The rhythm of the Arctic summer

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Our internal circadian clock regulates daily life processes and is synchronized by external cues, the so-called Zeitgebers. The main cue is the light-dark cycle, whose strength is largely reduced in extreme habitats such as in the Arctic during the polar summer. Using a radiotelemetry system a team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology have now found, in four bird species in Alaska, different daily activity patterns ranging from strictly rhythmic to completely arrhythmic. These differences are attributed to the species' mating systems and behaviours.

Unusual supernova is doubly unusual for being perfectly normal

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August, 2011, saw the dazzling appearance of the closest and brightest Type Ia supernova since Type Ia's were established as "standard candles" for measuring the expansion of the universe. The brilliant visitor, labeled SN 2011fe, was caught by the Palomar Transient Factory less than 12 hours after it exploded in the Pinwheel Galaxy in the Big Dipper.

Pearly perfection

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The mystery of how pearls form into the most perfectly spherical large objects in nature may have an unlikely explanation, scientists are proposing in a new study. It appears in ACS' journal Langmuir, named for 1932 Nobel Laureate Irving Langmuir.

New research backs theory that genetic 'switches' play big role in human evolution

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ITHACA, N.Y. – A Cornell University study offers further proof that the divergence of humans from chimpanzees some 4 million to 6 million years ago was profoundly influenced by mutations to DNA sequences that play roles in turning genes on and off.

Maturitas publishes 2013 update on diagnosis and management of osteoporosis

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Amsterdam, June 19, 2013 – Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today the publication of the National Osteoporosis Guideline Group (NOGG) Update 2013 on diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and older men in the journal Maturitas.

Antioxidant shows promise in Parkinson's disease

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Diapocynin, a synthetic molecule derived from a naturally occurring compound (apocynin), has been found to protect neurobehavioral function in mice with Parkinson's Disease symptoms by preventing deficits in motor coordination.

The findings are published in the May 28, 2013 edition of Neuroscience Letters.

Staging system in ALS shows potential tracks of disease progression, Penn study finds

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U-M researcher and colleagues predict possible record-setting Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone'

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ANN ARBOR—Spring floods across the Midwest are expected to contribute to a very large and potentially record-setting 2013 Gulf of Mexico "dead zone," according to a University of Michigan ecologist and colleagues who released their annual forecast today, along with one for the Chesapeake Bay.

The Gulf forecast, one of two announced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, calls for an oxygen-depleted, or hypoxic, region of between 7,286 and 8,561 square miles, which would place it among the 10 largest on record.

British women 50 percent less likley to recieve treatment for common menopausal symptoms

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Crawley, UK-- New data, published today in Menopause International, suggests that post-menopausal women in Britain are experiencing less sex, and less satisfying sex compared to their European and North American counterparts1, because they are considerably less likely to access appropriate treatment for a common, taboo condition called vaginal atrophy1.

No danger of cancer through gene therapy virus

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