Category Archives: Biology

IMAGE:New evidence suggests bumblebees may experience 'confusion' between flower patterns. view more It's well known that our human memory can fail us. People can be forgetful, and they can sometimes also "remember" things incorrectly, with devastating consequences in the classroom, courtroom, and other areas of life. Now, researchers show for the first time in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on February 26 that bumblebees can be unreliable witnesses too. The new study is the first to explore false memories in any non-human animals, the researchers say. They now suspect that the phenomenon may be widespread in the animal kingdom. "We discovered that the memory traces for two stimuli can merge, such that features acquired in distinct bouts of training are combined in the animal's mind," says Lars Chittka of Queen Mary University of London. As a result, "stimuli that have actually never been viewed before, but are a combination of the features presented in training, are chosen during memory recall." Bumblebees are rather clever animals, which explains why Chittka has been studying learning and memory in the insects for the last 20 years. The bees can remember the patterns, colors, and scents of various kinds of flowers. They can … Continue reading →

UW-Stevens Point Spotlight: Ana Breit, Biology Biology/Wildlife Ecology major Ana Breit talks about why she chose UWSP, discusses bat research, describes the college athletic experience, and gives advice for prospective students. By: UWStevensPointCOLS … Continue reading →

Discussing the relationship between science and faith, rather than avoiding the discussion, may better prepare future high school biology teachers for anticipating questions about evolution, according to Penn State political scientists. In a series of focus group meetings with biology students at four Pennsylvania institutions -- three universities and a college -- students from a Catholic college appeared to be more reflective when talking about issues of faith and science. "We suspect these students are somewhat less anxious around discussions of faith and science that come up in biology classes," said Michael Berkman, professor of political science and director of the Center for American Political Responsiveness. Students at religious colleges often receive instruction in theology and attend lectures that integrate discussions about faith, Berkman said. While this may help ease anxiety if religious issues come up in class discussions and talks with concerned parents, it is ultimately knowledge of the science of evolution that will provide biology teachers with the confidence for effective science instruction, he added. "If you don't have confidence in your own self-knowledge, especially in a controversial topic, your tendency is going to be to shy away from it, to avoid controversy and to not really teach … Continue reading →

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was 34 credits away from graduating when he dropped out of Marquette University. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, while a medical doctor, never finished his undergraduate biology degree at Baylor University before he headed to Duke's medical school. And while Walker's and Paul's higher education credentials--or lack thereof--have drawn intense media scrutiny as November 2016 approaches, these Republican politicians' college education reflects the reality for nearly three-quarters of voting Americans. But unlike the rest of the general electorate, these men are also top contenders for the nation's highest executive office. According to a recent CBS news poll, 30 percent of Republicans would support Walker, and another third would consider voting for Rand Paul. Play Video Controversial remarks made last week by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani have shaken up the race for the Republican presidential nominati... Examining Walker's chances of winning a GOP primary, CBS News' John Dickerson points out that the lack of a college degree "clearly hasn't slowed his career." In fact, certain stories from Walker's life position the governor to campaign on the national stage as a political average Joe. "Running against the elites who all have post-graduate degrees is always a … Continue reading →

San Jose, California (PRWEB) February 25, 2015 Follow us on LinkedIn Global interest in synthetic biology is driven by the technologys promised potential to change society by bringing about a fundamental shift in the way energy, food and other industrial products are produced. In the field of healthcare, synthetic biology flaunts the potential to radically alter the way in which diseases are detected, prevented and cured. Synthetic biology is defined as engineered biology focused on the development of artificial, biologically inspired systems. In medical science, synthetic biology refers to the design and development of new biological organisms based on artificially created DNAs to design and develop new organisms or biochemical systems. This revolutionary branch of science brings together multiple disciplines such as computer modeling, engineering and biological sciences for creating next-generation biological systems, parts and devices. Rapid advancements in DNA sequencing and synthesis are helping foster growth in the market. Computational modeling, DNA synthesis, and DNA sequencing, represent few of the major technologies that are playing key instrumental roles in pushing synthetic biology into the next stage of evolution. Commercial gene synthesis tools and pre-designed synbio tools are finding acceptance among molecular cloners. Synthetic biology based food ingredients are witnessing … Continue reading →

Biology Digestion Absorption part 8 (Stomach: Structure, gastric glands, juice) CBSE class 11 XI Biology Digestion Absorption part 8 (Stomach: Structure, gastric glands gastric juice) CBSE class 11 XI. By: ExamFearVideos … Continue reading →

MorphoJ Tutorial 1- 4ED3 (Evolutionary Developmental Biology) MorphoJ is a GUI based program for performing Geometric Morphometric Analysis. MorphoJ is written and maintained by Dr. Chris Klingenberg at the University o... By: Ian Dworkin … Continue reading →

What animal would Sir David Attenborough most like to be? Watch the full interview on the Biology: Changing the world website: http://www.societyofbiology.org/bcw-interviews/sir-david-attenborough Sir David Attenborough Hon FSB, world famous naturalist... By: Society of Biology … Continue reading →

The first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, she was born in 1996 and died in 2003. On Wednesday a blue plaque celebrating Dolly and the team who created her will be unveiled by the Society of Biology at The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, where she was created. It is one of a new series of 10 celebratory plaques being unveiled by the Society of Biology across the UK to celebrate eminent but sometimes unsung heroes of the science. Others being honoured include IVF pioneers Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy, Richard Owen, who invented the word "dinosaur", and Dorothy Hodgkin, who discovered the structure of penicillin. Sir Ian Wilmut, from the University of Edinburgh and lead researcher on the Dolly project, will give a speech at the unveiling ceremony. He said: "The birth of Dolly, the first clone of an adult animal, revolutionised our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate development. "We used to believe that once a cell had differentiated to a specific tissue type it could not be changed. The birth of Dolly showed that this is not the case. "This result stimulated research which is now providing revolutionary opportunities in medicine." Dr … Continue reading →

News Author of The Biology of the Negro challenged the foundation of racism in the 1940s. Posted Feb 24, 2015 by Lorentz Hansen Dr. Julian H. Lewis, the first black doctor to teach at the University of Chicago and author of The Biology of the Negro, a book which scientifically disproved the idea of a superior race, was remembered in a talk on February 21 at the Logan Center as part of the Integrating the Life of the Mind exhibit in celebration of Black History Month. The event featured a panel that consisted of independent scholar Robert Branch II; University of Kansas School of Medicine Chair of History and Philosophy of Medicine Dr. Christopher Crenner; and Founder, Director, and Curator of the Robbins Historical Society and Museum Tyrone Haymore. It was co-sponsored by the Civic Knowledge Project, the Office of Campus and Student Life, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and the University of Chicago Association of Black Alumni. Bart Schultz, executive director of the Civic Knowledge Project and moderator of the event, described the importance of this and other events in the exhibit call[ing] attention to important history, still too often neglected. The idea of neglected history resonated throughout the course … Continue reading →