science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Σάββατο 8 Δεκεμβρίου 2012

Science News SciGuru.com

Monkey business: What howler monkeys can tell us about the role of interbreeding in human evolution
Severe Morning Sickness Patients Get Relief from Anti-Seizure Drug
Scientists Identify Molecules in the Ear that Convert Sound into Brain Signals
How the common 'cat parasite' gets into the brain
Odor activation of a dedicated neural pathway by geosmin activates avoidance response in the fly

Monkey business: What howler monkeys can tell us about the role of interbreeding in human evolution

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 09:48 AM PST

Did different species of early humans interbreed and produce offspring of mixed ancestry?

Recent genetic studies suggest that Neanderthals may have bred with anatomically modern humans tens of thousands of years ago in the Middle East, contributing to the modern human gene pool. But the findings are not universally accepted, and the fossil record has not helped to clarify the role of interbreeding, which is also known as hybridization.

Severe Morning Sickness Patients Get Relief from Anti-Seizure Drug

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 09:38 AM PST

Good news may be on the horizon for Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, and other women stricken with severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, thanks to the work of a University at Buffalo professor who is conducting research on a drug that is showing success treating pregnant women with this condition.

Thomas Guttuso Jr., MD, assistant professor of neurology in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has been studying the drug gabapentin, an anti-seizure and anti-pain drug that he previously had studied in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Scientists Identify Molecules in the Ear that Convert Sound into Brain Signals

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 08:40 AM PST

For scientists who study the genetics of hearing and deafness, finding the exact genetic machinery in the inner ear that responds to sound waves and converts them into electrical impulses, the language of the brain, has been something of a holy grail.

How the common 'cat parasite' gets into the brain

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 07:30 AM PST

Toxoplasma is a common 'cat parasite', and has previously been in the spotlight owing to its observed effect on risk-taking and other human behaviours. To some extent, it has also been associated with mental illness. A study led by researchers from Karolinska Institutet now demonstrates for the first time how the parasite enters the brain to influence its host.

Odor activation of a dedicated neural pathway by geosmin activates avoidance response in the fly

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 07:19 AM PST

Consuming putrid food can be lethal as it allows bacterial pathogens to enter the digestive system. To detect signs of decay and thus allowing us and other animals to avoid such food poisoning is one of the main tasks of the sense of smell. Behavioural scientists and neurobiologists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have now for the first time decoded the neural mechanisms underlying an escape reflex in fruit flies (Drosophila) activated in order to avoid eating and laying eggs in food infected by toxic microorganisms.