You may have noticed…

…that my banner has changed.  Well, in years past, President Bush declared June as National Oceans Month.  Although I have not found anything about National Oceans Month for 2009, this is the first year that the United Nations is observing World Oceans Day, on June 8th.  This year’s theme is “Our Oceans, Our Responsibility”.  So, in the spirit of all things ocean, I have changed my banner.  I may even continue to change my banner to different ocean images throughout the month.  Who knows?

Disney Oceans: Splashing into Theaters in 2010

Go watch the trailer, and check out the awesome ocean-themed logos for the different viewing sizes.  Or visit the official site.

Just How Important is Marriage to Gay Couples, Anyway?

For many, marriage is the ultimate sign of commitment.  Yet many Americans are still not able to marry.  A new study by researchers at North Carolina State University finds that gay and lesbian couples are forming long-term, committed relationships, even in the absence of marriage rights.

The study, published in the Journal of Family Issues, found that the institution of marriage is both more and less important to gay couples than previously believed.  More important in terms of legal rights- such as retirement and healthcare benefits; less important as a sign of commitment.

Forty gays and lesbians in 20 long-term cohabitating couples were interviewed on three research questions:

1. How do long-term same-sex couples retrospectively explain their transition to a committed relationship?
2. For couples who have had a commitment ceremony, what role do marriage and ceremonies play in commitment processes?
3. For couples who have not had a commitment ceremony, how do they view marriage and ceremonies in relation to their union?

For many gay couples, commitment is ambiguous in the absences of major markers such as marriage–it makes it difficult to pinpoint when things first got serious.  Forty percent of the couples surveyed had participated in a commitment or marriage ceremony, but these ceremonies were not commitment-making moments in the relationship.  Rather, the ceremony served as a celebration of a preexisting commitment.

Just last week on my trip to Florida, I was involved in a discussion with some friends on the topic of marriage.  Over and over again, commitment and legal rights kept coming up, and good points for and against marriage kept popping up.  In truth, marriage really is stupid in terms of a sign of commitment.

Don’t get me wrong–I’m not saying I don’t want my big day with the white dress and the flowers, because I do.  What I’m saying is, commitment should be in the eyes of those in the relationship, and not in the eyes of the government.  If it wasn’t for the importance of those legal rights such as shared benefits, then I would say to hell with it, a piece of seagrass around my finger and the promise to love me forever would suffice.  But the sad truth is that legal rights are important, and they ensure the care of your loved ones- both your significant other and your children.  And those rights shouldn’t ever be denied to anyone.

Reczek, C., Elliott, S., & Umberson, D. (2009). Commitment Without Marriage: Union Formation Among Long-Term Same-Sex Couples Journal of Family Issues, 30 (6), 738-756 DOI: 10.1177/0192513X09331574

The Bearded Lady Revealed

In the mid 1800s, a rare syndrome appeared for the first time in medical literature.  The case was that of Julia Pastrana, the world’s most famous bearded lady.  A new study, being published in today’s issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, reveals molecular cues about the origin and development of this rare condition.

Congenital generalized hypertrichosis (CGH) covers a group of conditions characterized by excessive hair growth all over the body, regardless of age, gender or race. Congenital generalized hypertrichosis terminalis (CGHT) with gingival hypertrophy is a subgroup of CGH associated with an excess of dark hair, enlarged gums and distorted facial features, as was the case with Julia Pastrana.

The study, performed by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, discovered the underlying cause for CGHT, with or without gingival hyperplasia.  High resolution genetic analyses were conducted on several members of three Chinese families with CGHT, and an individual with sporadic CGHT with gingival hyperplasia.  The researchers mapped the location of the gene on a chromosome, and found that genetic defects on chromosome 17q24.2-q24.3 were responsible for CGHT, regardless of whether or not the patient also exhibited gingival hyperplasia.

The three families with CGHT that were studied showed different DNA deletions on the identified chromosome region.  In the individual with a sporadic case of CGHT, the identified chromosome region had a DNA duplication.  These mutations affected four to eight genes in the identified region, establishing CGHT as a genomic disorder.

Sun et al. (2009). Report: Copy-Number Mutations on Chromosome 17q24.2-q24.3 in Congenital
Generalized Hypertrichosis Terminalis with or without Gingival Hyperplasia American Journal of Human Genetics, 84 (6)

Monkeys Think “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda”

In a new study published in the journal Science, researchers at Duke University Medical Center found that monkeys are able to think “could-have, would-have, should-have.”

The researchers created a “Let’s Make A Deal” style game for their two rhesus monkeys, in which the experimenters offered the monkeys an array of hidden awards.  During each trial, the monkeys choose from one of eight white squares arranged in a circle.  Each square had a color underneath, and each color had a corresponding reward.  In this game, the rewards were different amounts of juice.

