Antipater - Slashdot User

Submission + - New Species of Monkey Flower Shows Speciation in Action (msn.com)

Submitted by Antipater on Tuesday July 17, 2012 @12:09PM

Antipater writes: NBCNews is reporting on a hybrid of two monkey flowers, which has evolved to become fertile. It will breed with other flowers of the new hybrid type, but not other monkey flowers — a clearly distinguished new species, showing speciation on a macroscopic scale. From the article:

"While many new species of plants are thought to arise this way, it has only been witnessed amongst wild plants a handful of times in history, said Vallejo-Marin, a scientist at the University of Stirling. Hybrid flowers typically have an odd number of chromosomes, or enormous packets of DNA, making them unable to reproduce. But this flower somehow duplicated its entire genome. "

Submission + - Researchers Design Memory-Strengthening Implant (nytimes.com)

Submitted by

Antipater

on Friday June 17, 2011 @04:08PM

Antipater writes: "Researchers at Wake Forest University have created a brain implant that can imitate signals through the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory retention. Rats implanted with the device were able to remember information even after their hippocampus was shut down, reports the New York Times. Though still in its infancy, this technology could hopefully be used to help treat dementia or stroke victims."

Submission + - Physical, Emotional Pain Use Same Brain Networks (cnn.com)

Submitted by

Antipater

on Tuesday June 07, 2011 @06:26PM

Antipater writes: "To the brain, heartbreak and emotional torment are no different from having hot coffee spilled on your hand, reports CNN. They cite a recent study from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in which 40 recently-dumped men and women underwent fMRI scans while having their arm burned or being shown a picture of their ex. The stimuli produced nearly identical brain reactions."

Submission + - Multicellular Organisms Live Deeper than Expected (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by

Antipater

on Wednesday June 01, 2011 @06:20PM

Antipater writes: "Despite the prevailing notion that life cannot survive deep underground, scientists have found not just extremophile bacteria but multicellular organisms — nematodes — living more than a mile deep in South African gold mines. Nicknamed "worms from hell", these nematodes open new windows for research into life both on Earth and off."

Submission + - War over Arsenic-Based Life (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by

Antipater

on Friday May 27, 2011 @12:39PM

Antipater writes: "Slashdot readers may remember the announcement and ensuing controversy six months ago over the NASA discovery of microbes that can supposedly incorporate arsenic into their DNA. Now, The Washington Post reports that Science has published a collection of eight scathing critiques of astrobiologist Felisa Wolfe-Simon, her methods, and her conclusions. Wolfe-Simon is starting to fire back and gather her own allies — one wonders if we're in for another cold-fusion style science war."

Slashdot Top Deals