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Computer Learns Sign Language - Next Stop World
Domination

post from Singularity Hub on 16 July 2009 05:53:00 PM. © Singularity Hub

Why does it have to take so long for the computers to rise up and kill us? The suspense is just maddening. Four Terminator movies and a television series spin-off and it still hasn?t happened in real life? Come on, these are supposed to be knowing, learning human-exterminators. Well, at least [...]

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AMP Announces 2009 Michael D. Hayre Fellows in
Public Outreach

post from The Scientific Activist on 16 July 2009 05:50:40 PM. © The Scientific Activist

Yesterday, Americans for Medical Progress revealed the three recipients of its 2009 Hayre Fellowship in Public Outreach. Applicants submitted proposals for programs aimed at spreading awareness about the role of animal research in medicine, and the three fellows will receive a $5,000 stipend each, plus an addition $2,000 to fund their proposals. This year's fellows are Gillian Braden-Weiss and Breanna Caltagarone, who are veterinary students at the University of Pennsylvania, and Megan Wyeth, a graduate student at UCLA. Here's a summary of the projects they are going to be working on:

As veterinary students at the University of Pennsylvania and active members of the Laboratory Animal Medicine Club, Gillian Braden-Weiss and Breanna Caltagarone will create a "Thank a Mouse" animal research outreach program for private practice veterinarians and their clients. Through the development of a website and other interactions, they will raise awareness for existing and future contributions of animal research to veterinary care.
Megan Wyeth, a graduate student who conducts epilepsy research at UCLA, was a student leader of the UCLA Pro-Test campus rally this April in support of scientists' work in animal research. Now, as a Hayre Fellow, Megan will help to expand the student-based group Pro-Test for Science on the UCLA campus and foster similar student organizations nationwide.

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_announces_2009_michael_d_h.php

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How to Make Solar Chocolate Chip Cookies on Your
Car Dashboard

post from CR4 - Recent Blog Entries on 16 July 2009 05:50:30 PM. © CR4 - Recent Blog Entries

To conserve energy this summer, why not harness the insane amount of heat your car collects to—what else—bake cookies? Instead of warming up your oven (and your kitchen) on an already-too-hot day, it makes sense to use the heat that automobiles naturally store to finagle some fresh

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Fiddler crabs - more than just cute to look at

post from Observations of a Nerd on 16 July 2009 05:49:18 PM. © Observations of a Nerd

I know everyone is going to jump at once to talk about this mind-blowing research by some of the greatest scientists that have ever been associated with ecology, and I hate just writing about papers that everyone will talk about anyhow, but I decided I still had to comment on this paper. It may very well be the most important paper of the year, even more influential and ground-breaking than Ida (though I wouldn't mention that to her directly).

Of course, I'm talking about the newest paper published in Marine Biology's "Online First", Fiddler crab burrowing affects growth and production of the white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) in a restored Florida coastal marsh.

This paper, written by three, top-notch biologists out of Eckerd College, explores the relationship between fiddler crab burrowing activity and the growth of young white mangroves through two different pathways. The first was a transect study, where mangrove growth variables were compared to burrow density and other plant density in a natural setting. The other used mesh cages to selectively reduce or allow burrowing activity around seedlings to study not only the growth differences but changes in the soil chemistry without the affects of other plants in the area.

The sum results of the two were clear - fiddler crabs had a big impact. By digging burrows, they increased mangrove growth and proliferation by ~25%, and dramatically changed the soil chemistry. Their presence decreased salinity from over 44.2 to 32.4 and changed the oxidation potential, meaning they made the soils far more mangrove-friendly.

While this might seem like a small study, it's actually quite important. Mangroves are some of the most important ecosystems in the tropics, providing food and shelter for many commercially and ecologically important species. And, most importantly, we've done a fantastic job of destroying them as humans have decided that treed, swampy coasts are far less pretty to build a house on than just pristine, bulldozed sand. Now, millions of dollars are being pumped into restoration efforts, and the more we know about how to cultivate and encourage the growth of these fickle but critical trees, the better.

There might also be one other reason that I think this paper is so damned important... but I'll let you figure that one out for yourselves.

Smith, N., Wilcox, C., & Lessmann, J. (2009). Fiddler crab burrowing affects growth and production of the white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) in a restored Florida coastal marsh Marine Biology DOI: 10.1007/s00227-009-1253-7