A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience
Why do tall people burn less energy per kilogram when walking?
Any parent that takes their kid out for a walk knows that children tire more quickly than adults, but why is that? Do kids and small adults walk differently from taller people or do they tire faster for some other reason? Peter Weyand from Southern Methodist University, USA, is fascinated by the effect that body size has on physiological function.
Continue reading… “Mathematical Equation Calculates Cost of Walking for First Time”
This is why I don’t have cats… I never want to come home to this!
Cat fanciers everywhere appreciate the gravity-defying grace and exquisite balance of their feline friends. But do they know those traits extend even to the way cats lap milk?
Continue reading… “Cats and thier Freakish Balance!”
New technology reveals old Plaque Pandemics
An international team of scientists has traced major plague pandemics such as the Black Death back to their roots using DNA fingerprinting analysis.
Continue reading… “DNA Fingerprinting Traces Global Path of Plague”
Dogs likely originated in the Middle East, not Asia or Europe, according to a new genetic analysis by an international team of scientists led by UCLA biologists.
Continue reading… “Dogs Likely Originated in the Middle East, New Genetic Data Indicate”
A genetic study has found that small domestic dogs probably originated in the Middle East more than 12,000 years ago. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology traced the evolutionary history of the IGF1 gene, finding that the version of the gene that is a major determinant of small size probably originated as a result of the domestication of the Middle Eastern gray wolf.
Continue reading… “Small Dogs Originated in the Middle East, Genetic Study Finds”
Domestic dogs have followed their own evolutionary path, twisting Darwin’s directive ‘survival of the fittest’ to their own needs — and have proved him right in the process, according to a new study by biologists Chris Klingenberg, of The University of Manchester and Abby Drake, of the College of the Holy Cross in the US.
Continue reading… “‘Survival of the Cutest’ Proves Darwin Right”
University of Chicago researchers recently showed that dry granular materials such as sands, seeds and grains have properties similar to liquid, forming water-like droplets when poured from a given source. The finding could be important to a wide range of industries that use “fluidized” dry particles for oil refining, plastics manufacturing and pharmaceutical production.
Continue reading… “Streaming Sand Grains Help Define Essence Of A Liquid”
While cancer touches the lives of many humans, it is also a major threat to wild animal populations as well, according to a recent study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Continue reading… “Wildlife Faces Cancer Threat”
Throughout the animal kingdom brilliant colors or elaborate behavioral displays serve as “advertisements” for attracting mates. But, what do the ads promise, and is there truth in advertizing? Researchers at Yale theorize that when males must provide care for the survival of their offspring, the males’ signals will consistently be honest — and they may devote more of their energy to caring for their offspring than to being attractive.
Continue reading… “Mate Selection: Honesty In Advertising Pays Off”
