Crabs' memory of pain confirmed by Queen's academic

Tweet

New research published by a Queen's University Belfast academic has shown that crabs not only suffer pain but that they retain a memory of it.

The study, which looked at the reactions of hermit crabs to small electric shocks, was carried out by Professor Bob Elwood and Mirjam Appel from the School of Biological Sciences at Queen's and has been published in the journal Animal Behaviour.

Study unravels why certain fishes went extinct 65 million years ago

Tweet

Large size and a fast bite spelled doom for bony fishes during the last mass extinction 65 million years ago, according to a new study to be published March 31, 2009, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Today, those same features characterize large predatory bony fishes, such as tuna and billfishes, that are currently in decline and at risk of extinction themselves, said Matt Friedman, author of the study and a graduate student in evolutionary biology at the University of Chicago.

Discovery of protein that reactivates herpes simplex virus helps solve medical mystery

Tweet

CINCINNATI –Research in PLoS Pathogens appears to solve a long standing medical mystery by identifying a viral protein, VP16, as the molecular key that prompts herpes simplex virus (HSV) to exit latency and cause recurrent disease.

Led by researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the landmark study points to a molecular target for designing improved HSV vaccines and treatments. It also could direct refined engineering of HSV viruses used in cancer therapy, the investigators said.

Doctors differ on whether hospices should follow CPR guidelines

Tweet

Experts in two papers published on bmj.com today disagree on whether cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines should apply to hospices.

Dr Max Watson and colleagues believe that CPR is not always appropriate for patients who are dying and that hospices should be able to develop their own guidelines. However, Drs Claud Regnard and Fiona Randall argue that it is "inconceivable" that hospices should seek exemption from the good practice set out in the UK guidelines.

Study assesses impact of fish stocking on aquatic insects

Tweet

The impact fish stocking has on aquatic insects in mountain lakes can be rapidly reversed by removing non-native trout, according to a study completed by U.S. Forest Service and University of California, Davis, scientists.

Their findings appear in a current online issue of the journal Freshwater Biology where they describe experiments that examined some effects of fisheries management practices now in use in California mountain lakes where fish do not naturally occur.

Team IDs genesis of mass migrations

Tweet

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--For the first time, MIT engineers and colleagues have observed the initiation of a mass gathering and subsequent migration of hundreds of millions of animals — in this case, fish.

The work, conducted using a novel imaging technique, "provides information essential to the conservation of marine ecosystems that vast oceanic fish shoals inhabit," the team writes in the March 27 issue of Science.

New MRI signaling method could picture disease metabolism in action

Tweet

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University chemists are using modified magnetic resonance imaging to see molecular changes inside people's bodies that could signal health problems such as cancer.

Their new method, reported in the March 27 issue of the research journal Science, makes more of the body's chemistry visible by MRI, said Warren Warren, James B. Duke Professor of chemistry at Duke.

Do Americans have an identity crisis when it comes to race and ethnicity?

Tweet

Say goodbye to Italian-Americans and German-Americans and say hello to Vietnamese-Americans, Salvadoran-Americans and a bunch of other hyphenated Americans.

The way people identify themselves in the United States is changing, and the way the federal census classifies them by race or ethnicity isn't painting a clear portrait of America, according to new research.

Public transit users 3 times more likely to meet fitness guidelines: UBC research

Tweet

A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia suggests taking public transit may help you keep fit.

The study, published in the Journal of Public Health Policy, finds that people who take public transit are three times more likely than those who don't to meet the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada's suggested daily minimum of physical activity.

Clarke clarifies pattern recognition theory

Tweet

Recent commentary has suggested that the extent to which anomaly theories have become ingrained in the minds of academics and popular commentators alike has led to certain common assumptions and misconceptions about Clarke's pattern recognition theory of humour.