reconstruct its history over the past decade. They found that multiple strains of the virus originated in the Chinese province of Guangdong, and they identified many of the migration routes through which ...

Viral marker of human migration suspect

A benign virus previously used as a marker in tracing human migration may be unreliable, according to researchers at Penn State. Results of this study also suggest that some viruses might be undergoing much higher rates of evolution than previously thought. "The most genetically divergent human p...

Dragonfly migration resembles that of birds, scientists say

Scientists have discovered that migrating dragonfliesand songbirds exhibit many of the same behaviors, suggesting the rulesthat govern such long-distance travel may be simpler and more ancientthan was once thought. The research, published in the May 11 Biology Letters, is based on datagenerated b...

A dichotomy in migration patterns found for sea turtles in east Atlantic

Studying members of a large population of loggerhead sea turtles that nest on the Cape Verde islands off of West Africa, researchers have found an unexpected dichotomy in turtle behavior: While some turtles leave the nesting grounds to feed on bottom-dwelling sea life in shallow coastal waters, oth...

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

An international team of researchers, including Kent State University professor Dr. Patrick D. Lorch, have revealed the motivating factors behind the seasonal mass migration of Mormon crickets in western North America. The scientists report hunger for protein and salt, and a fear of cannibalism...

Spring migration of pink-footed geese under threat

As thousands of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) prepare for their spring migration north to breeding grounds in the Arctic, ecologists are warning that the escalating conflict between farmers and the geese is threatening the birds' survival. Writing in the new issue of the British Ecologic...

Pair of cancer genes found to drive both cell migration and division

Johns Hopkins researchers have found that two genes already known to control cell movement are also needed for proper cell division. They report their findings in the April issue of Developmental Cell. The researchers discovered that the two genes are required for a dividing cell's halves to sepa...

Butterfly migration could be largest known

Millions of painted lady butterflies that fluttered into California's Central Valley in the last week of March could be just the advance guard of one of the largest migrations of the species on record, said Arthur Shapiro, a professor and expert on butterflies at UC Davis. "This may be the bigges...

Vital step in cellular migration described by UCSD medical researchers

A vital molecular step in cell migration, the movement of cells within the body during growth, tissue repair and the body's immune response to invading pathogens, has been demonstrated by researchers in the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Published in the March 27 onl...

August 2009 Geology and GSA Today media highlights

...whereas the copper-rich vapor formed at lower temperatures, possibly during migration of the original magmatic vapor. Paradox of late Paleozoic glacioeu... documenting local strontium isotope ratios and will be used to unravel the migration history to and from these ancient Maya cities. Natural and anthropo...

Stem cell research: From molecular physiology to therapeutic applications

...nd organs. They generated cells not only for the damaged tissues in which they reside, but also for damaged tissues at other locations in the body via migration triggered by proinflammatory cytokines and growth factors. The potential use of MSCs in tissue regeneration has been shown in several models, includin...

A genetic basis for schizophrenia

...the role of Disc1 in development, particularly the migration of cells to their proper location in the brain and...of cells and function properly. Disruption of cell migration can lead to inappropriate cell development and fun...ding the maintenance of precursor pools, timing of migration onset and the induction of cell differentiation. T...

Seals quickly respond to gain and loss of habitat under climate change

... this and modern breeding sites. The team found clear signs of rapid expansion in the new colony 8,000 years ago. This was followed by directional migration away, coupled with a loss of diversity 1,000 years ago, when the sea ice is thought to have expanded. The data suggest that the new colony seals came ...

Who goes abroad for fertility treatment and why?

...tor Dr. Franoise Shenfield, from University College Hospital, London, UK, said that this was the first hard evidence of considerable fertility patient migration within Europe. "Until now we have only had anecdotal evidence of this phenomenon", she said. "We think that our results will be of considerable va...

Climate change could drive vast human migrations

...eport, In Search of Shelter: Mapping the Effects of Climate Change on Human migration and Displacement, is based on a first-time global survey of environmental c...practical approaches are needed to address the threats that climate-related migration poses to human security and well-being," said coauthor Koko Warner, head of...

