Culture | Science Codex

Worms' nervous system shown to alert immune system in Stanford studies

STANFORD, Calif. — The nervous system and the immune system havesomething in common. Each has evolved to react quickly to environmentalcues. Because the nervous system is able to detect some of these cues -say, a characteristic odor signaling a pathogen's presence - at adistance, it sometimes can sense trouble earlier than the immune system,which has to wait until the pathogen invades the organism.

So it makes sense that the two systems might talk to one another.Stanford University School of Medicine geneticists have shown that,indeed, they do.

Florida's 'worm grunters' collect bait worms by inadvertently imitating mole sounds

When biologist Ken Catania heard about the peculiar practice of worm grunting practiced in the Apalachicola National Forest in the Florida Panhandle one of his first thoughts was an observation made by Charles Darwin.

Worm grunting involves going into the forest, driving a wooden stake into the ground and then rubbing the top of the stake with a long piece of steel called a rooping iron. This makes a peculiar grunting sound that drives nearby earthworms to the surface where they can be easily collected for fish bait.

Transforming the 1930s house into an energy efficient home of the future

The 1930s semi is an icon of its age. Three million were built and they are still a major part of our current housing stock. Now a three year research project is about to start at The University of Nottingham that will help people living in these properties meet the Government's ambitions to reduce CO2 emissions from homes.

This joint project with the energy firm E.ON aims to learn energy efficiency lessons for the future from the failings of houses in the past.

Exports may not rescue UK economy

Hopes that the plunging pound may boost UK exports have been questioned by new research into currency movements.

The research from GEP — the Globalisation and Economic Policy Centre at The University of Nottingham — challenges expectations that UK firms might increase overseas sales thanks to sterling's recent plunge to a two-year low against the Euro.

Following the largest-ever study of its kind into currency movements, the research shows the sinking pound might have almost no effect whatsoever on the UK's manufacturing exports.

Pleasure seekers: Clubbing is a controlled rave experience

Clubbers—people who dance the night away in dance clubs—are seeking communal, ecstatic experiences. And, according to a new study in theJournal of Consumer Research, modern clubbers get a more controlled, legalized version of the raves of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Authors Christina Goulding (University of Wolverhampton), Avi Shankar, Richard Elliott (both University of Bath), and Robin Canniford (University of Exeter) immersed themselves in club culture for five years, interviewing clubbers and researching the history of raves and clubs.

Subconscious encounters: How brand exposure affects your choices

Products with visible brand names are everywhere; many times we don't even notice them. But how much do those unnoticed exposures affect brand choices? Quite a bit, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Pajama gamblers could lose their shirts: Online gambling can be dangerously comfortable

People who gamble from the comfort of their home tend to think they're more in control of their gambling than people who gamble in casinos, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Authors June Cotte (University of Western Ontario) and Kathryn A. Latour (University of Nevada-Las Vegas) found surprisingly little previous research on their subject: the habits and motivations of online gamblers, who contribute to a $10 billion a year industry.

World's largest household longitudinal study launches

One thing that all western nations have in common is our ever evolving societies. In order to understand the impact of such changes on our communities, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is launching Understanding Society, the world's largest ever household longitudinal study on Monday 13th October 2008. Understanding Society will provide valuable new evidence to inform research on the vital issues facing our communities.

'Plant-eating predator to fight superweed is not magic bullet'

Plans to introduce plant-eating predators to fight a superweed spreading throughout Britain should not be seen as a 'magic bullet', says a world expert on Japanese knotweed at the University of Leicester.

Dr John Bailey of the Department of Biology has been researching the invasive weed since the 1980s. The research continues with PhD students Michelle Hollingsworth and Catherine Pashley. Research in the Leicester department established that the weed in Britain was a single clone- making it one of the biggest female organism in the world.

Modern genetics vs. ancient frog-killing fungus

MOSCOW, Idaho – Scientists at the University of Idaho currently are involved in a CSI-like investigation of a killer known to have been running rampant for the past decade. But the killer's name can't be found on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Instead, it's on the minds of ecologists on every continent in the world.

New fossil reveals primates lingered in Texas

More than 40 million years ago, primates preferred Texas to northern climates that were significantly cooling, according to new fossil evidence discovered by Chris Kirk, physical anthropologist at The University of Texas at Austin.

Kirk and Blythe Williams from Duke University have discovered Diablomomys dalquesti, a new genus and species of primate that dates to 44-43 million years ago when tropical forests and active volcanoes covered west Texas.

Death rate 70 percent lower at top-rated hospitals: HealthGrades annual hospital quality study

GOLDEN, Colo. (October 14, 2008) – Patients have on average a 70 percent lower chance of dying at the nation's top-rated hospitals compared with the lowest-rated hospitals across 17 procedures and conditions analyzed in the eleventh annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, issued today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

Migratory moths may hitch their rides, but they're anything but drifters

Night-traveling migratory moths may hitch a ride on the wind, but a new study in the October 14th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, confirms that they are anything but drifters.

Despite 'peacenik' reputation, bonobos hunt and eat other primates too

Unlike the male-dominated societies of their chimpanzee relatives, bonobo society—in which females enjoy a higher social status than males—has a "make-love-not-war" kind of image. While chimpanzee males frequently band together to hunt and kill monkeys, the more peaceful bonobos were believed to restrict what meat they do eat to forest antelopes, squirrels, and rodents.

Drug may reduce coronary artery plaque

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 12, 2008 – Research presented at the 20th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), suggests that olmesartan, a drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure, may play a role in reducing coronary plaque.