After weeks of the game, the monkeys were trained to associate green with a high-value reward, and other colors with a low-value reward.  After receiving a reward, the monkeys were shown the other rewards he missed.

The researchers watched individual neurons in a region of the brain called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which monitors the consequences of actions and mediates resulting changes in behavior.

The researchers saw that the neurons in the ACC responded in proportion to the reward, and a greater reward elicited a greater neural response.  The same neurons responded when the monkeys saw the rewards they missed.

In the second part of the study, the researchers kept the high-value reward in the same position 60 percent of the time, or moved it one position clockwise.  The monkeys began to learn this pattern, choosing targets next to potential high-value targets more often (37.7 percent) than those next to low-value targets (16.7 percent).  People are more likely to gamble if they see the opportunity to win big.  Likewise, the monkeys were willing to take a risk in order to win a greater reward.  The researchers believe that the ACC neurons help the  monkeys make better choices in the future, which may be crucial in complex social environments.

Hayden, B., Pearson, J., & Platt, M. (2009). Fictive Reward Signals in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex Science, 324 (5929), 948-950 DOI: 10.1126/science.1168488

Target our National Parks

Have a Facebook account?  Love our national parks?  Well, Target is donating $3 million, and has selected 10 charities to compete for the money–including the National Park Foundation.

The percentage of votes per charitable organization will correlate to the charities’ portion of the $3 million.

Go to http://www.facebook.com/target from now until May 25, and enter your daily vote for the National Park Foundation.

A Dynamic Duo on a Conservation Mission: Expedition Grizzly

© Grizzly Creek Films

Meet Casey Anderson, a native Montanan and a wildlife naturalist.  Not only has Casey had a lifetime full of wonderful experiences, but he has a great job preserving wildlife, and a very unique best friend.

© Grizzly Creek Films

Casey’s best friend, Brutus, is 6 inches taller than Shaquille O’Neal, and weighs 800 pounds.  Oh, and he happens to be a grizzly bear.

Interested?  Well then you should watch National Geographic Channel’s Expedition Grizzly featuring Casey Anderson, on Sunday, May 3, 2009, at 9pm ET/PT.

Told in the first person, this tale give viewers a chance to view the tale of an unlikely pair of friends, on a mission to chronicle the lives of Yellowstone’s vulnerable grizzly bears, educate people about grizzly conservation, and protect this incredible species.

Here’s a little sneak preview:

Carnival of Evolution #11

Today Christie and I went to the Museum of Natural History.  We saw an exhibit on bodies and learned 5 interesting facts about the human skeleton that we never knew! Not only did BioRob2006 teach us that, but also taught us what happens when we get old.  Christie really liked Geoff’s human evolution and frameshift mutation explanation, saying that it was a “very interesting hypothesis about human departure from apes.”

In the next hall, there was a copy of The Primate Diaries.  The open page said something about how unicolonial ants pose challenge to “selfish gene” theory. Beside it was a Denim and Tweed wall plaque, illustrating how ants trim trees for more living space. The end of the hall had a big sign by Hoxful Monsters, showing a new tree of life, which suggests that the nervous system evolved only once in animal history.

We walked down to The History Cellar and saw Charles Darwin’s letters, in which Darwin reacts to a bad review of The Origin of Species.  The man standing next to us, who we later learned was Adam Goldstein, said, “Give the old man a break and let’s stop it with ‘Darwinism’.”

We then went to see the new movie at the museum, Three New Species Discovered–in the Stratosphere! GrrlScientist had suggested we go see it before she met up with us, saying “”Wow, THREE new bacterial species in the stratosphere! Where will we find new life next? Perhaps the Moon? Mars?”

Towards the end of our museum visit, GrrlScientist joined us and shared some insight and photos from her own research into the evolution and biogeography of the lories, which are parrots native to the islands of the South Pacific Ocean. Apparently dead birds do tell tales!

After we left the museum, GrrlScientist, Christie and I walked through Central Park, and we looked at all the birds that have returned for spring.  GrrlScientist told me, “human eyes speak volumes to birds, and that the birds will try to hide from our gaze.”  ”Ha!” I told her.  ”That may be cool, but I know something even more interesting.  Did you know birds can dance?”

We continued our walk through the park, and saw The White Sepulchre holding a sign that was only three words long, but by his account, was the best argument against Creationism ever devised.  It said “Serpents can’t talk.”