Wiping out the world's mass migrations

...s on their status, and in Eurasia half of the six remaining migratory species are very poorly documented. All 24 species in the current study lost migration routes and were reduced in number of individuals. In North America, bison are still considered migratory, but their range is now restricted from the G...

Immune genes adapt to parasites

...worldwide. Of 91 genes assessed, 44 bore signatures of evolutionary selection, meaning that the genetic variation was neither due to chance nor to the migration of populations over time. And some of that variation correlated with the diversity of parasites that live alongside humans. The data suggests that hav...

LSUHSC research describes function of key protein in cancer spread

...nderstand, at a molecular level, the processes that regulate cell adhesion, migration and invasion," notes Dr. Worthylake. He and his colleagues studied a pr...d IQGAP1, is produced, it can weaken cell-to-cell contacts and promote cell migration and invasion processes that occur during tumor metastasis. The researc...

Tumor growth and chemo response may be predicted by mathematical model

...l migration, which can result in a "single-cell file" invasion pattern. As cells aggregate in regions that have better access to nutrients and oxygen, migration is lessened and cell replication is resumed. This leads to the formation of wave-like patterns of cell rearrangements at the tumor boundary and the fo...

Conservationists seek to identify prime stopover sites for migrating birds

...ometers inland. Volunteer ornithologists participating in the pilot study are visiting 21 different sites having two transects each during the peak migration of Neotropical migrant birds, such as wood warblers, vireos and thrush. They will spend 30 minutes walking along a 300-meter transect, documenting eve...

Older men more likely than women to die after pneumonia

...le with certain gene variations associated with higher levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor, an innate immune response regulator, were less likely to die following CAP. "Macrophage migration inhibitory factor is a molecule that plays an important role in inflammatio...

Stem cell focus for IBD wound healing

...a stem cell marker and which plays a key role in cell proliferation and the migration of healthy cells to a damaged area to restore normal tissue. "CD24 is a ...r level to discover the mechanisms by which it operates and encourages cell migration and other associated molecules that are co-expressed. They will then exa...

Genome projects launched for three extreme-environment animals

...genus. It has been evolutionarily isolated since the Himalayan orogeny, and has undergone millions of years of evolution that has not involved species migration or artificial selection. It has several adaptations for alpine-cold tolerance and most specifically for anti-hypoxia and running, making it a key mode...

New findings in taste and smell

...ticity in expression of chemoreceptor genes in Drosophila melanogaster Recognizing Taste Stimuli below the Detection Threshold Differentiation and migration of neurons derived from the olfactory placode Odor discrimination in mouse models of schizophrenia Taste responsive multipolar and elongated neuro...

Indigenous peoples at world summit to share climate change observations, coping techniques

...change. She coined the term "climigration" to describe forced, permanent migration of communities due to severe climate change impacts on infrastructure such ...ld be defined and protected internationally." "Climigration differs from migration caused by catastrophic environmental events such as hurricanes, where disas...

TGen researchers discover possible way to block the spread of deadly brain tumors

...ores, suggesting that this factor plays a significant role in tumor invasion,'' Dr. Eschbacher said. In the study, depletion of NHERF-1 stopped the migration of glioma brain cancer cells, she said. "These results suggest that NHERF-1 plays an important role in tumor biology, and that targeted inhibition o...

When cancer cells can't let go

... absence, Src headed to the invadopodia. The work suggests that FAK controls movement by balancing the number of invadopodia that create a path for migration and the number of focal adhesions that hold the cell back. The next question, the researchers say, is how FAK and Src integrate these events to promot...

Satellite snow maps help reindeer herders adapt to a changing Arctic

... snow conditions," Oskal said. "These products could have important consequences for herders' decisions regarding winter pasture quality and potential migration routes." In addition to climate change, reindeer herders also have to face a loss of pastures due to infrastructure development, such as roads, hy...

ORNL, St. Jude track neurons to predict and prevent disease

...an use ORNL-developed software to analyze these vast amounts of data in record time. "St. Jude has identified neuron shape abnormalities and neuron migration issues that are linked to specific diseases," said Shaun Gleason of ORNL's Measurement Science and Systems Engineering Division. "However, because the...