Chemical in sperm offers new weapon to fight ageingOctober 7th, 2009 LONDON - Graz University scientists in Austria say that compound found in human sperm, known as spermidine, may prove the next weapon in the fight against ageing. They have found that spermidine slows ageing processes, and increases longevity in yeast, flies, worms, mice, and human blood cells by protecting cells from damage.
Learn how to 'speak' from songbird genesSeptember 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The ability to manipulate songbird genes may yield secrets of vocal learning and how nerve cells (neurons) are replaced. For the first time, researchers have devised a way to alter the genes of the zebra finch, one of a handful of social animals that learn to "speak" by imitating their fellows.
Like humans, fruit flies too learn from experienced femalesSeptember 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Like humans, novice fruit flies tend to learn from their more experienced counterparts i.e. mated fruit flies, say researchers.
New discovery may explain premature ageingAugust 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists from Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet claim to have identified the cause of premature ageing. The normal ageing process has been linked to problems with cell respiration, the process through which the cells extract energy from nutrients.
Orchids entice hornets with their prey's scentAugust 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have found that a species of orchid attracts pollen-carrying hornets by wearing the scent of their prey. Dendrobium sinense grows on the Chinese island of Hainan, where hornets capture honeybees to serve as food for their larvae.
Researchers unravel secret of queen bee's behaviourAugust 4th, 2009 SYDNEY - Researchers have unravelled the mysteries of why and how the queen bee controls the behaviour of her workers. University of Otago zoologists two years ago discovered that queen bees manipulate their offspring's behaviour by releasing a pheromone that blocks aversive learning in young bees.
Autistic kids learn new behaviours differently than othersJuly 7th, 2009 LONDON - A new piece of research suggests that when it comes to learning new behaviours, autistic kids rely more on their own internal sense of body position rather than external cues, typically used by developing children. The study conducted by researchers from Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine showed that greater the kids relied on their internal sense of body position (proprioception), the greater was their impairment in social skills, motor skills, and imitation.
Honeybees form 'bee balls' to mob and smother invading hornetsJuly 5th, 2009 LONDON - Honeybee hordes form "bee balls" to mob and smother their predators, giant hornets, killing them within 10 minutes of trapping, scientists have observed. According to the journal Naturwissenschaften, honeybees use heat and carbon dioxide as part of their mechanism to guard themselves from their natural enemies.
Secret to honeybees' memory lies in calciumJune 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers from the CNRS, the Université de Toulouse and the French Calcium Research Network, have shown that long-term memory formation in honeybees is instigated by a calcium ion cascade. Writing in the open access journal BMC Biology, the study's boffins have shown that calcium acts as a switch between short- and long-term storage of learned information.
Birds learn from neighbours how to defend nestsJune 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study by scientists at the University of Cambridge has shown that inexperienced reed warblers learn how to stop cuckoos from laying eggs in their nests by watching how other members of their species deal with the parasitic birds. Reed warblers live with the threat that a cuckoo will infiltrate their nest, remove one of their eggs, replace it with a cuckoo egg, and leave cuckoo chicks to be raised by the unsuspecting reed warblers.
Genes that protect against aging identifiedApril 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - University of Liverpool researchers have developed a novel method to help scientists identify genes that can help protect the body during the ageing process. The team developed a method of analysing genes in multiple ageing tissue types in both animals and humans.
Honeybees change roles to avoid mid-life crisisApril 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Adding to the impressive list of bee qualities, scientists have now found that honeybees go through a metamorphosis in their mid-life and perform different social roles as they age. Female worker bees work in the hive as they venture into adulthood, and perform tasks like taking care of the baby bees.
Honeybees and bumblebees prefer flying shortest distance between two flowersMarch 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Insects like honeybees and bumblebees prefer the shortest distance when they have to fly from one flower to another, according to an American study. S. Alan Walters of Southern Illinois University and Jonathan R.
Free radicals may have no role in ageing: StudyFebruary 18th, 2009 TORONTO - Free radicals may have no role in ageing, as some organisms live longer, especially when their ability to rid themselves of such molecules is partially disabled. For more than 40 years, the onset of old age has been attributed to oxidative stress.
Vascular drug improves learning, memory in ageing ratsFebruary 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A drug used in treating vascular problems also improves spatial learning and working memory in middle-aged rats, according to a team of psychologists, geneticists and neuroscientists. The finding supports the scientific quest for a substance that could treat progressive cognitive (brain related) impairment, cushion the cognitive impact of normal ageing, or even enhance learning and memory throughout the life span.
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