| US grapples with bedbugs, misuse of pesticides By MATT LEINGANG 2010-08-31T03:40:34ZCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A resurgence of bedbugs across the U.S. has homeowners and apartment dwellers taking desperate measures to eradicate the tenacious bloodsuckers, with some relying on dangerous outdoor pesticides and fly-by-night exterminators.... hosted.ap.org |
Mystery bird: Tennessee warbler, Vermivora peregrina | GrrlScientist A mystery bird demystified! This mystery bird includes information about how this species was given its misleading common nameTennessee Warbler, Vermivora peregrina, photographed in the Sabine Woods and Sabine Pass area in Texas Point National Wildlife Refuge, USA. Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 April 2008 [larger view]Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400. [larger view].This North American Mystery Bird species is often mistaken for several other birds in the field; one is a close relative, while the others comprise a species complex of similar-looking birds. Can you name this Mystery Bird species along with those that it is confused with? Fall female and juvenile Tennessee warblers, Vermivora peregrina, are commonly confused with their close relative, the orange-crowned warbler. These two species can be distinguished by the duller green on the orange-crowned warbler's back, its yellow undertail, the faint or blurry streaks on the sides of its breast, and its thin, split eyering. (Note that the above image clearly shows the diagnostic white undertail area.)Tennessee warblers can also be confused with vireos. But a closer look reveals that vireos are slightly larger birds with a more robust body, more distinct eyelines, duller green backs, and they have thicker but less pointy bills. These birds' behaviors are distinctive as well: vireos are less active foragers than the fast-moving Tennessee warbler.The Tennessee warbler's common name is sadly misleading: even though they neither breed nor winter in this state, their common name is a rather dubious honor because the first specimen ever collected was shot in 1832 on the banks of Tennessee's Cumberland River. That unfortunate individual was collected during its annual migration by naturalist and artist, Alexander Wilson. Wilson is notable because he co-wrote and illustrated the book, American Ornithology, with a nephew of Emperor Napoleon, French ornithologist, Charles Lucien Bonaparte. If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and appreciate audience, feel free to email them to me.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Could 'Goldilocks' planet be just right for life? By SETH BORENSTEIN 2010-09-30T17:17:48ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Astronomers say they have for the first time spotted a planet beyond our own in what is sometimes called the Goldilocks zone for life: Not too hot, not too cold. Juuuust right.... hosted.ap.org |
Love really is like a drug Love (or maybe lust) not only blocks pain, it also seems to stimulate the same parts of the brain as cocaineIntense spells of passion are as effective at blocking pain as cocaine and other illicit drugs, a team of neuroscientists say. Tests on 15 American students who admitted to being in the passionate early stages of a relationship showed that feelings for their partner reduced intense pain by 12% and moderate pain by 45%.In the study, researchers at Stanford University showed eight women and seven men photographs of their partners while delivering mild doses of pain to their palms with a hot probe. At the same time, the students had their brains scanned by a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine. At the end of each test, the students were asked to rate how much pain they felt.Feelings of love, triggered by a photo of their partner, acted as a powerful painkiller. Brain scans revealed that these feelings caused more activity in parts of the brain that are also triggered by morphine and cocaine. Looking at an image of an attractive friend rather than their partner had only a mild analgesic effect.The study went on to investigate whether distracting the students also reduced pain by giving them simple mental tasks, such as naming sports that do not involve a ball.The brain scans showed that while both love and distraction reduce pain, they appear to act on different pathways in the brain.Jarred Younger, who led the study published in Plos One, said: "With the distraction test, the brain pathways leading to pain relief were mostly cognitive. The reduction of pain was associated with higher, cortical parts of the brain."Love-induced analgesia is much more associated with the reward centres. It appears to involve more primitive aspects of the brain, activating deep structures that may block pain at a spinal level: similar to how opioid analgesics work."He added, "One of the key sites for love-induced analgesia is the nucleus accumbens, a key reward addiction centre for opioids, cocaine and other drugs of abuse. The region tells the brain that you really need to keep doing this."Younger's team recruited students in the first nine months of a relationship, when feelings of passion are at their most intense."We intentionally focused on this early phase of passionate love. We specifically were not looking for longer-lasting, more mature phases of the relationship. We wanted subjects who were feeling euphoric, energetic, obsessively thinking about their beloved, craving their presence," Sean Mackey, a co-author on the paper, said."When passionate love is described like this, it in some ways sounds like an addiction. We thought, maybe this does involve similar brain systems as those involved in addictions."NeuroscienceDrugsMedical researchPsychologyIan Sampleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Astronomers say they've found oldest galaxy so far By SETH BORENSTEIN 2010-10-20T21:17:28ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Astronomers believe they've found the oldest thing they've ever seen in the universe: It's a galaxy far, far away from a time long, long ago.... hosted.ap.org |