Author Archives: admin

Big butts aren’t everything to male baboons

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Big butts aren’t everything to male baboons. Duke Today, April 20, 2015. While the female baboon’s big red bottom may be an eyesore to some, it has an aphrodisiac effect on her mates. Biologists have long thought that baboon males prefer females with bigger backsides as the mark of a good mother, but a Duke study reveals that the size of a female’s swollen rump doesn’t matter as much as previously thought. Picked up by the Washington Post and Fox News.

What happens underground when a missile or meteor hits

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What happens underground when a missile or meteor hits. Duke Today, April 10, 2015. Duke University researchers have developed techniques that enable them to simulate high-speed missile and meteor impacts into soil and sand in the lab, and then watch what happens underground close-up, in super slow motion. They report that materials like soil and sand actually get stronger when they are struck harder. The research may ultimately lead to better control of earth-penetrating missiles designed to destroy deeply buried targets such as enemy bunkers or weapons stockpiles. Picked up by io9, the Daily Mail, Scientific American, EarthSky, Popular Science and Discovery Channel Canada.

Clues to aging from long-lived lemurs

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Clues to aging from long-lived lemurs. Duke Today, March 30, 2015. Researchers combed through more than 50 years of medical records on hundreds of lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center for clues to their longevity. They found that how long these primates live and how fast they age correlates with the amount of time they spend in a state of suspended animation known as torpor. The research may eventually help scientists identify “anti-aging” genes in humans. Picked up by Discovery News, BBC Radio, NPR affiliate WUNC and the News & Observer.

How an insect pest switches from sluggish super breeder to flying invasion machine

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How an insect pest switches from sluggish super breeder to flying invasion machine. Duke Today, March 18, 2015. Each year, the rice crop in Asia faces a big threat from a sesame seed-sized insect called the brown planthopper. Now, a study in the journal Nature reveals the molecular switch that enables some planthoppers to develop short wings and others long based on environmental conditions such as day length and temperature — a major factor in their ability to invade new rice fields.

Baboon friends swap gut germs

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Baboon friends swap gut germs. Duke Today, March 16, 2015. The warm soft folds of the intestines are teeming with thousands of species of bacteria that help break down food, synthesize vitamins, regulate weight and resist infection. If they’re so key to health, what factors shape an individual’s gut microbial makeup? Previous studies have pointed to the food we eat, the drugs we take, genetics, even house dust. Now, a new study in baboons suggests that relationships may play a role, too. Picked up by The Scientist.

Urging HPV vaccine for boys could protect more people for same price

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Urging HPV vaccine for boys could protect more people for same price. Duke Today, March 11, 2015. Whether vaccinating U.S. boys against HPV in addition to girls is worth the cost has been hotly debated. But with HPV-related cancers in men on the rise, and coverage in girls stagnating below the levels needed to ensure that most people are protected, research suggests that devoting a portion of HPV funding to boys — rather than merely attempting to improve female coverage — may protect more people for the same price. Picked up by National Public Radio affiliate WUNC.

What happens inside an avalanche

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What happens inside an avalanche. Duke Today, March 5, 2015. When you walk on the beach, the sand supports your weight like a solid. What happens to the forces between the sand grains when you step on them to keep you from sinking? Researchers have developed a new way to measure the forces inside materials such as sand, soil or snow under pressure. The technique uses lasers coupled with force sensors, cameras and advanced computer algorithms to measure the forces between neighboring particles in 3-D. Picked up by the News & Observer and the National Science Foundation.

How mantis shrimp evolved many shapes with same powerful punch

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How mantis shrimp evolved many shapes with same powerful punch. Duke Today, Feb. 27, 2015. The miniweight boxing title of the animal world belongs to the mantis shrimp, a cigar-sized crustacean whose front claws can deliver an explosive 60-mile-per-hour blow akin to a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun. A Duke University study of 80 million years of mantis shrimp evolution reveals a key feature of how these fast weapons evolved their dizzying array of shapes — from spiny and barbed spears to hatchets and hammers — while still managing to pack their characteristic punch. Picked up by the daily news feed of the National Science Foundation.

Models predict where lemurs will go as climate warms

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Models predict where lemurs will go as climate warms. Duke Today, Feb. 18, 2015. Climate change is likely to leave a lot of lemurs looking for new places to live on their island home of Madagascar. A Duke study predicts where lemurs are likely to seek refuge as temperatures rise between now and 2080. The researchers identified three areas on the island that will be particularly important for lemurs in the future, as well as key corridors that will allow lemurs to reach these areas from their current spots. Picked up by Scientific American, Science Magazine, Science News and BBC.

 

Distant species produce love child after 60 M year breakup

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Distant species produce love child after 60 M year breakup. Duke Today, Feb. 13, 2015. A delicate woodland fern discovered in the mountains of France is the love child of two distantly-related groups of plants that haven’t interbred in 60 million years, genetic analyses show. Reproducing after such a long evolutionary breakup is akin to an elephant hybridizing with a manatee, or a human with a lemur, the researchers say. Picked up by Nature and by National Public Radio.

Apes prefer the glass half full

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Apes prefer the glass half full. Duke Today, Feb. 11, 2015. Humans aren’t the only species to be influenced by spin. Our closest primate relatives are susceptible, too. For example, people rate a burger as more tasty when it is described as “75 percent lean” than when it is described as “25 percent fat,” even though that’s the same thing. A Duke University study finds that positive and negative framing make a big difference for chimpanzees and bonobos too. Picked up by the Daily Mail and Scientific American.

Humans, sparrows make sense of sounds in similar ways

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Humans, sparrows make sense of sounds in similar ways. Duke Today, Jan. 5, 2015. The song of the swamp sparrow — a grey-breasted bird found in wetlands throughout much of North America — is a simple melodious trill. But according to a new study by researchers at Duke University and the University of London, swamp sparrows are capable of processing the notes that make up their simple songs in more sophisticated ways than previously realized — an ability that may help researchers better understand the perceptual building blocks that enable language in humans. Picked up by The Herald-Sun, Wildlife Magazine and The New York Times.

Predicting superbugs’ countermoves to new drugs

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Predicting superbugs’ countermoves to new drugs. Duke Today, Jan. 5, 2015. With drug-resistant bacteria on the rise, even common infections that were easily controlled for decades are proving trickier to treat with standard antibiotics. New drugs are desperately needed, but so are ways to maximize the effective lifespan of these drugs. To accomplish that, Duke University researchers used software they developed to predict a constantly-evolving infectious bacterium’s countermoves to one of these new drugs ahead of time, before the drug is even tested on patients. Picked up by the Duke Chronicle, The Scientist and Time Magazine.

DNA sheds light on why largest lemurs disappeared

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DNA sheds light on why largest lemurs disappeared. Duke Today, December 16, 2014. DNA from giant lemurs that lived thousands of years ago in Madagascar may help explain why the animals went extinct, and what makes some lemurs more at risk today. Scientists have little doubt that humans played a role in the giant lemurs’ demise. By comparing the species that died out to those that survived, scientists hope to better predict which lemurs are most in need of protection in the future. Picked up by The Herald-Sun.

Laser sniffs out toxic gases from afar

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Laser sniffs out toxic gases from afar. Duke Today, December 3, 2014. Scientists have developed a way to sniff out tiny amounts of toxic gases — a whiff of nerve gas, for example, or a hint of a chemical spill — from up to one kilometer away. The new technology can discriminate one type of gas from another with greater specificity than most remote sensors — even in complex mixtures of similar chemicals — and under normal atmospheric pressure, something that wasn’t thought possible before. Picked up by NPR affiliate WUNC.