Afterwards, I met a few friends for drinks.  Andrew Bernadin suggested that I order endorphins on the rocks.  While we were sipping away, he told me about the plasticity of human nature, and that mating strategies are variable and influenced by culture.  While discussing male dominance, he quoted Franz de Waal and said “for males, this is an all-or-nothing game; rank determines who will sow his seed far and wide and who will not sow his seed at all.”  I told him that I recently read in The Primate Diaries that the importance of female choice is overlooked in chimpanzees. When we began talking about monogamy, Anna shared something really interesting–in birds, the more monogamous the species, the bigger the brain! Zen Faulkes said that this may not be the same case with humans, and told us about a recent study he read, the author theorizes that if you’re monogamous, you have a large brain to cheat. Jennifurret, decided to end the debate and reminded us of the diversity of mating strategies in the world.

As we left the bar, I was glad to be out in the warm air that came with May.  After all, I only just read in The Spittoon that researchers tie variation in cancer gene to winter temperatures.

We walked over to the Metamagician and the Hellfire Club, where we listened to Jerry Coyne on science organisations and accommodationism.  Afterwards, Jennifurret talked about the problems with some universities and teaching evolution in colleges.  Maybe we should tell the universities to hire The Southern Fried Scientist, who gets really excited by clear cases of convergent evolution. I bet he could do a better job of teaching evolution!

Oh crap! Is that the time??? Now it’s too late to go catch the Carnival of Evolution!  I guess I’ll have to catch it next month, over at Deep Sea News.

Hey birds! So you think you can dance??

So you think dancing is just for humans?  Well up until recently, many scientists would have agreed with you.

“For a long time, people have thought that the ability to move to a beat was unique to humans,” said Adena Schachner of Harvard University, who led one of two studies published today in Current Biology.

It turns out, dancing is for the birds.  The two studies show that vocal-mimicking animals, particularly parrots, are able to dance–they can bob their heads, tap their feet, and sway to the beat of the music.

Don’t believe me?  The video below shows a cockatoo named Snowball dancing to his favorite song, “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys.  When the researches changed the tempo of the music, Snowball would adjust the tempo of his dancing so stay synchronized with the music.

The theory was that natural selection for vocal mimicry resulted in a brain mechanism that was also needed for moving to a beat, and that only animals that can mimic sound should be able to keep a beat.

One of the two research teams watched over 1,000 videos of dancing animals on YouTube, and analyzed the videos frame-by-frame.  Potentially fake videos were omitted, in which the animal was following a visual cue or the music was added in during post-production.

“Our analyses showed that these birds’ movements were more lined up with the musical beat than we’d expect by chance,” says Adena Schachner, a researcher in the study, in a press release. “We found strong evidence that they were synchronizing with the beat, something that has not been seen before in other species.”

Only the vocal mimics (14 species of parrot and 1 species of elephant) showed evidence of being able to keep a beat.

The researchers now suspect that the parrots’ dancing skills are related to another ability they share with humans, vocal learning, implying an evolutionary link between the two abilities.  This suggests that keeping a beat to music relies on the neural circuitry for complex vocal learning, which requires a tight link between auditory and motor circuits in the brain.

“Our data suggests that some of the brain mechanisms needed for human dance originally evolved to allow us to imitate sound,” says Schachner.

The human ability to keep time with music may have also evolved as a byproduct of vocal mimicry–the cognitive processes needed for both actions are related.  Both abilities require you to take in auditory input, and monitor your output and sound input at the same time, which allow you to fix your output and line up better with what you hear.

So what I want to know is….where do I sign up for a job like this???

Aniruddh D. Patel, John R. Iversen, Micah R. Bregman, Irena Schulz (2009). Experimental Evidence for Synchronization to a Musical Beat in a Nonhuman Animal Current Biology, 19 (10), 1-4
Adena Schachner, Timothy F. Brady, Irene M. Pepperberg, Marc D. Hauser (2009). Spontaneous Motor Entrainment to Music in Multiple Vocal Mimicking Species Current Biology, 19 (10), 1-6

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto. (Mommy, I want a sea-robot)

3D sonar-enabled bionic penguins. Enough said.  Not only is their an underwater version….but who said penguins can’t fly?  That’s right– there is a helium-filled air version as well.  The penguins were designed by Festo, the same company that brought you robo-jellies.

An investment of over $13 million gives you…roboctopus!  Designed to have no solid skeleton, it would be the world’s first completely soft robot; and it’s silicone arms will work the same way an octopus’ tencacles do.  A roboctopus would be able to get into the nooks and crannies that traditional  ROVs can’t reach.

Researchers from Essex University in the United Kingdom developed a robotic fish, to be launched off the waters of northern Spain in 2011. The $29,000 robot fish is a mini-lab, equipped with chemical sensors to detect potentially harmful pollutants in the water, as well an internal tracking system to avoid collisions, and wi-fi to beam back data to the researchers. A bit of perspective? This fish is 5 feet long…about the size of a seal!

Hat tip to Oceans 4Ever for their post on Robo-fiche, the beginning of my robotic sea-critter journey.

Lastly…this squid-robot was just far too cool to not include: